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Artists

Artists Announced for 53rd Annual Festival

The Waterfowl Festival is honored to announce the exhibiting artists for its 53rd Annual event, taking place November 8-10 in Easton, MD. Categories include: Painters/Flat Artists, Photographers, Sculptors and Carvers, and are comprised of local, national and international talent.

Painters/Flat Artists: Sue deLearie Adair (Schenectady, NY), Sandy Alanko (Tilghman Island, MD), Al Barker (Bordentown, NJ), Jill Basham (Trappe, MD), Richard Clifton (Milford, DE), Lori Dunn (Norwood, ON), John Eiseman (Hebron, MD), Ned Ewell (Cockeysville, MD), Cynthie Fisher (Hamilton, MT), Jean Gidich (Elmore, OH), Wilhelm Goebel (Salisbury, MD), Lori Goll (Leesburg, VA), Carol Heiman-Greene (Orange, CA), Brenda Kidera (Woodbine, MD), David Kiehm (Oneonta, NY), Rebekah Knight (Deepwater, MO), Yelena Lamm (Pittsburgh, PA), Laura Mark-Finberg (Pequea, PA), Kelly McNeil (London, ON), Terry Miller (Takoma Park, MD), Pete Nevins (Centreville, MD), Clayton Pennell (Boone, NC), Volodymyr Piven (Arnold, MD), Sara Linda Poly (Easton, MD), Mary Pritchard (Chestertown, MD), Julia Purinton (Warren, VT), James Rataczak (Circle Pines, MN), Elizabeth Rhoades (Belle Haven, VA), Julia Rogers (Easton, MD), Steve Rogers (Lewes, DE), Drew Scarpa (Millville, NJ), Susan Schauer John (Easton, MD), Joe Seme (Wilmington, NC), Nancy Tankersley (Easton, MD), Mary Veiga (Baltimore, MD), Stewart White (Easton, MD), Keith Whitelock (Salisbury, MD), Bruce Woodward (Sykesville, MD), Christine Young (Fairborn, OH).

Photographers: Sharon Denny (Rehoboth, DE), Kevin Fleming (Lewes, DE), Kim Johnson (Milton, DE), Sarah Ann Jump (Brooklyn, NY), Phil McGrew (Wilmington, DE), Julie Memmolo (Dover, DE), Heather Orkis (Townsend, DE), Kenneth Rose (Easton, MD).

Sculptors: Fred Boyer (Anaconda, MT), Dave Dunn (Silver Spring, MD), Mark Dziewior (Fort Atkinson, WI), Jim Green (Hermosa, SD), Bernie Houston (Laurel, MD), Walter Matia (Dickerson, MD), Scott Penegar (Charleston, SC), Don Rambadt (Milwaukee, WI), Paul Rhymer (Point of Rocks, MD), Larry Ringgold (Chesapeake Beach, MD), Kim Shaklee (Brighton, CO), Eric Tardif (Gatineau, QC), David Turner (Onley, VA), Jeffrey Willey (East New Market, MD), Chris Wilson (Marietta, GA).

Carvers: Tom Ahern (Bethlehem, PA), William Belote (Lewes, DE), Audie Bloise (Moravian Falls, NC), Mike Bonner ( New Orleans, LA), Steve Burelison (Bradford, OH), Randy Conner (Candor, NY), Jack Cox (Camden, NC), Ivie Elliot (Elizabeth City, NC), Robert Enders (Mifflinburg, PA), Al Jordan (Rochester, NY), Pete Lupo (Lenoir, NC), Richard Metzger (Perkasie, PA), Ted Morlock (Parsonsburg, MD), John Ondek (Felton, PA), Bennett Scott (Berlin, MD), Rich Smoker (Marion, MD), Ross Smoker (Selingrove, PA), Richard Snyder (Pottstown, PA), Herb Watson (Pocomoke, MD), Harvey Wilson (Marlton, NJ).

This year’s Waterfowl Festival features over 75 total artists whose works depict waterfowl and wildlife, as well as landscapes, sporting art and maritime subjects—all showcasing the rich diversity of nature. This year’s Featured Artist is Ronnie Wells (Larado, TX) who will exhibit both sculpture and paintings. Exhibitions will be located in the Waterfowl Building, Artist Pavilion presented by PNC Bank (on Harrison Street), Academy Art Museum, and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.

