Rarely have I run across a dedicated hunter who did not collect some type of wildlife art. That art could be anything from John Metzger's artistic rendition of a mounted whitetail to Jim Sandy's collection of box turkey calls decked with painted gobblers. Most of us collect a variety of artistic items from paintings to decorated skulls, but regardless of what you collect or how many pieces you have in your collection, you have those pieces because they say something to you ... and you hear what they say.

Like most wildlife enthusiasts, we collect many different treasures from the wildlife realm, including prints, mounts, skulls (decorated and undecorated) and bears. How do we choose what we buy? It's easy: if we like it and we can afford it, we buy it.

During the next few months, you have the opportunity to buy some form of art in several different places without dragging yourself to a gallery. For example, last year at the Stonewall Jackson Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation's banquet, we came home with a beautiful wood box with turkeys burned into the wood. It's right at home under the window between the two elk prints. Speaking of elk prints, the bugling elk on the left side of the window came from the friends of NRA banquet in Harrisonburg last spring, as did the one in the wintering deer in the foyer. The bear print upstairs came from the second Western Virginia Sport Show in Fishersville. The bear cub print came from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's banquet in Roanoke two year ago.

My collection of tiny bear fetishes and carvings come from all over the U.S. and Canada and much to my dismay, fascinate my grand kids. In fact, I still haven't found one turquoise bear which Candace, two years old at the time, took swimming with her. I don't hold out much hope for its return; however, it took my diamond 13 years to make its way home (a story in itself) so there's still a chance. But I'm getting off course.

My most recent art print is called "Peak Experience" and it's of two mountain goats working their way around the top of the snow-covered world. I got this print from the Valley Framing Studio and Gallery in Waynesboro for W.T. for Christmas. That's also where I got most of the following information.

Don Morris, of the Valley Framing Studio and Gallery, sat down with me a few days ago and patiently explained the how's and wherefore's of buying prints and having prints framed. I had no idea there was such a thing as generic matting (my term, not Don's), conservation matting and museum matting (Don's terms). For years, the most complex and sometimes the most perplexing part of having wildlife prints framed has been picking out matting (the colored holders around framed prints). Don's advice here is "don't try to match the color of a room. Room colors change, matting doesn't. Choose the matting to complement the print and don't worry about whether it matches your sofa."

Don also explained the conservation framing, which is the type he's using on the goat print. Conservation matting is acid free. Also, when Don dos a conservation framing, he uses no glue to hold print, but instead uses acrylic corners. Conservation framing is chosen when you have a good print which will probably increase in value over the years and from which you'll derive great satisfaction over the years. Museum framing, on the other hand, is meant to outlast your years. Even the dust paper on back of a museum framed piece is acid free. For our purposes -- and pocketbook - conservation framing is sufficient.

Now, how about appreciation. Sure, you appreciate the work of art, or you wouldn't have bought it, but let's look at issue price as opposed to current price. Say you bought a Julie Krammer Cole limited edition such as Wakan Tanka - 1993, for the issue price of $185. That same print is already selling for around $700. That's a much greater appreciation than most, but then Cole is hot right now. The goat print I bought W.T. is a limited edition Michael Sieve and the retail issue price is $95. Next year at this time, - it may still be $95 or it may be $400. Really doesn't matter because I bought it because I liked it and I'll never resale it. So much for investments.

Speaking of limited editions, these are prints made from the original and they are signed and numbered. For example, my elk print has 108/500 written on it. I always thought that the lower the number the more valuable the print would have, but Don burst that bubble for me. He says that with today's high quality techniques, the thousandth copy is as good as the first, and my 108 does not necessarily mean it is 108 off the press ... it's just the 108 signed and numbered.

When you see a/p on a print, it means it's an artist proof. Ever so many copies printed, one is pulled for the artist to check for quality. These prints are numbered seperately from the regular. For example, on my elk print, there were 500 regular prints, but if a proof was pulled after every 50th one, then not only would you have 500 regular prints, you would also have artists proofs numbered 1-10. Not only that, but if a certain number were printed for sale to benefit a certain organization or species of wildlife then that series would also have their own set of numbers.

The other thing you should check for is the Authenticity Certificate which should come with your print. This is a document certifying that your print is one of so many printed and that the plates have been destroyed and no more artist prints will be printed of that work. Without the Certificate, your print is not worth as much on the open market.

Your print can also be "open-ended" with no specific number limit although it may be discontinued at some future date.

So where is the best place for you to look at wildlife art? The upcoming banquets, the first of which is tonight (Turkey Banquet) at Ingleside on Route 11 just south of Verona, is an ideal place to browse, as is the 1994 Annual Western Virginia Sport Show in Fishersville (February 25-27). At the banquets, they usually have prints set up for viewing and then later, auction them off. Also, any art gallery or framing studio is a good choice. However, I' found the best place to go, other than the banquets, is Don's Studio on Main Street in Waynesboro. Not only does he have a lot of great wildlife prints in stock, but he also has a computer system which scrolls through any type of print by category and then displays it on the monitor's screen. You may go in with one print in mind, and after seeing what else there is to choose from, you may find another you like even more.

As for care of your print and helping to maintain or increase its value, the no-nos are: Never hang in direct sunlight or in areas with extreme fluctuations in temperature or humidity. Never hang in moist areas. Never let a framer trim or cut even the smallest piece of the white border around the print. This destroys the print's value.

We don't recognize many names in the art world, but we recognize the art we like. And I like what Don Morris said, "Most people who buy wildlife art, buy it because they like it. If it appreciates in value, that's an added bonus."

© Copyright 1994, J.S. Hensley, Outdoor Writing Unlimited