Worcester artist wins Maryland duck stamp contest
Image of two teal on frozen pond will appear on state's migratory game bird stamp
NANCY POWELL n Associate Editor
"Icy Refuge," a painting by Wally Makuchal Jr., will become the 2009-2010 Maryland Migratory Game Bird Stamp. (April 24, 2009) A Girdletree man's painting of two blue-winged teal resting on the water is the winner of this year's Maryland Migratory Game Bird Design Contest, more commonly known as the duck stamp contest.
"I was very excited," Wally Makuchal Jr. said about the day he learned his piece, "Icy Refuge," took top honors in the competition. He was in the audience during the 20th annual Patuxent Wildlife Art Show at the Patuxent National Wildlife Visitors Center in Laurel on March 28, when the announcement was made.
Makuchal, 46, stays busy with his business, Makuchal's Signs and vehicle lettering, but said he occasionally finds time to paint wildlife, a passion he's had for many years. He started painting wildlife in 1979, when he was a ninth grader at Pocomoke High School.
"I grew up in the country and I was exposed to so much wildlife," Makuchal said. "I was always interested in birds, always had an interest in flight birds. They just always amazed me and that got me started."
He won the Maryland duck stamp contest once before, in 1999, and he won the Florida duck stamp contest and Maryland trout stamp contests in 1996. He submitted three paintings for last year's duck stamp contest, but all were disqualified because they had been submitted too late.
Eighteen artists submitted 35 entries in this year's contest, limited solely to Maryland residents.
As the winner, Makuchal keeps his painting so he can publish and distribute prints, which will be sold in various galleries, including Donald's Duck Shoppe at the Gold Coast Mall in Ocean City. Prints should be published in late May or early June, he said, and the duck stamp will be out in July. Prints are sold with the stamp and are collectors' items.
The stamps, which sell for $9, are required for duck hunting. Proceeds from their sale are used to fund migratory game bird research and to enhance their habitat on the state's public lands.
Internet users may view Makuchal's artwork at www.makuchalsigns.com.
