WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — Wildlife Forever and title sponsor Bass Pro Shops have announced the winners of the 20th anniversary State-Fish Art Contest.
A panel of five honorary judges selected the winners: Jeff Edmundson, KARE-11; Doug Grann, Wildlife Forever board; Ed Rudberg, CD3; Bob White, wildlife artist; Erin Williams, National Park Service.
"Students, educators and parents from across the United States and around the world connect with this contest, with its amazing student art and aquatic conservation message," said Bob Ziehmer, Senior Director of Conservation at Bass Pro Shops.
The top winners:
- The grades 10-12 top honor went to Na Eun Kim from the Republic of Korea with "Trout's Recovering Memories," his watercolor of a brook trout. Second place was awarded to Ian Oh of California. Yejin (Shelly) Lee Li from Virginia was third.
- Mindy Zheng from Herndon, Virginia took first in grades 7-9 with an acrylic titled "Northern Pike" swimming out of the deep. Second was Nicole Li of Georgia and third went to Yuzhe Tian from Massachusetts.
- The 4-6 grade category winner is Alston Leung from Great Neck, N.Y., with his watercolor of a kid on a dock fishing for bluegill titled "Bluegill." Second went to Calvin Yu from Massachusetts and third to Bethany Zhao of California.
- Top honors in the "Mighty Minnows" K-3 grades division went to Ivy Mou from New York with her watercolor painting "Hawaii Triggerfish." Second was awarded to Aadya Ganjalagunte from Arizona and third to Zia Lee from Washington.
- Seventh-grader Angelina Drost from South Carolina won the Art of Conservation Award with "The Expert Fisherman," which features a bald eagle grasping an American shad in its talons.
- The Smile Award went to Vritika Gupta. a kindergartener from Princeton Junction, N.J., with, "Sad Fish," an oil pastel.
- The winner of the Invader Crusader was selected from all the entries in the Silent Invader Category, in which the artist needs to paint not only a state-fish species, but also an invasive species. The winner is Mark Acker, a ninth-grader from Harpers Ferry, W.Va., with his watercolor and colored pencil art "The Underwater Fish."
