Ep. 638 - Art, Hunting, and the Evolution of a Wildlife Artist: A Conversation with Rebekah Knight

In this episode of the Ducks Unlimited podcast, host Katie Burke welcomes wildlife artist Rebekah Knight. They discuss Rebekah's journey as an artist, starting from her early days that gained attention with the airing of "Million Dollar Duck" on Animal Planet in 2016. Katie highlights the unique opportunity to witness Rebekah's growth and evolution as an artist through social media, making her one of the first in the wildlife art space to share her artistic journey publicly. The conversation also touches on Rebekah's roots in Deepwater, Missouri, located between Kansas City and Springfield, and her experiences growing up in the outdoors. Tune in to explore the intersection of art, nature, and personal development in the wildlife art community.

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Creators & Guests

Host

Katie Burke

DUPodcast Collectibles Host

What is Ducks Unlimited Podcast?

Ducks Unlimited Podcast is a constant discussion of all things waterfowl; from in-depth hunting tips and tactics, to waterfowl biology, research, science, and habitat updates. The DU Podcast is the go-to resource for waterfowl hunters and conservationists. Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands conservation.

Katie Burke: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited podcast. It's your host, Katie Burke. And today on the show, I have wildlife artist, Rebekah Knight. Welcome to the show, Rebecca. Hi, thanks for having me. So I was excited to have you. Well, first of all, we have very few girls on this show, so it's always fun to have another female on the show, get some diversity. But yeah, I was excited. I've been following you, I guess, I guess since 2016. Is that when Million Dollar Duck came out?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, I think that's when they aired it on Animal Planet.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I watched it probably on Amazon or something later, and that's when I started following you and kind of looking at your stuff and watching. You've grown so much as an artist, which is kind of fun to watch. You don't get to see it. I guess you're like the first artist in this space that you got to actually see grow through their time as an artist, really, like from a young age until where you are now. I mean, with social media and everything, how it was, you kind of were right there in that space. We're being one of the very first ones we could actually see how you adapted and change and things like that in your work, which is kind of cool. And now, of course, there's so many young artists who put their stuff up, but you're kind of one of the first ones that we actually got to see make that evolution as an artist, which is kind of fun. Okay, so let's go back. Besides that, let's go back to… So you're from Missouri, right? Is that correct?

Rebekah Knight: Yes. Okay. Yep. Deepwater, Missouri. Where's Deepwater, Missouri? It's kind of on the western central side of the state. So we're basically between Kansas City and Springfield.

Katie Burke: Okay. Do you grow up in the outdoors or hunting or anything?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. When I was a kid, my dad was never a big hunter, but he would always get a deer every year or he would at least try to get a deer every year. So I just have really early memories of him bringing in just a really small buck or a doe since I was a little kid. And I actually went hunting. I was probably maybe 13, somewhere around there when I actually went hunting and probably around the same age when I got my first deer. Yeah. And ever since I've tried to go hunting every opportunity I can.

Katie Burke: Yeah. That's about normal to that. I was like, that's a young normal age to kind of get your first… Yeah. Yeah. And you kind of at least… I started very young, but I don't think I really appreciated it until I was probably like middle school. Yeah. Yeah. That age. So did you just deer hunt growing up or did you try anything else? I mean, you're in Turkey country too.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I started out deer hunting because that's really the only hunting that my dad ever did. And then I had some friends growing up in high school that turkey hunted. So I did get to go turkey hunting when I was, I don't know, maybe 15 or 16. And actually my first time turkey hunting, I got a really nice turkey. So that was a great experience, except my family raised labs growing up, and my turkey that I got was beautiful, and my mom's dog, one of the males, ended up shredding it. I lost that one, but just this last year, I went turkey hunting for… That was the only time I've been since then. So there was a huge gap in there and then I got a really nice one.

Katie Burke: So… That's really lucky.

Rebekah Knight: You've had really good odds. Yeah. I'm two for two so far. And then I was going to say, and as far as other hunting, I didn't really do a lot of like duck hunting or any other kind of game until really more recent years.

Katie Burke: Yeah. I mean, like where you're located too, like it's not, it wouldn't have been as much, you'd have to go, I guess, across to Kansas. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, I just know about Missouri because we used to… I actually didn't get to go, but we started going to Texas when I was probably 13. But my dad would take a group of kids, my brother's a few years older, they would go to Missouri every year, that area, and hunt. And then when I got that age, we would go to Texas. But just because it's… A little bit easier, like, or at least back then, like in the early 90s, it was a little easier to get a turkey up there than it was in Mississippi. And he would, like, want us to, like, have, like, good luck, right? So we wouldn't get discouraged, like, because it was so hard to get a turkey.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Yeah.

Katie Burke: Right. So he'd take us somewhere where it's a little bit easier to get one. Which was so fun and I loved it. It was really good memories. So you grew up in the outdoors and that's always kind of been a part of your life. And then when did the art side of things, were you always interested in art? I know you were homeschooled, correct? So you weren't doing art in school. So how was that side of things being nurtured for you?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I think a lot of it does come naturally because I also have, like my mom is very creative and artistic and I have family members who are also artists. So there's some of that. And I've been interested in animals since I, as long as I can remember, I've been drawing. So it was mostly, it started out with like a lot of horses, dragons, like I would make up animals and stuff. Uh, so, but it's always been animals. I spent a lot of time outside just exploring. Um, and so that's kind of what my passion has been since the beginning. So, um, yeah. And then in high school, we can get to this later, but I did win the junior duck stamp in high school. And so ever since then, that's kind of where everything's taken off.

Katie Burke: Yeah, so and then maybe that's what you said about horses. I don't know what it is about little girls who like the outdoors and the horses, but I also had a horse thing and I drew. So before I went into art history and museums, I went to school for art, which I just was like, no, it's not for me. But I drew a ton of horses and I had a private art teacher And she wouldn't let you do a horse unless you did all these steps, like, or you were so far along, because they're kind of complicated to draw. And I just begged and begged and begged, and she made me do, like, all these steps. And finally she gave in, and I had, like, I had to draw, like, the skull. I had to do all these things that, like, most people, she didn't make other people do, but because she's like, if you can get through all these things and you still want to do it, you can do it. I was determined, and I did it. Yeah, yeah.

Rebekah Knight: I don't know what it is. Well, the horses I think are just so, I don't know, they're so expressive and they're beautiful and they're majestic. And I don't know, it's just, yeah, I just was obsessed with horses. I would say about 90% of my drawings were horses and then the rest was, like I said, made up animals or there was some waterfowl in there too, but a little bit of everything.