The Waterfowl Festival is produced with support from the Maryland State Arts Council and legacy partners Ducks Unlimited, Guyette & Deeter, and PNC Bank, as well as generous community sponsors and corporate partners. Advance tickets to the event, including VIP and Premiere Night passes (held on the evening of Nov. 7), can be purchased online at www.waterfowl.org/festival-tickets. Weekend general admission tickets are discounted now thru Oct. 1 for only $20. Volunteers receive free admission. For more information, or to sign up as a volunteer, contact us at or call 410.822.4567.

Painters selected for WFF 2024

PRESS RELEASE

The Waterfowl Festival is pleased to announce the selected Painters for this year’s event, taking place from November 8-10 in Easton, MD. Artists featured in this category for the 53rd Waterfowl Festival include local, national and international talent:

Sue deLearie Adair (Schenectady, NY), Sandy Alanko (Tilghman Island, MD), Al Barker (Bordentown, NJ), Jill Basham (Trappe, MD), Richard Clifton (Milford, DE), Lori Dunn (Norwood, ON), John Eiseman (Hebron, MD), Ned Ewell (Cockeysville, MD), Cynthie Fisher (Hamilton, MT), Jean Gidich (Elmore, OH), Wilhelm Goebel (Salisbury, MD), Lori Goll (Leesburg, VA), Carol Heiman-Greene (Orange, CA), Brenda Kidera (Woodbine, MD), David Kiehm (Oneonta, NY), Rebekah Knight (Deepwater, MO), Yelena Lamm (Pittsburgh, PA), Laura Mark-Finberg (Pequea, PA), Kelly McNeil (London, ON), Terry Miller (Takoma Park, MD), Pete Nevins (Centreville, MD), Clayton Pennell (Boone, NC), Volodymyr Piven (Arnold, MD), Sara Linda Poly (Easton, MD), Mary Pritchard (Chestertown, MD), Julia Purinton (Warren, VT), James Rataczak (Circle Pines, MN), Elizabeth Rhoades (Belle Haven, VA), Julia Rogers (Easton, MD), Steve Rogers (Lewes, DE), Drew Scarpa (Millville, NJ), Susan Schauer John (Easton, MD), Joe Seme (Wilmington, NC), Nancy Tankersley (Easton, MD), Mary Veiga (Baltimore, MD), Stewart White (Easton, MD), Keith Whitelock (Salisbury, MD), Bruce Woodward (Sykesville, MD), Christine Young (Fairborn, OH).

The Waterfowl Festival features over 75 total artists, including Carvers, Painters, Photographers and Sculptors. Participating artists demonstrate a variety of styles and mediums, showcasing works of art depicting waterfowl and wildlife, as well as landscapes, sporting art and maritime subjects—the rich diversity of nature. Exhibitions will be located in the Waterfowl Building, Artist Pavilion presented by PNC Bank (on Harrison Street), Academy Art Museum, Avalon Theatre, and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding this year’s selected artists.

The Waterfowl Festival is produced in part with support from the Maryland State Arts Council, generous community sponsors and corporate partners. Advance tickets to the event, including VIP and Premiere Night (Nov. 7) passes, can be purchased online at www.waterfowl.org/festival-tickets. Weekend general admission tickets are discounted now thru Oct. 1 for only $20. Volunteers receive free admission. For more information, or to sign up as a volunteer, contact us at or call 410.822.4567.

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About the Waterfowl Festival: Located in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay region known for its stunning landscapes and abundant waterfowl populations, the Waterfowl Festival has grown to be a cherished tradition, attracting visitors from across the nation and around the globe. Its commitment to conservation, community, and cultural enrichment makes it a vital event for anyone interested in preserving our natural world for future generations. For more information, please visit WaterfowlFestival.org.

Waterfowl Festival announces 2024 Featured Artist

This year’s Featured Artist, Ronnie Wells, is both a sculptor and painter residing in Larado, Texas. He is shown with his sculpture, ‘Cans In the Decoys’, to be on exhibition at the Festival this November. 

PRESS RELEASE

The Waterfowl Festival is honored to announce Texas-based artist Ronnie Wells as the Featured Artist for this year’s 53rd festival and exhibition held in Easton, MD. Mr. Wells will exhibit both sculpture and paintings that he has created specifically for this event.

As a waterfowl and wildlife-centric artist, Mr. Wells has won numerous awards and exhibited his work in museums and fine art shows across the nation. He was awarded Ducks Unlimited’s Texas Artist of the Year for three years, won Sculptor of the Year at the DU World Wildlife Exposition, and has several permanent installations at the National and Regional DU Headquarters. Permanent works are also exhibited in the Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center located at Bass Pro in Memphis. Mr. Wells monumental bronze sculpture “Gale Winds and Mallards” stands at the entrance of National Ducks Unlimited Headquarters in Memphis, TN.

