Well-recognized artist Chris Wozniak of Alpena has succeeded in winning the latest Michigan Ducks Unlimited sponsor Artist of the Year competition.

As such, prints of his award-winning painting will be used next year during fundraising efforts for Ducks Unlimited. At 2016 events all around the state, the prints will be given to individuals who donate a certain monetary amount to become a sponsor for the organization dedicated to conservation.

The competition was held Aug. 8 at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. Wozniak had entered it for the past five to six years after having taken a break from competing for several years. He was surprised to learn that he’d won.

“I had completely forgotten about entering the contest until I received the call around 10:15 p.m. on the 8th from Kathy Krupa, chairperson for the contest,” Wozniak said. “It took awhile for it to settle in, and at times is still hard to believe I won.”

The painting features the Mackinaw Bridge and two ruddy ducks.

“I used the Mackinaw Bridge for my background because I wanted it to say Michigan. It is for the Michigan contest after all,” Wozniak said. “The ruddy duck is seen once in awhile in our area. It’s not as abundant as the mallard, bufflehead, goldeneye or mergansers we have in the area but they do pass through.”

He also said the ruddy duck is often called the “clown duck” because of its cartoony looks and attitude.

A total of 2,750 signed and numbered prints of Wozniak’s winning entry will be issued. Of that total, 2,700 are regular edition prints to be used by Ducks Unlimited at their functions, while the other 50 will be given to Wozniak as part of the award.

In the past, the contest guidelines called for creating entries 16×20 inches in size, which was challenging because it took a long time to complete, the artist said. The more recent guidelines require entries to be a smaller 10×7-inch size.

“The smaller size has its own challenges,” Wozniak said. “Painting in miniature is tedious work and details have to be in place to pull it off.”

As an artist, he has been developing his unique style of painting since his high school years. A degree in commercial art from Ferris State College fine-tuned his talent. That talent and his total fascination with nature are the catalysts that inspire his creative energy.

Since 1978, Wozniak has designed and created original paintings, many which have been reproduced into prints and posters. In 1990 and 1995, he was named Michigan Ducks Unlimited Artist of the Year. He did the sponsor print for them in 1998.

The Michigan United Conservation Club named him their Artist of the Year in 1998 with a painting of redpols. Although he has not won the Michigan Duck stamp competition, he has placed third twice and in the top 10 many times. He also has several blue ribbons for decoy painting competitions.