Katie Burke: Yeah. No, I don't know. I wonder, I don't know what it is. There should be some psychology thing about little girls and horses and the outdoors. But there's also, you need to go back, I did this interview with Gigi Hopkins. Have you ever heard of her? No, I don't think so. Okay. You would really like her. Gigi Hopkins, I did, is probably, I can't remember what episode it is, but you can go back. She is in her, I would say early 90s at this point, but she restored decoys mostly as her career, but she also carved decoys. She's from Massachusetts. That's cool. And has done really great work and done some restoration on some of the most expensive decoys and Yeah, she's so talented. But she also restored, so she did birds and ducks and things like that, and car for the ward competition. But then she also did, which I didn't know until I was interviewing her, she restored carriage, like carousel horses. for a long time. Yeah. Wow. And she talks about that, but she's super interesting. You should go back and listen to her interview. She's so entertaining, very interesting. But yeah, she also had like the outdoors and birds and then yeah, horses got mixed in there too. Yeah. Yeah. So it's never changed.

Rebekah Knight: That's cool. Yeah. I'm actually working on a decoy right now. Oh yeah? My first decoy, yeah.

Katie Burke: Okay. I have questions. So what made you decide, are you doing a decorative decoy or are you doing like a gunning decoy?

Rebekah Knight: I don't know. It's going to be kind of more smooth, so not a lot of carved feathers, just like the basic feather shapes, like the primaries and stuff. Because it's my first one, so I don't want to get… And it's also the body is balsa, so it's really, really soft and it's kind of hard to get a lot of detail in there. So this is kind of a practice one, but I do want to really go all out on the paint job.

Katie Burke: So, what are you looking at to kind of help inspire you for your decoy? Are you looking at any certain decoys or carvers work?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I have some friends that are carvers. I have a friend, Robert Gold, he's a really good decoy carver, and I have several of his decoys. So, I'll go over and look at them for the the detail work and the feathers and everything. And then the rest is just my photographic reference.

Katie Burke: Okay. So what are you carving? What duck are you doing?

Rebekah Knight: It is a blue ink teal.

Katie Burke: Oh, that's a good one. And the paint will be fun for that one. Yeah. Are you going to do a hen or a drake? That's a drake. I actually kind of like the hens on decoys because I feel like they put like feather work, they can do so much more detail.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, complex.

Katie Burke: Yeah. It's like the one place where they really shine or the hens really shine and the decoys more than the drakes do for some reason. I like them a lot. But yeah, blue-winged till will be fun. That's a good one. That's a good choice.

Rebekah Knight: We'll see how it turns out. So far, I'm pretty happy with it.

Katie Burke: All the carvers say that you should throw out your first one. If you feel like you don't need to throw out your first one, then you're doing better.

Rebekah Knight: I'm pretty happy with it as long as I don't totally botch it before I get it done, but it looks okay for now.

Katie Burke: How is doing, okay, so you're a painter, so you're used to adding on to things. What is it like for you to have to do reductive, so to take away, to change that mindset? You mean for the carving versus the painting? Yeah, because you're taking away versus adding.

Rebekah Knight: I guess I've never really thought about it like that because with painting, it's not so much adding like, I guess, bulk to an object. It's you're just recording what light is telling you. So it's just a completely different thing. I will say probably the biggest difference, especially when it comes to the painting, is when you're painting a decoy, you are not painting like any kind of light source or anything. You're just painting the colors of the bird, whereas in a painting, you're having to, you know, paint like the light source and the shadow. And yeah. Yeah. So that that can make like, say, if you're doing a white bird, you're not using white paint. You're using all kinds of colors, depending on the light.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I know. That's like the first thing ever I tell people when they.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah.

Katie Burke: Yeah. About white paint. That's the first thing you need to learn. And don't use… I always had a teacher who never let me use black either. She was like, you can't have that. I was like, okay. That was the first thing I learned about painting. So you had an art teacher that told you about the junior duck stamp. Right. Correct. So when did you start working with an art teacher and before that?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I was probably, I think I was 13 when I first entered the Junior Dex stamp and that was the year that she was more like a family friend. Her husband worked with my dad and so She saw some of my work and she wasn't really an art teacher, but she was kind of a mentor. She helped like the 4-H kids with their art projects and stuff. So, and she had like a big junior duck stamp class with the 4-H kids.

Katie Burke: Yep. So. Okay. Yes. Yep. So you did the 4-H, I did the, I remember doing, I forgot about that, the 4-H art competition.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Well, I was in 4-H, but I was actually just going over to her house and she was just helping me one-on-one. Yeah. So yeah, she got me started with the junior when I was like 13. And then I ended up winning first in my age category. And then the same thing happened the following year. And then the year after that, when I was 15, is when I won the national junior duck stand.

Katie Burke: And so how did that, I'm guessing, you know, and we've talked about this with like other people, I guess that encouragement that you would get like of doing well and realizing you're good at something really, you know, it affects you at that age in a way. It can't really, you know, when you're older, it's a little bit different. But at that age, just like realizing you're, you know, you're talented at something can really change your trajectory. So at what point after winning, I mean, I'm guessing early on you knew that you wanted to pursue it because you were doing well, or was it later that you decided to pursue being an artist?

Rebekah Knight: I would say it was pretty much at that moment when I found out that I won. Because I actually didn't realize how big of a deal it was until after I won. And then they sent me… This is back when they actually sent the winner to Washington DC. And they had a big philatelic convention going on that year. And so I, you know, got to see how big of a deal it was. And then, yeah. So then I realized, you know, I could, I could probably actually do this. Like this is something worth pursuing.

Katie Burke: Right. Yeah. That's cool to know that, that young, like to get that kind of confirmation that that's something you could actually do. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Right. Right. It's, it was a huge, um, encouragement and confidence boost for me.

Katie Burke: So, okay, this is where I get confused with the junior duck stamp. I always forget this part. So, are you able to enter it again? Because you can't enter it the next year, right?

Rebekah Knight: I'm not actually sure about that. It's been a while.

Katie Burke: I don't think you can enter it the next year. I think for junior, you just skip one year. I think that's right. I think when I talked to Adam Graham- Okay. Yeah, he would definitely know. I think you have to skip one year and then you- I think you might be right. Yeah, but it's not like three years like the Dutch stamp. No. But what age do you start to compete in the federal?

Rebekah Knight: That was, so you can compete in the federal when you turn 18. And you have to be 18 like by a specific date and I don't remember what the date is, but I think it was 20, oh, I don't even know. I want to say like 2010 maybe when I entered the federal. Yeah, because I got third place in the junior in 2009 and then I entered the federal in 2010, I think, but yeah.

