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Waldorf man puts his stamp on waterfowl art
Bealle's widgeon painting takes national honors
Friday, Nov. 6, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Robert Bealle's winning entry in the 2009 Federal Duck Stamp Contest.
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Robert Bealle attended his first Waterfowl Festival on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1981.
"I didn't realize that there was this whole world out there of waterfowl and wildlife art," the Waldorf farmer recalled.
Two years later, Bealle's design for a Federal Duck Stamp placed second in the national contest. That same year, he snapped a photo of an American widgeon at the National Zoo in Washington that inspired an oil-and-masonite painting that he entered in the 2009 contest.
After countless hours perfecting his piece, Bealle, 57, took top honors in the national contest. Of 224 entries, eight made it to the final round of the two-day contest last month at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel.
He is the second Marylander to win the contest. Stanley Stearns of Stevensville won first place in 1965 for his black-and-white drawing of tundra swans. Stearns is only the second artist with three wins.
"The magnitude of this moment has not escaped me," Bealle said in a written statement. "I'm so humbled and appreciative of this."
Bealle's art is "certainly beautiful, very pleasing to the eye and biologically accurate," said Rachel Levin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
"Our judges spent a long time with the waterfowl biologist looking over the final eight pieces of art. Mr. Bealle's art stood up very well to scrutiny about the accuracy of the bird itself."
His painting will be made into the 2010-11 Federal Duck Stamp which will go on sale in late June.
Last year, Bealle won the Maryland Migratory Game Stamp Competition.
After winning the state contest three times, "I thought, ‘Now I'm going to really try [hard] for the federal,'" he said in an interview at his home. "I had a feeling all along. I had to win it this year or I never would."
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest offers winners a lot of prestige, he said.
"It's like when a golfer wins the U.S. Open [Championship] or the Master's."
The feeling is unreal, he said.
Next year, when the stamp is revealed, Bealle will receive a framed pane of 20 duck stamps signed by U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
As the first-prize winner, he is obligated to attend numerous wildlife art festivals and promote the 2010 duck stamp.
The Federal Duck Stamp was created in 1934 at the request of waterfowl hunters, Levin said. "At that time, the nation was dry. We were in a dustbowl era. A lot of duck habitat was drying up. The hunters wanted a way to protect waterfowl habitat. … They worked with Congress and the administration and eventually got the Federal Duck Stamp which is in essence a tax on hunters."
Since 1934, the sale of duck stamps has raised around $750 million to acquire around 6 million acres of wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System, she said.
Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the $15 duck stamps goes to buy wetland habitat.
All waterfowl hunters 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the current migratory bird conservation and hunting stamp, but conservationists, stamp collectors and others all purchase the stamp in support of habitat conservation, according to the wildlife service.
Once a contestant wins, he or she must give others a chance by waiting three years to try again.
When a reporter asked if Bealle plans to participate in 2013, Bealle "most definitely" does, he said. In fact, he's already decided what type of duck he's going to paint — a canvasback.
To see his work
Robert Bealle, first-place winner of the 2009 Federal Duck Stamp Contest, sells his artwork at Talley's Jewelry in Waldorf, Bernie's Frame Shop in La Plata, Leonardtown Galleria and Medlin Art Ltd. in Leesburg, Va.
He will also be at the 39th annual Waterfowl Festival Nov. 13-15 in Easton.
See related stories
- Bealle paints a winning duck stamp
- It's a good time to be one who enjoys the outdoors here in Southern Md.
- In downtown La Plata, it's a festival to crow about
