News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Dan Rickards of Sisters earned the prestigious People's Choice Award from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Photo by Jim Cornelius
Sisters wildlife artist Dan Rickards won the prestigious "People's Choice Award" of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The honor was announced in the July/August edition of the organization's publication, Bugle.
The award is based on a vote of attendees at RMEF's national convention, held last February in Reno, Nevada.
That populist aspect of the award makes it especially meaningful, Rickards noted.
"It's really one of the better awards," the painter said. "It's a huge compliment."
The people who select the People's Choice honorees are not connoisseurs; they don't analyze the paintings for technical brilliance or classical allusions. They don't just "appreciate" a work. They respond to paintings they love.
Often people respond to wildlife art because it helps them recapture scenes they have experienced, like seeing elk through the mist on a meadow. Or perhaps a painting evokes their dreams.
According to Rickards, most of the people who buy his work are regular, hard-working folks -- outdoorsmen and women who might make one big purchase just for themselves in a year. Few would be considered high-rollers.
Artwork is front-and-center in the activities of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and similar organizations such as Ducks Unlimited. Such organizations use painting and sculpture for auction and raffle items that help them raise funds.
But the pragmatic use of art is only a small part of the picture.
The evocative power of the work of Rickards and his colleagues seems to strike a chord with hunters and fishermen, both depicting and enhancing a lifestyle and way of looking at the world.
Virtually all of the top wildlife artists display at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation conventions.
"Most of the who's-who in wildlife are there at some point," Rickards said.
RMEF is a conservation organization whose mission is "to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat."
Hunters and other conservationists devote millions of dollars and thousands of hours to habitat preservation.
The foundation conserves, restores and enhances natural habitats and endeavors to educate the public about habitat conservation, the value of hunting, hunting ethics and wildlife management (see www.rmef.com).
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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