Katie Burke: All right, so you're doing the duck stamp right there at the beginning, and then how does this work to transition into doing this as your job outside of the duck stamp? So are you already creating work other than the duck stamp, or are you focusing on these competitions? How are you transitioning? I think it'd be interesting for people to know, Madison Grimm, of course, is an exception because she has a dad that can guide her through this, right? But not everybody has that kind of someone to walk through. So how are you walking through becoming a professional artist at that point?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. So through the duck stamp, I've made a lot of connections with people in the art world and people in the hunting world and people in the marketing world. I would say after getting into the federal, I started learning more about other stamp competitions. So there's a lot of state duck stamps. and a lot of other conservation stamp contests. So I entered a lot of those once I started doing the federal, and I ended up winning the state of Nevada. Yeah, the state of Nevada is the only other state stamp that I've won that I can remember, and that was 2013. But I did a lot of the other state competitions, and of course you make more connections doing that. And some of the conservation stamps, their species isn't always waterfowl. Sometimes they're mammals or other species. I know Oregon has an upland game bird and a conservation stamp, which there's a whole list of different species you can do. Um, and then that kind of world and that circle, I guess, of artists and conservationists and stamp people, they're all kind of, you know, it's all about like, uh, game, wild game. So you got like deer, like all the huntable animals, I guess you could say. So, uh, so I did a lot of deer, waterfowl, um, that sort of thing. And, um, I guess it wasn't until I started traveling more to get photo reference that I started branching out into other wildlife.

Katie Burke: So, and then I'm guessing that changing your reference, like getting your own reference material also changes your… Oh yeah. Yeah, what you're doing too, because you're not only are you, you have more reference material, but also you are seeing that animal in the wild and getting to see it move and do its thing.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. It's really a must. I could never do the kind of work I do now if I just had photos that someone else took or if it was just zoo animals or something, which I do a lot of zoo animals and aviary birds and stuff. But I also have spent a lot of time in the wild seeing a lot of these animals in their natural habitat. And yeah, that makes all the difference.

Katie Burke: Yeah. And I would assume, I mean, we can get into this more, but I would assume just also the inspiration you would get from being in that space with that animal would change tremendously as well, right? Oh, yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Definitely.

Katie Burke: It's a big difference of seeing, yeah, well, let's say a duck, a duck in its natural habitat versus seeing it in an aviary. It behaves different. Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Definitely.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that makes sense that you would just kind of like continue. So in that time where you're like entering those competitions and you're meeting more people, is there any artists in particular that you were looking towards for inspiration or like mentorship? Was anybody, were you working with anyone during that time?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, I have done a few workshops from artists whose work that I really admire and who I want to learn from. So my first workshop I did was Jan Martin Maguire, and she does a lot of African wildlife. So I did a workshop that she had held in Minnesota. And of course, I made more connections there. I met a really good friend, Shalise Sands. She travels with me to Alaska a lot, and we get a lot of reference photos together. So we're now really good friends because of that connection and also because of social media too. And then I did a workshop with Dustin VanWetchele. And he does a lot of like Western wildlife, big game, elk, things like that. And I really love his painting style. So that was kind of a pivotal moment in the way I paint after going to his workshop because I got the instruction that I never got growing up because I never went to art school or had an official formal art class or learned how to, you know, paint with oil in the traditional way. So I learned a lot of that through his workshop and that was extremely helpful for me. And I should add that right around the time I entered the federal, I did have one semester at college with a major in graphic design. So I did have some art classes They didn't really do me a lot of good, but there were some that were kind of helpful. My drawing class was helpful, but that's as far as I went with the college classes.

Katie Burke: I think I went one more semester in fine art than you. Yeah. But I didn't like it either. Adam and I, in his first interview, we go into it a lot. Yeah, I just, it wasn't for me, but I did learn, there was definitely things I learned from it. I would say, yeah, same, that drawing was probably the biggest thing I got from it. All the different techniques of drawing and then it pushed me outside of my comfort zone, which is always kind of good to kind of do something you're not comfortable with, even if it's not something you eventually use, it still kind of teaches you to kind of, yeah, like, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like push you outside that comfort zone. Exactly. But yeah, I get that. It makes sense. And so I'm guessing, yeah, oils would have changed a huge thing because you were doing acrylic mostly before that, I'm assuming.

Rebekah Knight: Oh, yeah. That's right. Yeah. A lot of my duck stamps I actually don't even know or remember which one of my federal entries was my first oil painting, but somewhere a handful of years ago, I switched to oil. It was really ever since that workshop with Dustin that I started doing a lot more oil and pretty much just exclusively oil.

Katie Burke: And I'm guessing that makes light and things of that nature easier as well. Were you learning as a Western artist from Dustin, was he teaching a lot of, I mean, I was just thinking like big landscapes and a lot of, they usually use a lot of like light. Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. He's really, really good with light and he uses a lot of thick paint. So he has texture in his paintings, which I really wanted to learn because I always had painted. I'd always wanted to thin down my paint to get more flow, you know, and but I wanted to try learning to paint with more texture and thicker paint. And like his painting style was exactly what I wanted to learn.

Katie Burke: So what did you take from that? Because you're not, you kind of do a kind of an in-between, I guess, now. You're not real thin. Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, I kind of am. Yeah, you're right. It is kind of a little bit in between. And some of my paintings, depending on the surface I'm painting on, if it's on canvas, it'll probably have more texture. If it's on board, like a smaller painting, like on a masonite board, which is what my duck stamp paintings are, those will be a lot smoother and more detailed.

Katie Burke: Yeah, and that's kind of what's demanded though, right, for the duck stamp? For the duck stamp, yeah. Yeah, and we can talk a little bit about the strategy behind the duck stamp, because it's different than what you would be selling and what you'd be painting for your customers and things of that nature. Yeah, so that makes sense. So you're going through, so you learn from those two people. Is there anyone in the duck stamp world that you were looking at too as inspiration to kind of learn that? Because like we just said, there's definitely a technique to winning the duck stamp. So I'm assuming you have to learn from somebody from that side too.

Rebekah Knight: So, I would say my first artist heroes starting back in the beginning of the Duck Stamp days was the Hottman Brothers, and I'm sure you're familiar with them. So, they just, they have it down. They have, I don't know what it is, but they've just got it down perfectly. And not only that, they are like, their art aside from the Duck Stamp is amazing. They're just so good. And all three of them. And I don't think they do workshops or do any teaching or anything like that, but were definitely a huge inspiration for me. And designing my duck stamp entries, I would look at their artwork and just try to learn as much as I could about their painting technique and their compositions and everything. Yep.

