"Black Ducks "
by Dick Benson

26th Annual S.C. Duck Stamp Will Feature Ohio Artist

December 2005

South Carolina's 26th annual duck stamp next season will feature wildlife artist Richard D. Benson of Washington Courthouse, Ohio.

Benson's painting of black ducks flying over a freshwater marsh was judged the winner of South Carolina's 26th annual State Duck Stamp Contest on Nov. 3 in Columbia by members of the S.C. Migratory Waterfowl Committee. The stamp competition is a program of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The winning artwork will be featured on the 2006-2007 S.C. Migratory Waterfowl and Hunting Stamp next season.

Benson is a retired mechanical engineer and said he painted the black ducks in a scene that he had found in a DNR publication. "Winning here is a real achievement, because the level of artistry in South Carolina is easily some of the best I've seen around the country," Benson said. He came fairly late to painting, only picking it up seven years ago after a medical condition forced him to stop carving decoys.

© 2006 Arcadia Publications of Columbia, Inc