Topsham woman wins 1st place for stamp art

AUGUSTA – Jeanine Staples of Topsham won first prize in the 2003 Maine Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Contest held recently at the Augusta Civic Center. This year’s subject was the green-winged teal. Staples’ acrylic scene featured a male green-winged teal in spring plumage feeding on the Muddy River, which flows through Topsham. It received the highest score from the panel of seven judges.

The painting features a green-winged drake on the Muddy River during an overcast, spring day. An old duck blind sits on the bank, and there are still bits of snow and ice alongside the water. Staples produced the painting from a photograph she had taken and worked on the piece intermittently over two months.

This is the fifth time Staples’ work has been honored as the Maine Migratory Waterfowl Stamp. Staples will receive a cash award of $1,000 and a sheet of 10 stamps with her design on them.

For more information, call Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife at 287-8000, or visit www.mefishwildlife.com.