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Wildlife Art Festival 2008

Presented by San Bernardino County Museum at San Bernardino County Museum

November 22-November 23, 2008

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Art and the natural world is the theme of the 26th annual Wildlife Art Festival at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands. The festival is scheduled for Saturday, November 22 from 9am to 5pm and Sunday, November 23 from 9 am to 4pm. Twenty three prominent artists will exhibit paintings, sculptures, carvings, photographs, and limited edition prints in the museum’s Hall of History and Schuiling Gallery. The festival is organized by the San Bernardino County Museum Association; admission and parking are free. The festival also includes the top entries from this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest in their first West Coast exhibition. Children’s art is represented by classroom projects for the Tom Bennett Children’s Art and Science Competition, open to students in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Family activities centered around art and the natural world are scheduled on both days of the festival. The Wildlife Art Festival began when top paintings from the Federal Duck Stamp Contest were first shown on the West Coast in 1983 at the San Bernardino County Museum. From this exhibit of small, exquisitely detailed paintings, the festival has grown and evolved over the years while maintaining its focus on wildlife and conservation. Twenty six years ago, the event was called the “Waterfowl Festival,” and art works featuring water birds. As more and more artists sought to enter their works in the festival, a wider range of wildlife paintings was accepted into the event. This year, participating artists will show subject matters related to the natural world. Since 1987, a Featured Artist has been selected every year to produce a work of art as a signature piece for that year’s event. This year, Leslie Kirchner from Green Valley, California, will present “The Patriot.” Signed limited edition prints along with the original painting will be highlighted at the festival. Kirchner, born and raised in southern California, currently lives in a small mountain community surrounded by Angeles National Forest. Primarily self-taught, Leslie uses acrylics on clayboard. Field research, as well as the birds and animals she works with, including birds of prey, snakes, including three species of rattlesnakes, bobcats, cougars, wolves and other animals provides reference material for her paintings. She also enjoys plein air painting, hiking, and camping, which aid her in portraying the environment in her work. She is a member of the Society of Animal Artists, Women Artists of the West, and Artists For Conservation. Other participating artists are James and Susan Bajari (Monterey, CA), Cliff Barnes (Burbank, CA), Ray Brown, Jr. (Lake Forest, CA), Circe (Fullerton, CA), Ron Dotson (Jamul, CA), Lindsey Foggett (Forest Falls, CA), Truong Buu Giam (Westminster, CA), Pat Gilmore (Vista, CA), Carol Heiman-Greene (Orange, CA), Gary Johnson (Encinitas, CA), Marty Katon (Venice, CA), Lee Kromschroeder (Escondido, CA), Seetharam Maddali (Redlands, CA), Deian Moore (Blodgett, OR), Robert Nichols (San Diego, CA), Sally Quenette (Ramona, CA), Robert Steiner (San Francisco, CA), Pam Stoehsler (Klamath Falls, OR), Rob Sutton (Monrovia, CA), Diane Versteeg (Spokane, WA), and Terry Woodall (North Bend, OR). The importance that the museum places on education and the efforts it makes to serve children as well as adults is typified at the Wildlife Art Festival by museum education division programs and the Tom Bennett Children’s Art and Science competition, which encourages elementary grade students to work with their school classes in learning about wildlife habitats. This year, Chaparral Habitats were explored through study and creative art in grade level competitions. The competition is dedicated to the memory of Tom Bennett, under whose guidance many wildlife species were protected during his years with the California Fish and Game Commission. On Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 4pm, the museum’s education division with the support of the Museum Youth Club will organize a variety of hands-on art experiences for children and families: creating a creature from natural materials, and learning to carve. Artist Trudy Wood will teach animal drawing techniques to children ages 9 to 15 on Saturday and Sunday; free timed tickets to these classes are available at the museum’s front desk starting at 9am. All family activities are free. The top entries from the Federal Duck Stamp art competition will be exhibited at the museum from November 19 through 25. “Duck Stamps” are not postage stamps; they are revenue stamps purchased by waterfowl hunters to validate their hunting licenses each year. The proceeds from stamp sales are the single largest source of funding for wetlands habitat conservation and enhancement. The stamp design, new each year, is chosen through a prestigious, federally-sponsored art contest called the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. Joshua Spies is the winner of the 2008 Federal Duck Stamp contest. Spies, from Watertown, South Dakota, won the contest with his acrylic painting of a long-tailed duck. There were 270 entries in this year’s contest; only five made it through to the final round of judging on October 18. Jim Hautman, of Plymouth, Minnesota, placed second with a painting of Canada geese, and Gerald Mobley of Claremore, Oklahoma, took third place with a painting of northern shovelers. Spies will be at the museum on both Saturday and Sunday during the festival showing his winning painting and chatting with museum visitors. Since 1934, the “Duck Stamp” program has raised $770 million to preserve wetlands acres within 186 national wildlife refuges. These refuges are used by one-third of our threatened and endangered species, two-thirds of our most important commercial and sporting species of marine fish, and songbirds, shorebirds, and countless other species. Birdwatchers, photographers, fishermen, and others who enjoy wildlife can contribute to the conservation of wildlife habitat by purchasing Duck Stamps at most post offices, wildlife refuges, and many licensed hunting retail stores.