Katie Burke: I interviewed Joe, which was… Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he was so interesting in that. He's so scientific about it. Yeah. So now I want to interview the other two because I don't think they would be the same. I think you would get a very different response. But he was so, it was very much a science. It was like an equation that he had put together. He's a very smart guy. He is. He's very smart and he was more multifaceted than I thought he would be. I found him very interesting. I think his degree is in like, not physics, but some sort of like, he's got a science degree of some sort.

Rebekah Knight: But- I think it's maybe a physicist is what I've heard. Yeah.

Katie Burke: And then his wife is super smart too. Like they met being, yeah, they met at school. Yeah. So I was like, that's interesting. And now this is what you do. There's something to say about having three brothers, right? And having each other to, you know, they critique each other's work and they show each other their entries. So that part of it, I think, is something that, you know, most artists can't replicate. That the three of them are all so good and they all have done so well. And they have each other to kind of point out the flaws in their painting and their work before they enter it. Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Definitely helpful.

Katie Burke: Yeah. I don't think that's going to be a hard thing for anyone else to compete with because you've got three against one. It's tough. All right. Well, let's take a quick break and then we'll come back and continue on. Welcome back. I am here with Rebekah Knight and we're going to continue our discussion. You have entered and you've been doing the state stuff. So let's go, let's talk a little bit about Million Dollar Duck and then we'll go into, I want to go a little, a lot more into your work now and what that's looked like. So what was it like to get selected for that? How old were you when you got that call? Because you were young.

Rebekah Knight: So that was, yeah, well, I was, it was 2014, I think, 2013, 2014. So I was 23-ish. That's young.

Katie Burke: So yeah, because you're the youngest one on there. I mean, Adam's not that much. I think he's a little bit older than that. I'm trying to think how old he was then. That's the second stamp, right? That he wins? Yes. Okay. I was getting confused with this first stamp. Okay. What was that like to be asked? Were you happy to say yes? Were you reluctant to say yes?

Rebekah Knight: So I got the email from Brian Davis and he just proposed the idea. And I was a little bit unsure at first because I wasn't really sure who he was or what this was really going to be.

Katie Burke: Was it a serious thing?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. But I thought, well, this sounds like it might be a good thing. And my first thought was, I was a little bit reluctant because I get really nervous talking on camera and stuff and just being the center of attention in general. Yeah. It just makes you really uncomfortable. So it's like part of me wanted to say, no, you know, ask somebody else. But, but I thought, you know, this is a really cool opportunity to be a part of this. I went for it and I'm really, really glad I did. And it was a lot of fun.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I mean, he did a great job. It's a really good documentary. By the way, if anyone that's listening has not watched Million Dollar Duck, you should watch it. It's excellent. It does a really good job. And I was nervous actually when I, because when you watch the trailer, the trailer now, I think it was like a description when it first came out. I thought they were going to do like, I didn't think, I was nervous that they weren't going to celebrate the duck stamp, right? Like they were going to kind of make a joke of it. Because in the trailer, you don't really know, but they don't. They do a really good job of talking about the competition and everyone in it, and it's really good. But yeah, that's where I learned about you, which was great because then, like I said earlier, we got to see you from that point to where you are today, and you've made such a big… Your art has changed so much, which is really kind of neat. And you can even look at, even Adam at that time, who just won this year. You can see his entry, that one, and how he's changed over those, I guess almost, it'll be, I guess it's 10 years, because y'all did it before it released. Yeah. So, I mean, you can even see his transition as an artist as well, which is… really neat. Yeah. So how long were they with you for that whole thing? How much time did you have to do that with?

Rebekah Knight: So Brian came over to, I was still living at my parents' house at the time. And so he came over to film once and I, it's really hard for me to remember. It was a while ago, but I want to say he was there for a couple of days, two, three days, something like that. And we were filming and then he came back a second time some months later and did some filming. And then, of course, we had the filming at the contest.

Katie Burke: Is that your second or third duck stamp that you entered? Oh, I don't remember. It's not many.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, I would say maybe my fifth. Okay. I want to say maybe my fifth. Okay. Because like I said, I think my first year was 2010. We filmed in 2014, so fourth or fifth, something like that. Yeah, it's funny because when I look back and I watch that film now and I look at my entry, I'm like, man, that was a weak entry.

Katie Burke: I felt pretty good about it at the time, but… We did a little thing with Adam and Kira, do you know?

Rebekah Knight: Yes. So we did a little interview with them.

Katie Burke: And I was talking to her off of it. I was like, well, you need to go back and watch Million Dollar Duck and look at Rebekah's entry and then look at what her entry was this year. It should help you think about where you should go, right? It takes time. All these things take time.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Every year that I enter, I learn something new every year. And so I feel like my entries, of course, depending on what photo reference I have, but my entries seem to be always better than the prior year. That's my goal anyway.

Katie Burke: So, and I liked yours a lot this year. Oh, thank you. It was the one I had picked, but… Oh, really?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah.

Katie Burke: Well, I try not to pick… I can't quite… I can't pick out a lot of the artists. I can pick out Adam's quick. Yeah. He is a very distinctive. And I can pick out the Hauptmann's pretty quick, at least… Robert and Joe's. And then yours, I'm close at picking out. I sometimes get it confused. I've had it, though this year I picked it out, but I picked it out. I liked it a lot. I really thought a Hooded McGanzer was going to win. Nicole Krasnodar Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: I did too, just because of the sheer number of them. There was like 30 some percent I think of them were hoodies. So that was definitely the popular species this year.

Katie Burke: And they're pretty ducks, like they're neat looking. They're flashy. Yeah. And I just don't like an eider. I don't think they're very… Really? Yeah. They're my favorite. I don't like… I think they're just too big and weird, like odd shaped. Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: They are kind of weird looking, but the sea ducks are my favorite and I really wanted to do an eider this year. I just don't have any photos of them.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that makes sense. I don't think anyone had good photos of speckled eiders. I mean, you'd have to go to that island because there's nowhere really to get them. I guess if you have them in an aviary maybe, but I don't even know if you can.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, some aviaries have them.

Katie Burke: Yeah. But that's the only way. You never know. We talked about that. I've talked about that a few times. What is the species to pick out of the five? Trying to pick the one that everybody, the judges will want. It's kind of a guess, right?

