1. Joshua Spies Long-tail Duck with Decoy 2009 - 2010 Federal Duck Stamp SMALLWORK EDITION ON $375.00 Winning the Federal Duck Stamp Contest is one of the most coveted honors a wildlife artist can hope to achieve. Add to that the creation of the first-ever Fine Art GiclTe Canvas of a Duck Stamp Print, and Joshua Spies has doubly made his mark in Duck Stamp History. Spies competed against 270 entrants in the 2008 contest that determines which image would adorn the 2009-2010 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. The program has been in place since 1934, when it was determined the stamp itself would act as the federal license for hunting migratory waterfowl. Since then this license evolved into a fund that has generated over $700 million to purchase or lease over 5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat in the United States.
This inaugural release of a canvas edition of the Duck Stamp Print adds yet another legacy to the auspicious program which has helped to popularize the collecting of prints in the United States. The Canvas Edition is accompanied by two Federal Duck stamps, one in mint condition, the other signed by Joshua Spies.
2. Joshua Spies Prairie Thunder MUSEUM EDITION ON $1250.00 From the cave drawings of early man to Native American petroglyphs to the celebrated paintings of Catlin, McCarthy and Bama, the buffalo has long represented the freedom and possibility of our beautiful country. After a close brush with extinction, these noble animals have made an astonishing comeback, and the majestic sight of a herd of buffalo can once again lift the spirits of a weary cross-country traveler. The excitement of the wilderness comes to life in Joshua Spies’ Prairie Thunder. An event of epic proportions, the bulk of this massive herd comes rolling across the plains like an afternoon thundercloud. Spies, a native of South Dakota, has traveled the world in search of animals to paint but it is here, in the great open sky of the West, that his love of wildlife and skill with the brush shines brightest.
3. Joshua Spies Waterline $895.00 The zebra, like most members of the horse family, is a highly social animal. Mountain zebras and plains zebras form family groups that will remain together for a lifetime, grazing, migrating and stopping to drink together. Joshua Spies has captured a family of zebras in the magnificent light of an African sunset on the Waterline.
Although based in South Dakota, Joshua Spies has a world of wildlife experience under his belt. His frequent trips across North America and into Africa have supplied him with an entire animal kingdom’s worth of subjects. “On a recent safari to South Africa I took over 2,500 photographs!” says Spies. “Many times these photographs not only help with detail, light and color, but are the inspiration for a new work. I really look forward to doing something new and challenging in each new creation!”
4. Joshua Spies Waterline MUSEUM EDITION ON $1950.00 The zebra, like most members of the horse family, is a highly social animal. Mountain zebras and plains zebras form family groups that will remain together for a lifetime, grazing, migrating and stopping to drink together. Joshua Spies has captured a family of zebras in the magnificent light of an African sunset on the Waterline.
Although based in South Dakota, Joshua Spies has a world of wildlife experience under his belt. His frequent trips across North America and into Africa have supplied him with an entire animal kingdom’s worth of subjects. “On a recent safari to South Africa I took over 2,500 photographs!” says Spies. “Many times these photographs not only help with detail, light and color, but are the inspiration for a new work. I really look forward to doing something new and challenging in each new creation!”
5. Joshua Spies Raging Bulls $1450.00 I like to paint for the story, says artist Joshua Spies. With Raging Bulls, you can feel the power and the passion of these enormous animals. It's an intense scene. The locked tusks and tree-trunk legs of the massive bull elephants have raised a cloud of dust that adds to the drama of the battle.
Joshua Spies graduated from South Dakota State University in 1996 with a degree in Fine Arts. His list of awards and recognitions is extensive, including the 2007 Dallas Safari Club Artist of the Year award and the appearance of his paintings in two major motion pictures. His travels take him across the globe in search of subjects great and small.
The best thing about doing what I do, he says, is raising awareness. I like to show people something they might not see otherwise, to get them thinking about the larger world. My hope is that when they see these magnificent animals, the variety of wildlife out there, that they'll be more interested in preserving their habitats.
