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Jim Sprankle and pal, Miss Wiggles
After growing up in Lafayette, Indiana, and before becoming a waterfowl artist,
Jim Sprankle was a successful professional pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds organizations, a public-relations banking executive and a self-employed businessman.
Early age adventures in wildfowl hunting, combined with a family wood-working background and experience as a self-taught taxidermist, have helped produce Sprankle's incredible knack for his life-like carvings. A vital contribution to his competitive edge were the large aviaries at his homes in New York State and in Maryland which contained live birds of every specie of marsh duck and many divers.
Sprankle began carving about 27 years ago and has become one of the best known carvers in the country. His carvings have earned him considerable recognition, including 22 Best of Show awards in major competitions throughout North America. He has taken over 72 First Place awards at the Ward Foundation World Championships -- more than any other carver participating at the World contests.
In the Fall of 1984, Jim was featured, along with eight other carvers, in the hugely successful book, How to Carve Waterfowl. The response to his particular style and knowledge was so overwhelming that in 1985 the same publishing company brought out Waterfowl Carving with J. D. Sprankle, a 256-page book exclusively about Jim, his techniques and philosophies. Yet another joint effort between Stackpole Publishing and Jim in 1987 is Painting Waterfowl with J. D. Sprankle, a 450 full-color photograph book with comprehensive in-depth text detailing the painting of thirteen species of ducks.
In 1986 Jim published his own book, Waterfowl Patterns & Painting by Jim Sprankle, a much needed technical guide to the basics of his carving skills. Jim has also produced five 2-hour carving and painting videotapes featuring the Greenwing Teal, the Shoveler, the Wood Duck and the Cinnamon/Blue-winged Teal Hen. A one-hour reference tape was filmed in his private aviary in Maryland and has captured the characteristic of eighteen different species of waterfowl.
In addition to his carving, Jim is also a top-notch teacher of his skills. His annual series of seminars is divided equally into carving and painting sessions. As an offshoot of this teaching, Sprankle has produced a unique line of wood-product molded study birds, recreating the actual size and weight of his original woodcarvings. The demand for these study birds is such that they are now shipped throughout the United States, Canada, Japan and the United kingdom for use by both individuals and carving classes.
His sculptures have been displayed at the Waterfowl Festival, Easton, Maryland, and at shows at the Kodak Gallery in New York, the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and the Smithsonian Museum, to name a few. He has participated in many international exhibits, and his works are also exhibited by numerous private collectors, the Ward Foundation of North American Wildfowl Art Museum, Salisbury, Maryland, and the Roger Tory Peterson Museum in Jamestown, New York.
In November 1992, Jim was among the first eight original inductees admitted into the Waterfowl Festival's National Hall of Fame. This honor specifically recognizes individuals who have made outstanding and significant contributions to the success of the Waterfowl Festival, as well as to the other many waterfowl art/conservation efforts on a national and international level.
After 10 years of living on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake, Jim, his wife Patty, and their son James, moved from their home on Kent Island, Maryland, to Sanibel Island, Florida. Not only is Jim able to really enjoy salt-water fishing, he has become fascinated with the Herons and other shore birds indigenous to the region. Through his involvement with BIG (Barrier Island Group) Arts and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, he has also found exciting avenues for teaching the carving and painting seminars, and these beautiful tropical locations have proven to be just as popular as his Maryland sessions. Jim has expanded his teaching territory and is now offering courses in New York State, North Dakota, Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington State, as well as Sanibel Island, and other sites too numerous to mention here. (June 1997)
For information on his wood sculptures, his educational products or his teaching seminars, please contact Jim at
e-mail sprankle@Cyberstreet.com
1147 Golden Olive Court, Sanibel Island, FL 33957. Telephone: 941-472-8666. Fax: 941-472-8445.
