by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Multiple award-winner Scot Storm of Sartell has done it once again. His oil painting – of two pheasants standing in prairie grass – has won the honor of gracing the 2017 Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp.
Storm’s painting was the winner from among 15 submissions that were rated by a panel of judges in the annual contest, sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Storm’s art works have been featured on the Minnesota pheasant stamps in 2000, 2006 and 2011. They were also on the front of the DNR Waterfowl Stamp in 2004, 2009 and 2015. One of Storm’s most prestigious honors was winning the Federal Duck Stamp contest in 2004.
The Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp is required for pheasant hunters ages 18 to 64. It costs $7.50. For an extra 75 cents, purchasers can receive the validation as well as receiving the pictorial stamp in the mail. The stamp, available for sale in March, will also be sold as a collectible.
Revenue from sales of the pheasant stamps is used for work on pheasant management and habitat in Minnesota.
Born near Leech Lake, Storm was raised surrounded by nature while hunting, often with his father. As a boy, he was naturally gifted with art talent, a talent that stood him in good stead while earning a degree in architecture from North Dakota State University in Fargo.
He worked as an architect for a time in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, but he gradually took up his love of painting nature again and also rediscovered the outdoor world he loved so much while growing up. He decided to enter the Minnesota Duck Stamp contest in 1987 and, to his surprise, he placed second.
That honor and the admiration it engendered by so many people convinced Storm to spend more time painting. He continued to enter stamp contests and won the Indiana Pheasant Stamp competition in 1991. In 1999, he decided to give up his career in architecture and devote himself full time to his wildlife painting.
Storm’s art works are valued by collectors far and wide for their meticulous attention to detail, their life-like reality, their gorgeous colors, the play of light and dynamic compositions. His passion for nature and the great outdoors pervades all of his works. He also paints by commission and travels far afield to soak up the sights of animals in the wild.
Besides winning so many wildlife and waterfowl stamp contests, Storm’s paintings have been honored by museums, art shows, collectors and organizations like Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited.
To see more of Storm’s art, go to his website at www.StormWildlifeArt.com.
This painting of two pheasants by Sartell artist Scot Storm will grace the 2017 Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp.
An architect-turned-artist, Scot Storm of Sartell has won scores of awards and widespread recognition for his wildlife paintings. Most recently, he won the 2017 Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp contest.
Although Scot Storm typically paints closer to home, he enjoys the challenge of painting other kinds of animals, such as this tiger.
