Ryan Kirby

Species: Wood Ducks
Medium: Oil and Colored Pencil
Artist's State: Illinois

Sixteen-year-old Ryan Kirby of Hamilton, Illinois, won first prize in the 1999 Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Contest sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The contest was held in Washington, D.C. Kirby's painting of a pair of wood ducks rendered in oil and colored pencil was used for the 1999-2000 Federal Junior Duck Stamp.

Kirby, who was a student at Hamilton High School, where Steve Mullins was his teacher, placed fourth in the 1998 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest, and won "Best of State" in the Illinois Junior Duck Stamp competition for the three previos years. His painting was the only entry to receive a perfect score of 25 points in the final round of judging in both the state and national contests.