A Connecticut artist won the 2027 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition with a portrait of a wood duck, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced Friday.
Jennifer Reising of Noank won the 39th annual contest. Her painting shows a single wood duck at rest on the water with cypress trees in the background.
Tony Bernard of Scott placed second. Buck Spencer of Eugene, Oregon, placed third.
Sixteen artists from seven states submitted entries. Nine were from Louisiana. The others came from Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon, and Texas.
“This year’s selection was especially difficult,” said Jason Olszak, the department’s waterfowl program manager. He said Reising, in only her second year entering the contest, “delivered a remarkable piece.”
The contest picks the image for the Louisiana Duck Stamp. The 2027 stamp will be available in June 2027.
The judges were Emily Seba of Baton Rouge, an artist who focuses on the natural world, Luke Laborde of Baton Rouge, a six-year chair of the Ducks Unlimited National Art Committee, Justin Higdon of Monroe, a senior regional director for the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, Bob Dew of Youngsville, manager of con...