Martin Murk

A native of Wisconsin, Martin’s love of nature and his natural drawing ability were the forces which directed him into wildlife art. He studied at the Layton School of Art, worked with an advertising agency and an art studio and then embarked on his own as a free-lance illustrator, designer and wildlife artist.

In 1977 Martin won the Federal Duck Stamp Competition. He went on to win Wisconsin’s 1979 Trout Stamp and the 1980 Duck Stamp Contests. In 1982 he designed Wisconsin’s first Great Lakes Salmon and Trout Stamp and the first North American Endangered Species Conservation Stamp. He also won the 1989 Wisconsin Inland Trout Stamp Contest.

He has been privileged to be Artist of the Year for several Wisconsin’s organizations: Wetlands for Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, Waterfowlers Association, and the Great Lakes Wildlife Art Festival. Martin’s artwork has been exhibited locally and nationally, including many prestigious art shows like the Milwaukee Public Museum, National Museum of American History (Smithsonian Institution), The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, The Waterfowl Festival and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, with tours to the National Collection of Fine Arts in the Smithsonian Institution, the Cleveland Museum of National History and the San Bernadino County Museum. His painting of “Goldfinch and Sunflowers” is part of Leigh Yawkey Woodson’s permanent art collection in Wausaw, Wisconsin.