Mr. Wells graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1968 with a Fine Arts Degree. Upon graduation, he and his wife, Patricia, moved to Houston where he was employed for four yeas at MD Anderson Hospital as a medical illustrator. Mr. Wells resigned in 1972 and began a lifelong pursuit of his life passion in wildlife art, as a painter and sculptor. He and his wife have two children and four grandchildren. Wells Gallery has been in existence at different locations for 50 years. They have maintained the Gallery in Salado, Texas for the past 30 years.

Mr. Wells’ exhibition will be located in the Artist Pavilion presented by PNC Bank on Harrison Street, across from the Waterfowl Building. His new waterfowl-themed oil painting, ‘Cans In the Decoys’ will be featured on this year’s Waterfowl Festival poster, signed and limited to only 300 copies.

The Waterfowl Festival features over 75 total artists, including Carvers, Painters, Photographers and Sculptors. Participating artists demonstrate a variety of styles and mediums, showcasing works of art depicting waterfowl and wildlife, as well as landscapes, sporting art and maritime subjects—the rich diversity of nature. Exhibitions will be located in the Waterfowl Building, Artist Pavilion presented by PNC Bank (on Harrison Street), Academy Art Museum, Avalon Theatre, and Eastern Shore Land Conservancy. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding this year’s selected artists.

The Waterfowl Festival is produced in part with support from the Maryland State Arts Council, generous community sponsors and corporate partners. Advance tickets to the event, including VIP and Premiere Night (Nov. 7) passes, can be purchased online: www.waterfowl.org/festival-tickets. Weekend general admission tickets are discounted now thru Oct. 1 for only $20. Volunteers receive free admission. For more information, or to sign up as a volunteer, contact us at or call 410.822.4567.

###

About the Waterfowl Festival: Located in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay region known for its stunning landscapes and abundant waterfowl populations, the Waterfowl Festival has grown to be a cherished tradition, attracting visitors from across the nation and around the globe. Its commitment to conservation, community, and cultural enrichment makes it a vital event for anyone interested in preserving our natural world for future generations. For more information, please visit WaterfowlFestival.org.

‘Cans in the Decoys’ sculpture by artist Ronnie Wells will be on display at this year’s 2024 Waterfowl Festival from November 8-10, 2024.

Richard Clifton Selected as Featured Artist for 2022 Waterfowl Festival

EASTON, MD (May 5, 2022) – The Waterfowl Festival is excited to announce that Richard Clifton will be the featured artist for the 2022 Waterfowl Festival. Clifton is a world-renowned wildlife artist and won the 2007 and 2020 Federal Duck Stamp contest.

 

“The Waterfowl Festival is truly fortunate and honored to have Richard Clifton selected as it’s 2022 Featured Artist,” said Kenneth Miller, president of the Waterfowl Festival board of directors. “Richard is one of our country’s premier artists for paintings that capture the beauty of waterfowl within their natural habitat. His compositions evoke a unique, if not varied set of emotions and feelings among experienced waterfowlers, naturalists and art collectors alike.”

 

Clifton is a self-taught, award-winning artist. Waterfowl are one of his favorite subjects and he has painted 53 duck stamps from various states and countries, including the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp.

 

Clifton’s art has been chosen several times for the Ducks Unlimited National Art Package and he was named Artist of the Year by DU three times.

 

“As a wildlife artist, it has always been a career dream of mine to be the featured artist for a show,” says Clifton. “So, I was both humbled and honored to be named 2022 featured artist for the Waterfowl Festival.”

 

Clifton first exhibited at the Festival in 2006. His work is sought by domestic & international fine art collectors.

 

“The long tradition of the festival promoting ducks and geese and my love of painting waterfowl are coming together, and it feels like a good fit,” says Clifton. “We should all be excited by the hope and promise this brings as we gather in November.”

 

More artists will be announced during the coming months. As always, the festival organizers are looking for the best-of-the-best in painting, sculpture, photography, and carving.

 

About the Waterfowl Festival

 

Waterfowl Festival Inc. is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the heritage of hunting and fishing on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It attracts some 18,000 visitors annually. It is the premier destination for everything waterfowl in the U.S.

 

The next Festival will be held November 11-13, 2022 in historic Easton, in the heart of Talbot County, MD. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event. VIP and corporate sponsorship packages are available. For more information, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call the Festival’s office at 410-822-4567.

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