Judging for the 2027 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest will take place during the week of August 18, 2027, when judges will review the artwork. The artwork selected as “Best in Show” during the 2027 contest will be featured on the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp issued for the July 1, 2028, to June 30, 2029, hunting year.

Deadline for entries: 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, July 30, 2027.

Contest Rules Summary

Here are the basics. Please see the 2027 Stamp Art Contest Artist Agreement and Contest Entry Form for a full set of the rules.

Artwork entries for the contest to be held in 2027 must depict a Canvasback duck on open water on an archival surface. The scene shall depict habitat typical of Delaware. The background may also include any other related subjects, such as duck boats, blinds, dogs, decoys and nest boxes. The waterfowl subject must be the focal point of the artwork.

Artists participating in the Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest are limited to one entry.

The “Best in Show” winning artist receives a $4,500 cash award, 50 artist proofs of the limited-edition print series and up to 50 stamps.

How to Enter

Read the full 2027 Stamp Art Contest Artist Agreement and submit one completed and signed Contest Entry Form with each artwork entry postmarked on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, July 30, 2027.

Eligibility

All U.S. citizens, who are at least 18 years of age by January 1, 2027, are eligible to participate notwithstanding ineligibility criteria.

Any person who has won “Best in Show” in Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest held the preceding year will be ineligible to submit an entry in Delaware’s current year Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest.

Members of the contest judging panel and their immediate relatives are ineligible.

Submission

Each entry should be delivered or mailed to:

DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife
Recreational Licensing Program
89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE 19901
Attention: Trisha Virdin

For more information, please contact Trisha Virdin at dfwreclic@delaware.gov or 302-739-9918.

Judging

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

• Suitability for reproduction as a stamp
• Habitat depiction
• Anatomical accuracy
• Artistic composition (spatial balance, lighting and harmony of subject and background)

Artists are strongly encouraged to apply the judging criteria in the development of their submitted artwork.

The judging panel will include five impartial members from various categories of experience or expertise, such as a representative of Ducks Unlimited, a member of DNREC’s Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, a hunter, a biologist, a stamp or print collector, or an art instructor.

For a complete set of rules, please see the 2027 Stamp Art Contest Artist Agreement and Contest Entry Form.

Related Topics:  art, contest, education, fish and wildlife, hunting, outreach, stamp, waterfowl, wildlife