Wildlife Calendar Artists

Richard Clifton

Richard Clifton was born in Delaware in 1961.  He lives on a historic family farm adjoining the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, where he is surrounded by inspiration for his art.  He is a self-taught wildlife artist who has chosen acrylics as his medium.

Waterfowl being one of his favorite subjects, he has gone on to paint 51 duck stamps from various states, including the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp and the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp.  He has also been commissioned to paint the 2015 and 2016 South Carolina duck stamp.  His recent wins are 2017 Oregon and Nevada, and most recently the Delaware duck stamp for 2019. Richard’s work has been displayed in many of the top wildlife art shows throughout the country, including the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and the Easton Waterfowl Festival, to name a few.

His work has appeared on magazine covers, tee-shirts and a beer stein for Coors brewing company.  It has been engraved on shotguns for Ducks Unlimited, and other related products.  Richard’s work has been chosen several times for the D.U. National Art Package.  Also, he was named 2015 D.U. Artist of the Year and again for 2018. He has appeared on “D.U. TV” in an episode about his Wildlife Art, Conservation efforts and Waterfowl hunting on his farm.

He is a casual birder and an avid hunter of waterfowl, deer and upland game and uses his experiences in the field as inspiration for his work

Featured Artwork:

Tim Donovan

Wildlife and the outdoors have always been Tim’s love and recreating these images is his passion. Growing up in Maryland, Tim spent his summers on the shores of Solomon’s Island by the Chesapeake Bay. As a young boy he experienced a wide diversity of wildlife from otters to ospreys that would both capture his spirit and direct his path.

Tim did not seriously pursue painting until the age of thirty. Being self-taught, he wanted more education so he enrolled in college majoring in both art and biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio to be a medical illustrator. After college Tim apprenticed with artist Matt Zoll a traditional realist. Here he learned how to grind his own pigments and make his own mediums and oils. The two years spent with Matt dramatically changed Tim’s work.

Over the last several years his attention has been focused on using his art to support organizations for the preservation of wildlife and their habitat. He has donated his time and art to support various conservation organizations including Living With Wolves, Ducks Unlimited, Vital Ground and The Timber Wolf Alliance just to name a few.

In 1999 Tim was awarded the coveted Conservation Service Award, by Ducks Unlimited for his outstanding contributions for the preservation of North American Waterfowl. In 2003 he completed the illustration of the book, “Beyond Little Red Riding Hood” for the Timber Wolf Alliance. In 2006 Tim started working with Jack Hanna to help the preservation of both the polar bear and the mountain gorillas, which he continues to support today through art.

Featured Artwork:

Mark Kelso

Mark Kelso was born in 1967, and raised in Indianapolis, IN. During his early years, through the support of his family, he spent much of his time immersed in art and nature.  From this background, Mark chose the visual arts for his career.  He majored in painting at John Herron School of Art, in Indianapolis, IN, and began doing social, philosophical, and environmentally oriented subject matter in his senior year. This nature/civilization content in his paintings was translated to wildlife and landscape subject matter the following year, and has remained a reoccurring theme in his work over the years.

Mark’s art has been exhibited and collected globally. His work has hung in over 100 museums around the world, including such places as the National Geographic Society, Taiwan’s National Museum of Natural History, the London Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.  Mark has been inducted into the International Society of Animal Artists and Artists For Conservation organizations, and has been seen in various magazines including Fine Art Connoisseur, Western Art Collector, Southwest Art, and Art of the West.  He currently works out of his studio near Indianapolis, IN, and continues to travel extensively, gathering experiences in the wild from which to draw inspiration.

Featured Artwork:

Daniel Smith

Daniel Smith was born in Minnesota and now resides in Bozeman, Montana where the rugged peaks of the Gallatin Range are the only thing separating him from Yellowstone National Park. He is inspired by his surroundings. One of the most rewarding and inspiring elements of his work is the fieldwork. It is the genesis of all of his paintings. Smith is passionate about his subjects and travels frequently seeking artistic inspiration.

Smith has won numerous awards from the Society of Animal Artists and has been chosen Artist of the Year for several conservation organizations. Smith has used his art to aid and endorse many conservation efforts. He received the 2009 Harrison Eiteljorg Museum Purchase Award, the 2007 Artist of Distinction award from the Eiteljorg Museum and the 2008 People's Choice Award at Western Visions. He exhibits at several museum shows including the Autry National Center, the Eiteljorg Museum, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

Featured Artwork:

Daniel Smith's Website