Since its launch in 2008, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's (DSWF) Wildlife Artist of the Year competition has attracted more than 13,300 entries and raised an incredible £1.2 million in sales to support their ground-based conservation partners across Africa and Asia.
The DSWF is a wildlife charity which funds key conservation projects across Africa and Asia. Its mission is to fight, protect and engage on behalf of endangered wildlife around the world.
Last year the competition saw a record-breaking number of entries from across the globe with a total number of 2,307 pieces of artwork submitted across a range of mediums, from oil paintings to statues. The winning and highly commended entries can be viewed in our online gallery.
Entries for this years competition open from midday on Thursday 6th January 2022 (GMT) until 11:59pm on the 31st March 2022 (GMT).
Both amateur artists and professional are welcomed to submit pieces for the competition with the overall winner winning a prize package worth £10,000 which consists of a £5,000 personal cash prize and a £5,000 conservation voucher to be donated to a DSWF project of the winner's choice.
There are other prizes up for grabs for the overall runner-up, and across their different award categories which include;
- Animal behaviour
- Earth's wild beauty
- Facing extinction
- Human impact (for artists aged 16 to 22 years of age)
- Into the blue
- Urban wildlife
- Wings
New to this year is also an award for emerging artists which celebrates first time entrants.
To find out more about each category and how to enter the competition, visit the DSWF's website.
An expert judging panel will select the shortlisted artworks which will then be showcased in a fantastic virtual gallery for the world to see.
Last year's winning entry was ‘Orcas, Blackfish Sound’, an acrylic painting by Darren Rees.
Judge Melanie Shepherd said, “This remarkable painting by Darren, as always, captures the atmosphere and scale of the environment he paints. The gentleness of the orcas swimming by such a spectacular backdrop reminds us of the beauty of our planet and how vitally important both land and ocean are to our very survival.”