Kira Sabin

Last updated

Kira Sabin (born 22 March 1999) is an American nature and wildlife painter, best known for their involvement in the Federal Duck Stamp contest.

Contents

Early life and education

Born Kira Fennell, Sabin grew up alongside their twin, Kess Fennell, in the small town of Hutchinson, Minnesota. [1] [2] Both siblings wanted to become artists from a young age, [1] and were influenced by their mother, who was a graphic designer. [3]

Sabin began writing a novel at age 16, and self-published the work, titled i once met a Girl who paints the lines on roads, through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing in December 2017. [4]

Sabin and their twin attended Hutchinson High School, where they both earned top marks in AP Art. [5] Sabin also won awards for their art in regional high school competitions. [6] After graduating from high school in 2017, Sabin attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, graduating in 2021 with a degree in painting in drawing. [1] [3] [7]

Art career

After graduating college, Sabin began pursuing art as a professional career. [2] [3]

In 2023, Sabin painted a mural of a cow in Hutchinson, Minnesota as part of the city's mural project. [8]

Federal Duck Stamp contest

In 2019, Sabin was introduced to the Federal Duck Stamp contest by their grandfather, who was a waterfowl hunter. [1] [9] They entered the contest for the first time that year, with a painting of a black-bellied whistling duck. Neither their 2019 entry nor their 2020 entry, of red-breasted mergansers, made it past the first round of judging. [1] Sabin was the contest's youngest competitor in 2020. [10]

In July 2021, Sabin began posting about their newest Federal Duck Stamp entry on TIkTok. [1] Their videos went viral, with the initial video ultimately gaining more than 2.6 million views, giving Sabin 200,000 followers. [1] [9] [10] Several publications, including BuzzFeed News [10] and CBS News , [11] credited Sabin with "reenergizing" the competition, and popularizing it among social media users. Their 2021 entry, which featured two Ross's geese, [12] did not initially make it past the first round of judging, but was picked by a judge to be included in the second round of judging. [1]

Sabin's 2022 entry, featuring a Mottled duck hen, made it to the second round of judging in the contest. [1] Their 2023 entry, of northern pintails, did not. [2] Sabin's twin, Kess Fennell, also entered into the Duck Stamp competition in 2023, with a painting of Harlequin ducks. [1] [2]

Personal life

Sabin is non-binary, and has used she/her and they/them pronouns. [11] They married their partner, Greyley Sabin, in 2022.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Duck Stamp</span> Stamps sold for wetland conservation

The Federal Duck Stamp, formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is an adhesive stamp issued by the United States federal government that must be purchased prior to hunting for migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese. It is also used to gain entrance to National Wildlife Refuges that normally charge for admission. It is widely seen as a collectable and a means to raise funds for wetland conservation, with 98% of the proceeds of each sale going to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

Terry Avon Redlin was an American illustrator popular for painting outdoor themes and wildlife, often pictured in twilight. During the 1990s he was frequently named "America's most popular artist" in annual gallery surveys conducted by U.S. Art magazine.

The Federal Junior Duck Stamp is an American art competition sponsored by the United States government for students to draw, or paint a duck realistically. The national winner's design is used to create a (non-postal) stamp which is sold to raise funds for environmental education.

Karen Latham is an American painter, residing in Hastings, Minnesota. Latham is most known for her realistic miniature paintings of wildlife. Latham is the mother of Bonnie and Rebecca Latham, also painters in the same style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald W. Molloy</span> American judge (born 1946)

Donald William Molloy is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Jackson (politician)</span> American politician and attorney (born 1982)

Jeffrey Neale Jackson is an American politician, attorney, military officer, and North Carolina attorney general-elect serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 14th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 37th district in the North Carolina Senate from 2014 to 2022.

Leslie Carl Kouba, also known as Les Kouba, was an American artist, author, outdoorsman, and businessman. He specialized in waterfowl paintings but is also known for his early sculpture of Dakota chief Little Crow, which was commissioned by the city of Hutchinson, Minnesota and installed in 1937 at a site overlooking the Crow River. In 1947, he invented the Art-O-Graph, a projector used to transfer a photo to layout. In 1982 he helped produce a new statue for this site, as the first had become weather beaten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ByteDance</span> Chinese internet technology company

ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TikTok</span> Video-focused social media platform

TikTok, whose mainland Chinese and Hong Kong counterpart is Douyin, is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from three seconds to 60 minutes. It can be accessed with a smart phone app or the web.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NPC (meme)</span> An insult that implies a person lacks critical thinking

The NPC, derived from non-player character, is an Internet meme that represents people deemed to not think for themselves; those who lack introspection or intrapersonal communication; those whose identity is deemed entirely determined by their surroundings and the information they consume, with no conscious processing whatsoever being done by the person themselves. The meme gained further viral status on TikTok in 2022, with the surge of "NPC Streamers". The NPC meme, which graphically is based on the Wojak meme, was created in July 2016 by an anonymous author and first published on the imageboard 4chan, where the idea and inspiration behind the meme were introduced.

