The deadline to enter the 2018 North Carolina Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Print competition is 5 p.m. Friday.

The judging of the entries takes place at 10 a.m. Jan. 23 at the Washington Civic Center. The judging is open to the public. A panel of five judges will evaluate the entries on the following criteria: level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the anatomy of waterfowl, visual appeal and suitability for reproduction at the print and stamp scales, attractiveness and creativity, regarding spatial balances, lighting and harmony of subject and background and appropriateness, accuracy and detail in depiction of the selected species’ habitat.

The contest is overseen by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the Washington Tourism Development Authority. This year, artists may submit entries of tundra swans, blue-winged teal, ring-necked duck, canvasback or bufflehead. They must be depicted in appropriate habitat. Many of the best waterfowl artists in the world enter the North Carolina contest.

This year’s blue-ribbon entry will be used as the artwork for the prints and stamps sold to help pay for North Carolina’s portion of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international agreement aimed at protecting waterfowl and waterfowl habitat. The sales of prints and stamps also support waterfowl research and purchases equipment used in wetlands management.

The artist who submits the winning entry receives $7,000 in prize money and a $300 travel allowance to help him or her attend the unveiling. The top five entries will be at a Feb. 8 reception at this year’s East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival, which opens to the public Feb. 9-11in downtown Washington. The top five entries will be displayed at the Turnage Theatre.

Richard Clifton’s painting of gadwalls won the 2017 competition. Scot Storm finished second, followed by John Brennan in third place, James Hautman in fourth place and Jeffrey Klinefelter in fifth place. Storm and Klinefelter are past winners of the North Carolina contest. Brennan took third place in last year’s competition. Hautman won the 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2012 federal duck-stamp contests.

Of the 39 entries received for last year’s contest, 31 were from men, eight from women. The entries came from 18 states. Among the artists who submitted entries, there are four federal duck-stamp winners and six North Carolina duck-stamp winners,