Rebekah Knight: I mean… Yeah. I used to, and I've kind of changed in more recent years, but I used to kind of pick the underdog species. Yeah. So I actually got second place in 2016 with the Brant painting. Okay. And it's a Brant, so I mean, it's kind of hard to make them stand out among the other species because they're just like soot-colored geese. Yeah. So I really wanted to win with the Brant, but I think anymore I'm leaning more towards picking the ones that I feel have the best chance at winning just based on the species alone. So I've heard Adam talk about this too.

Katie Burke: He's very much a favor of picking by what he thinks will win.

Rebekah Knight: And I'm kind of leaning that way now. I never really was into doing like the mainstream species, you know, or the popular one. But, you know, the goal is to win. And if I can up my chances just on species alone, then I'm going to try to do that. Of course, you know, a lot of it has to do with my reference that I'm available to.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that makes sense. You pick by what species you think will win and then what you have the reference for if you don't have something. I mean, that makes sense. Obviously, the year before, pintail is what they wanted because how many pintails were up there? Were you third or fourth? What year was this? Last year.

Rebekah Knight: Oh, last year.

Katie Burke: But you didn't have a pintail. You had a- No. Harlequin. Harlequin. But yours was in the top five, right? Yeah. I think I tied for fifth. Okay. And yours was like the only other species that wasn't a pintail that was in the top five. Yeah. So I was like all pintails were at least the top three. I don't know. Yeah, it's definitely the species matters. And because I think you have to remember when you're choosing that the judges don't necessarily have an art background. Right. So like you have a very mixed variety of judges. So you kind of have to think about popular opinion a little bit because- Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And it sucks a little bit because you'd wish they all had outdoor and art backgrounds, but that's kind of impossible.

Rebekah Knight: I mean, I know that they try to pick judges that they have a little bit of everyone. So wildlife expert, conservation expert, stamp expert, art expert.

Katie Burke: Yeah, they have like five criteria and they try to get like three out of the five for each person or something like that.

Rebekah Knight: But you know, no matter who you pick, sometimes it just comes down to their personal opinion on what they like or what they think is prettier, what they think stands out more. And especially when you get down to the last handful of entries, like in the third round, I think just comes down to personal preference. at that point, because any one of those are good enough to win.

Katie Burke: And then you have to put in, they're tired, right? They've been there for a while. They've looked at them so many times.

Rebekah Knight: I've judged state-level junior duck stamp contests, and that's hard enough. The state of Missouri doesn't get a lot of entries, and that's hard enough for me. It's so easy to To sit back and watch it from the audience and think oh, I would have voted this this way or whatever but when you're actually there and you're doing it and I just can't imagine going through like 200 plus entries and a big portion of those being really really good. So I

Katie Burke: Yeah, that's true. And it's got to be tough on them. And I'm sure they kind of like, everything starts to look the same if they've looked at them so many times, right? And you can only pick one.

Rebekah Knight: So yeah, it's harder than you think.

Katie Burke: Yeah. And you notice that in the end, right? At the very end, you notice that they've decided that you can only pick one because then all of a sudden somebody will get a low score at that last round just because they're like, no, I'm going to pick this one.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Well, especially when you have a tiebreaker. So you're really not supposed to, like when you're judging, you really shouldn't be picking the winner from the beginning and voting everything else low and voting the one you want high. you should be judging them just based on the painting alone and not in comparison to others. That's how it should be done. They don't always do it that way, but that's how it should be done. But then when you have something like a tiebreaker, that's when you want to pick the one you want. Because mine that got second place this year, I think they broke the tie after like three rounds of trying it because it kept coming out even because nobody was using their extremely high or extremely low cards. Some of them were, but You know what I mean?

Katie Burke: You should pick high or pick low and it's a tiebreaker, right? So there's a clear tiebreaker.

Rebekah Knight: But I will say that this year, and this has nothing to do with the fact that I got second, but I think all the other artists that I've talked to have agreed that this year was actually really good judging. I think they did a really good job. They were consistent and there wasn't really a single judge. There usually is one judge that's like, they don't make any sense and they're not consistent. I thought they all did a really good job overall, and I'm glad Adam won.

Katie Burke: I was not surprised with the top three and five. Yeah. It was not as shocking. I was like, yeah, that all made sense.

Rebekah Knight: I knew he would win as soon as I saw his painting. I'm like, yep, there it is. I can hope for second.

Katie Burke: I was shocked. Yeah. When I saw his, I was like, man, he made a speckled eyelid look good, and I don't like them. That was impressive, because usually they don't look very good, and they're hard to put in a setting. He put it in an interesting setting, but still focused on the bird. Yeah, it was a good one. It was very well done.

Rebekah Knight: I'm glad that his painting won, just because it's an eider, and there's a different scene in the background. There's mountains. It's something different, and it brings attention to these other places, like Alaska. Places that have mountains, you don't see that very often on the duck stamp, so it's kind of nice to see that.

Katie Burke: No, and especially usually with an eider, really all you get is it flying over the water or sitting in the water. You don't get any background for an eider because they're ocean birds, so you really don't get much going on. So it was good, and it's good for him. Now he doesn't have to compete against his daughter for a few years. Yeah, but I do. Yeah, but I thought that would be interesting for him if he had to actually compete with her. Yeah, I'm sure they will. Yeah, they will. Yeah, that'll be fun to watch. Yeah, definitely. I think they'll be our first, will they be our first? Like two generation, I think they will be our first two generation.

Rebekah Knight: That I know of. That's the one I know of, yeah.

Katie Burke: All right, so, okay, let's talk about… I wanna talk a little bit about your other work and then how… Okay, so this is something I don't 100% understand, so I'm gonna get you to explain it a little bit to me. Okay. Okay. When you get selected for, say, SeaWee, which is the wildlife expo in Charleston for our viewers, and then Easton, and those festivals, how does that work? And what is the criteria? Is there a criteria for the artists that get selected for those? How does that work exactly?

Rebekah Knight: All I know is that when I submitted for Easton and Siwi, the process is you fill out the application form online and you have to send them, at least for Siwi, I'm not sure about Easton, but I think it's probably the same. You send them like 10 examples of your work. And then they jury you based on that. They are looking for someone who's consistently good and isn't all over the place with their style and that they can trust will produce good work consistently, I guess. Yeah. So, and that was some advice that I got like from other artists too, um, that, you know, when you submit to these things, you want to send in things that you want to send in your best work, first of all, but also don't send in things that are like a pencil drawing and then a painting and then a scratch board and then a sculpture, you know, you want it to all be consistent.

Katie Burke: So your thing, it's like an exhibit of your work.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. And you want to have like, you know, a recognizable style. You want people to be able to look at your work and say, you know, know who that is basically.