Haley Bea Kalil is an American social media personality, model, and former beauty pageant contestant. In 2018, Kalil was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue as a contestant in the first ever Sports Illustrated Swim Search. As one of the two winners of the competition, alongside Camille Kostek, she officially appeared in the 2019 edition as a rookie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charli D'Amelio</span> American social media personality (born 2004)

Charli Grace D'Amelio is an American social media personality and dancer. She was a competitive dancer for over a decade before starting her social media career in 2019, when she began posting dance videos on the video-sharing platform TikTok. She quickly amassed a large following and subsequently became the most-followed creator on the platform in March 2020 until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame in June 2022. With over 155 million followers, she is the second most-followed person on TikTok, as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flo Milli</span> American rapper (born 2000)

Tamia Monique Carter, known professionally as Flo Milli, is an American rapper and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2018 single "Beef FloMix" and its 2019 follow up, "In the Party" both reached virality on TikTok; the latter received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In late 2019, she signed a recording contract with Justin Goldman's '94 Sounds, an imprint of RCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Censorship of TikTok</span> Restriction of access to TikTok by governments and organizations

Many countries have imposed past or ongoing restrictions on the video sharing social network TikTok. Bans from government devices usually stem from national security concerns over potential access of data by the Chinese government. Other bans have cited children's well-being and offensive content such as pornography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khaby Lame</span> Italian influencer (born 2000)

Khabane "Khaby" Lame is a Senegalese-Italian social media personality. He is known for his TikTok videos, in which he silently mocks overly complicated "life hack" videos. As of 2024, he is the most-followed user on TikTok. In 2022, he was listed in Fortune's 40 Under 40 and Forbes' 30 Under 30. He also served as a juror on the 2023 edition of the television show Italia's Got Talent.

Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) selected Sheldon Riley with "Not the Same" to represent the country, after he won Eurovision – Australia Decides on 26 February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amaury Guichon</span> French-Swiss pastry chef

Amaury Guichon is a French-Swiss pastry chef and chocolatier. He is known for his pastry designs and chocolate sculptures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Ryder</span> English singer, songwriter and social media personality (born 1989)

Sam Ryder Robinson is an English singer, songwriter, producer, composer and social media personality. He rose to prominence in 2020, after posting music covers on TikTok, during the first UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic and signed to Parlophone Records before parting ways with them in 2023. His music has since incorporated various genres including rock music, pop, alternative rock, and metalcore, while his vocal range, and use of vibrato and falsetto, has garnered critical acclaim.

The Million Dollar Duck is a 2016 documentary film directed by Brian Golden Davis. The film follows participants in the Federal Duck Stamp contest as they create and submit work, as well as exploring the wider history and culture of the competition.

Germany participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Blood & Glitter" performed by Lord of the Lost. The German broadcaster ARD, in collaboration with Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), organised the national final Unser Lied für Liverpool in order to select the German entry for the 2023 contest. The national final took place on 3 March 2023 and featured eight competing acts with the winner being selected through international jury voting and public voting.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Kreier, Freda (2023-08-27). "These Twins Hope to Become Their Own Duck Stamp Dynasty". Audubon. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Glover, Maury (2023-10-04). "Another duck stamp dynasty? MN twin sisters hope to make names for themselves in national contest". FOX 9. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  3. 1 2 3 Wiblemo, Stephen (2021-08-19). "Hutchinson artist paints 'million view duck'". Crow River Media. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Kay (2018-01-15). "Kira Fennell publishes her first novel". Crow River Media. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  5. ↑ Jones, Jeremy (2016-09-01). "Hutchinson students paint a different picture for Advanced Placement". Crow River Media. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  6. ↑ "Hutchinson High School students participate in visual art competition". Crow River Media. 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  7. ↑ "Kira Fennell". Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  8. ↑ Kendall, Larson (2023-09-27). "Take an Evening to Graze up at the Wall". Crow River Media. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  9. 1 2 Glover, Maury (2022-06-29). "Minnesota artist builds flock of followers on TikTok trying to win contest". FOX 9. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  10. 1 2 3 Strapagiel, Lauren (2021-08-09). "This TikTok Creator Made A Prestigious Duck Art Contest Go Viral". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  11. 1 2 "Millions of TikTok users follow a young artist's quest to win the federal duck stamp competition". CBS News. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  12. ↑ Bishara, Hakim (2021-08-12). "Every Year, Artists Flock for the Chance to Win This Duck Stamp Contest". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.