2012 United Taxidermy Association National Competition

After many years of perfecting my taxidermy skills, I finally combined my fine art skills as a painter with the art of taxidermy, the end result was being awarded the WASCO Most Artistic Entry at the 2012 United Taxidermy Competition & Expo. I appreciate that the judges found my work to be worthy of an award of this magnitude.

In addition to the WASCO Award I also won the Best Of Category - UTA Open Bird Group, two first places for the drake woodducks in the Open Division, as well as the Competitors Award for the most accumulated points for four mounts entered in the show (see mounts below.)

Hungarian Partridges

Sharptail Grouse

Bird Taxidermist Eastern Washington

Pintail and SCI display

Pintail best in category award. Another customer mount!

Woodys

Some guys will say you can't judge a taxidermists work by his competition mounts, but I beg to differ since I compete my customer's mounts. These are all my customer's work and I don't decide to compete them until after they are completed. My goal is to send out competition quality on every mount I do. I am an artist first and a taxidermist second.

Waterfowl

2011 Taxidermy Awards Oregon & Idaho State Competitions

Cleaning up in the bird division.





The whiffling goose was a hit!

This pair of cacklers hit big time with a Best in Category Birds.

Leon Mathews award winning bird taxidermist

Snow with angel wings that took the prize for CAL-ORE Wetlands & Waterfowl council outstanding waterfowl mount at Oregon Association Taxidermy competition in Klamath Falls, OR June 2009

















This little guy was quite interested in the major award.










Leon receiving his major award from Bill Rutherford, director of CAL-ORE Wetlands & Waterfowl Council!