Katie Burke: And then how does like, because they're a little bit different, like seaweed, I would guess is a little more of a formal setting now. Like what year did you, when did you go to seaweed?

Rebekah Knight: Was that recent? I don't remember the year, but it's been, I think this next year coming up would be, oh my, maybe fourth. Yeah, because it's more- I don't know. It's kind of a blur.

Katie Burke: Yeah. They have theirs more set up formally, correct? And then Easton's is… Well, Easton's is just a smaller town. So, I mean, it's still formal, but it's a smaller town.

Rebekah Knight: It's a smaller event, but it's pretty much the same type of event. Okay. the festival that the whole town is pretty much involved in. And so there's different places that you can go to different tents. There's fine art, there's hunting stuff, decoy stuff. And that's pretty much the same thing as Siwi. It's just the Siwi is way bigger and the venue that they have for the artists, it's all in one location. And it's in this hotel and they have this really nice… It's a really nice venue that they have for the artists.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I guess that's what I'm thinking, because when I think of seaweed, seaweed is all sporting. It's a little bit of everything, whereas Easton is very waterfowl, a little more small town feel versus… It's Easton versus Charleston, right? And then y'all are set up in… Yeah, I was gonna say, y'all are set up in that one hotel for this, and they're spread out a little bit more in Easton. I mean, you're spread out in all that downtown area. But so what does that do for you as an artist? And like, how do you develop? I was, I guess my question is, is how are you developing clientele of like, away from the Doug stamp? Like, cause that's not where you're, you're not just, you're not making money on entering the Doug stamp. You're making money through your, your artwork and how you're showing your work. So how does that work for you as an artist?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, I really don't even enter state contests anymore because I do pretty well with the art that I do now. But I would say Easton and Sioux, and there's a few other shows that I've done and still do, that just brings the clientele. Those kind of people that go to those events like Sioux and Easton, like you said, a lot of that is like sporting type art. There's a lot of hunting stuff. So the type of people that go to those events will be looking for the type of art that I do. Right, okay. Yeah, so I would say most of my sales come from those art shows.

Katie Burke: Oh, okay. I didn't realize. I didn't know if you were selling there or if you were commissioning mostly. So you're selling for the most part.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. So I load up my car and all of the artwork that I have available and I haul it all out there. And all I have to do at Siwi and Easton is just hang up my artwork because they have the building, of course, and they have the walls and they have the lights. And they have my booth already set up and ready to go. So I just bring my work and hang it. Yeah.

Katie Burke: And then they sell it for you. You don't have to even deal with that.

Rebekah Knight: Right. They just take a 35% commission, which is pretty good for me because it's based on your sales. Whereas some other events like the Dallas Safari Club or some of these other big conservation organization fundraisers where you have to buy a booth space, which I did the sheep show for the Wild Sheep Foundation last year and I didn't do very well. I didn't sell anything there. So that was a pretty big loss because I still had to pay the booth space. And then of course, the gas and everything driving to Reno was a lot of effort and I had to have my own walls and lights and all that. Oh, yeah. Unless you're pretty well established at those events, it's harder to get started doing that. Whereas Seaweed and Easton, it's a lot easier because I don't have to mess with any of that stuff. And if I don't sell anything, I'm not out of booth space because the commission is based on sales. So it works out well for me.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that's good. And you're not having to commit. If you don't sell something, then you can just sell it separately later. You don't have to commit to it being there.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Yeah. As long as it's a client that didn't find me through them.

Katie Burke: Okay.

Rebekah Knight: Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. So they do have a rule where if, I think it's for the next year or something, if somebody approaches you and wants you to do a commission because they saw you there at Easton or Sewey, then you still pay the commission. Because they brought me that client, basically.

Katie Burke: Right. Yeah. They did your marketing is what basically they say.

Rebekah Knight: Exactly. Yes.

Katie Burke: Yep. Okay. Are you going to be at Easton this year? Yes. Okay. I'll be there too. I'll come see you. Oh, cool. I usually go and I go to the Guyatt and Dieter auction and then afterwards I'll go and hopefully get some, I've got some interviews lined up with some carvers at their studio. They don't call them studios, excuse me. They're like sheds. A garage. Yeah. They don't want to be called an artist. They don't want to have a studio. They want… Sounds about right. But yeah, I'll bring… You need to meet… There's tons of carvers there. I'll have to bring some of them by for you to meet.

Rebekah Knight: I'm trying to get this decoy that I'm working on done in time for Easton because I want to have it at my booth. and I'm going to sell it there. So we'll see.

Katie Burke: Nicole Jardim, Ph.D. : Yeah, I know. There's a bunch of guys that'll be there. I'll have to bring them by to come talk to you, that carve and stuff that'll be there, that I'm friends with.

Rebekah Knight: And they're all- Nicole Jardim, Ph.D. : Oh, yeah.

Katie Burke: They'll give me the critique. Nicole Jardim, Ph.D. : Well, the thing is, especially some of the younger guys, they're so helpful. Carvers are They will give you a critique, but they also are extremely free-flowing with advice. They're happy to share and talk to people about it. I've always found that kind of nice about them. They don't hold on to information at all. They're happy to share.

Rebekah Knight: I would say for the most part, the wildlife artists are like that too, at least the ones that I've met.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I'm glad to hear that, especially because… And this has always been a thing with wildlife art. In the formal art space, it kind of gets the nose turned up at it. So it's nice to hear that the wildlife artists as a community are helpful for each other because they kind of have to deal with the other side. So it's nice to hear that, that they actually all help each other.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, for the most part. Yeah. I mean, there's always exceptions. Well, and here's the thing. So I think there's some artists, probably quite a few, that don't like me because I'm a hunter. So there's that kind of whole divide. Oh, really? Yeah. In the wildlife art world, there's a lot of really, really good artists that do not approve of hunting. So I've had some people block me and stuff because of that.

Katie Burke: That's interesting, because I would have never thought about that. I guess I'm blinded coming from Ducks Unlimited, where everyone that's entering for… It's just normal life.

Rebekah Knight: Like I said, I grew up hunting as a kid, and it's just, you know, we don't… Most of these artists that I guess don't approve of it, a lot of them are not from the US. Okay. So, you know, you're coming from a completely different world, and it's… A lot of them don't really understand the connection between hunting and conservation, or just flat out don't believe it.

Katie Burke: Yeah, no, that's very true, honestly. And that's one of the things I would say, in the pyramid, like with the museum, one of the biggest questions we get is why hunting? Because we have so many foreign visitors. Usually when I explain to them that that's where the most money support comes from, is from hunters, they usually are okay. They get it. I don't know if they approve it, but they can comprehend that's what that is. But I didn't think about that with wildlife art because I guess- Yeah, I guess I'm blinded a little bit from Ducks Unlimited because every wildlife artist I've met comes through us or the Duck State, which are all very hunter-friendly. Yeah, that's interesting.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. unfortunate experiences in the wildlife art world in regards to hunting.

Katie Burke: So would that be with your more African stuff?

Rebekah Knight: Usually that's the most triggering for people. Nobody seems to care if it's a fish or not as many people care if it's a deer or a turkey, but if it's a zebra or something, really beautiful. I went swan hunting a few years ago and people made a big deal about that.

Katie Burke: But are the artists that normally are against… Sorry, I have so many questions about this. Are the artists that are against it on the conservation side? Is their subject matter more… What's the word? Doing the more African, the foreign animals, or are they doing… Yeah.

Rebekah Knight: Okay. I don't know. I would say so. A lot of us wildlife artists are just kind of all over the place as far as what kind of animals we do. There's definitely ones that are more passionate about African species and everything. And I will say that if you're overseas and you didn't grow up around hunting, I can definitely see why it would be repulsive to see somebody post on Facebook their trophy picture or whatever. I totally get that.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I do. I get it. I do. I get it. Yeah, you're right. I get it. But I think what a lot of people don't understand is that hunting and waterfowling particularly is a very American tradition, especially decoy carving. It's extremely American history. And if they don't understand how conservation works here, I think they would… Yeah, I get it. But I mean, in the end, this is where the money for conservation comes from.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. And I mean, you and I both know, and any hunter knows that the whole hunting experience, it's not just about killing an animal. And that's why, at least for me, that's why I post the picture. You know, I'm not, like, some bloodthirsty person. I don't like watching animals die. That's, like, the hardest part is killing it. So, but I… It's still something that I… I'm proud to be able to do, and the whole experience that is surrounding that is a lot of where I get my inspiration for my work, too. So, I mean, not only are you watching and observing the wildlife, but you're actually involved. You're communicating with it and you're participating in it as a natural predator.

Katie Burke: And you have a respect for it. I think about that animal's life.

Rebekah Knight: And when I have the taxidermy in my house, I look at that animal and I think about it every time I look at it. Whereas in the grocery store, you don't even know what that animal looked like. And it probably had a miserable life anyways.

Katie Burke: I actually had to explain to my kids yesterday. We were in McDonald's and they were like, asked me where like things come from and like different food. And it started with like, I can't remember. I think it was like, I don't know. It was like a non, like a, like a, like a gummy or something, like something weird. And then they're like, where did chicken nuggets come from? And I was like, chicken. They were like… We actually don't really know where chicken nuggets come from. I was like, we don't. They call them that. We hope it comes from chicken. But yeah, I had to explain it to them. It was funny because there's like, I can't see a chicken. I'm like, well, of course you can't see a chicken. And they have a mother who hunts, so they know these things. So if I have to explain it to them who actually like have been hunting before, I imagine most people like they don't even think about it, like where stuff comes from.

Rebekah Knight: Well, that's the thing. I would get a lot of comments from people who don't understand hunting. They would actually say things like, well, why can't you just get your meat at a grocery store?

Katie Burke: Right. And it's more conservation friendly to actually harvest your own and cleaner and all of these things.

Rebekah Knight: So all that to say, we started out talking about how wildlife artists are generally very helpful and encouraging to each other. But I would say the biggest divide in wildlife art is there's the group of artists who are okay with hunting or are hunters. And then there's the ones who are… They're also conservationists and they also care about animals, but they very much disapprove of hunting and they'll do everything they can do. Some of them will do everything they can to try to sabotage your success, which at least has happened to me anyway.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that's awful. And that makes me sad. I'm sorry about that. But it's to be expected.

Rebekah Knight: I tell myself it is to be expected when you… Because I know a lot of wildlife artists who hunt, but they don't really post about it online or anything. And that's fine. I just choose to do it. But I also do it knowing that I'm going to get some of this backlash. But I also know how to respond to it and that's okay because that's a huge, like I said, a huge part of my inspiration is everything that is involved in these hunting trips that I've gone on and everything. So yeah, I mean, it's a huge part of me and kind of what has led to me being a wildlife artist in the first place because it all started out as a kid going deer hunting. So yeah, I'm not going to hide it.

Katie Burke: No, and that connection with the outdoors. I've talked to a few artists about that moment, first in the morning before shooting time and stuff like that, where it's quiet and you're in the woods or you're on the marsh or whatever, that early moment time. That magic, it's kind of magic, right? There's nothing really like it, and it's hard to… It's really hard to put into words, but I find a lot of carvers and artists, they have this opportunity with work to do that, to kind of capture those moments that… I don't know any other way to really do it besides through art in that way. I don't know.

Rebekah Knight: I mean, obviously, it's those moments that are inspiring us. It's not the killing, because I'm not doing paintings of dead animals.

Katie Burke: You're not doing a bunch of dead hangs. Though, I enjoy a dead hang painting.

Rebekah Knight: Although, yes, I was going to say… Although, I enjoy one. I do like those kind of paintings. It's not for any kind of bloodthirsty reason. No, yeah. It's to describe it. But obviously, everybody, you know, hunters want to see… And this is why I like the art on the duck stamp. It's a depiction of a live bird in its natural habitat. That's what we want to see. That makes sense.

Katie Burke: Yeah, and it's, yeah, it's that connection. I mean, that's what art, the art isn't as pretty as the images and all those things. It's more about what it makes you feel and what feeling the artist has made that painting emote and to get all, and that's what's great about it. And the ones that, Chris and I were just talking about your paintings and the ones that we love of yours are how you've done your water. with your waterfowl, and it's so unique, and it does have that… It has a very specific feeling when you look at those with how you do your water and the ripples. I really enjoy those, so. Yeah, you do, you have a way with balancing the light and the shadow that's really unique. So before we go, I kind of, let's see what we want to talk about. So now that the duck stamp is done, like you just finished that and you got second. So congratulations. I don't think I said that. Thanks. What, so how will you focus this time before you, like, cause you won't, when do you get, when do they send you the stuff for next year? Like, how much time do they give you between? Do they give you any time between?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Well, the deadline for the entry next year, well, every year is August 15th. Okay. So, I have until August 15th to complete my entry for next year.

Katie Burke: And when do they give you the species for next year?

Rebekah Knight: They announced them at the contest.

Katie Burke: So you'll have time. So you kind of take a little bit of a… I'm guessing you take a break from that.

Rebekah Knight: And what do you do in that time? I don't even start my duck stamp entry till around July because it takes me, I don't know, a couple of weeks to do it. So it doesn't take me very long to do my entry. But between now and then, I'm just going to focus on… I have Easton coming up in a few weeks. So I'm going to try to focus all my time on creating as many pieces as I can, mostly smaller ones for Easton. And then after Easton will be coming up on Christmas and peak season. I work at the post office part-time as a sub. When Christmas rolls around, I'm pretty much not painting anything because they have me working constantly. So after Easton is usually when that starts to pick up right around Christmas time, Thanksgiving, and I have very little time to work on art. But then after that's over, Then I have January and then about half of February to create as many pieces as I can for seaweed, which is usually near the end of February. So that's usually what I focus on at that time. And then after seaweed, I kind of have… Oh, there's also birds and art, which is a big… I don't know if you're familiar with it, but… of it. Mae Grant Yeah, it's an art exhibition at the Leakey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. And it's super prestigious and really hard to get in. And I tried getting in for a handful of years before I finally got in last year. And so that's the highlight of my art career so far up to this point, is getting into birds and art.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I think, you know, actually, I just heard back because I was talking, I think it was Jet Brunet said he had, yeah, he did some stuff for it.

Rebekah Knight: Yes. So I'm going to try next year is going to be their 50th. So I'm sure that everybody is going to be bringing their A game on their entries. So after, Siwi, the deadline for Birds in Art is like April 20, sometime around tax season, like April 20 something. So I'm going to focus on creating a couple of pieces to submit for that. And then after that, things kind of slow down a little bit. There will probably be some other deadlines for some other shows that I'm wanting to enter. But that's usually the time once things kind of slow down a little bit. That's usually when I start doing stuff that I really have wanted to do for a while that's not really as fitting for the other shows that I'm trying to do work for. So I might do something like an African piece or something, which I'll do those for Siwi and Easton too, but not usually like a really big commitment painting.

Katie Burke: Do you have any trips planned for like- Like photography?

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I am thinking about maybe going to Alaska in the spring strictly for birds and waterfowl. So I have a friend that owns a lodge that I have done a few trades with. So he trades me some paintings to hang in the lodge for a stay there. And that's worked out really well. I've been there a few times and we're talking about doing another one in the spring, but that's not set in stone yet. So I'm not sure if that's going to happen just yet, but it's something I'm thinking about. And then after that, I don't really have any big trips planned right now, but things come up all the time. So something could come up.

Katie Burke: Yeah, I'm guessing, and you have to pick it for a waterfowl, you have to also pick by peak plumage too, you have to think about. That's true, yeah. You don't want any birds molted.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Right. I do know that I need to get some waterfowl photos for some of the species that are on the list for the duck stamp next year, because I have some photos of them, but nothing that's really knock it out of the park good, you know? Yeah. What's on the list? There's wood duck, gadwall, ruddy duck, cinnamon teal, and I'm blanking on the last one. There'll be a million wood ducks. Oh yeah, I know. Buffalo head, sorry. Buffalo head. Yeah, it'll be all wood ducks. There's two in that list. I'm not going to say which one I'm going to do. No, you don't have to say. There's two on the list that I am for sure not going to do just because I don't want to do them. I wouldn't do a cinnamon teal if I were you. Really? Well, some of them I don't even have photos of.

Katie Burke: So… Yeah. Well, that's probably one of them. You have to go to California to get pictures of cinnamon tail.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I actually just got some pretty good pictures of a cinnamon at the Omaha Zoo last weekend.

Katie Burke: So that's a possibility, but… I bet there's going to be a million wood ducks because that's such a popular one.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. I'm guessing that's going to be the popular one. That and then buffleheads. Everybody loves buffleheads.

Katie Burke: Everyone always does buffleheads. That's true. I think gadballs can be very pretty if done correctly.

Rebekah Knight: I've done a gadwall. It's one of those ones that's hard to make it stand out because they're just brown.

Katie Burke: Yeah, but they're so pretty. They're underrated.

Rebekah Knight: They're underrated. When they're in the right light, yeah.

Katie Burke: Yeah, they're very pretty. Jet Brunet, one of his world champ carvings is a Gadwall Drake. Yeah. And when you look at it far away, you're like, oh, there's nothing. And then you come up close under the light and it's magnificent.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, their feather patterns are insane. It's like lace.

Katie Burke: Yeah, that's exactly right. It's like lace. It's very pretty. But anyway, is there anything that we didn't talk about that you want to talk about before we go?

Rebekah Knight: Not really. I think we've pretty much covered all the basics. Painting is pretty much what I do pretty much full-time. Like I said, I deliver mail part-time. I probably work one day a week on average. So there's weeks, like the last few weeks, I've been working almost every day, which has been really annoying.

Katie Burke: It's probably nice to have that one day or two to break things up.

Rebekah Knight: It really is. It gets me out and it's like I'm making some guaranteed money. And then my husband, he works full-time as a rural carrier. So that's nice because that frees up my time to be able to do my artwork and stuff. So, it works out pretty well for me, the schedule that I have. And yeah, whenever I'm not doing mail or like on a trip somewhere, I'm working on artwork in some way, shape, or form.

Katie Burke: Well, I'm excited I get to see you at Easton. I'll be there. I may not come bother you on, I guess it's Thursday night. You'll probably be swamped. I'll come bother you during one of the days when it's not so bad.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Well, hopefully we have a good turnout and everything, because I know it's election year too, so I just sometimes wonder if that will have an effect, but we'll see.

Katie Burke: I don't know. This year, Ducks Limit's doing… I recommend everyone go to Easton. It's a really cool festival. Ducks Limit has gotten a little more involved this year, and I think we're going to try to continue to… I mean, I go separately just because I get a lot of I meet a lot of private collectors at Easton and I get a lot of… It helps me get connections for exhibits and things like that. But we're having more of a presence, so hopefully it kind of helps build it back up. It's such a neat festival, so I hope we can do whatever we can to keep it going.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah, it is. It's one of my favorite ones that I do. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I usually do pretty good there. Yeah.

Katie Burke: All right. Well, thanks, Rebekah, for coming on. I really appreciate it.

Rebekah Knight: Yeah. Thank you for having me. I just wanted to say for anyone listening, if you want to see my work and stuff, I am on Instagram. It's reb.knight.art, and then my website is just my name. But those are the two places that you can go to see my work.

Katie Burke: Thanks, Rebekah, for coming on the show. Thanks to our producer, Chris Isaac, and thanks to you, our listener, for supporting wetlands and waterfowl conservation.