Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

The story of how former Forest Lake resident John House became an award-winning artist follows the same old script. You hear one account of how a former decoy carver ends up winning the grand slam of Minnesota’s DNR wildlife stamp contests, you’ve heard ‘em all.

House now lives in tiny Melby, MN (pop. 35), where he is a professional artist with numerous awards on his résumé, but the way he got from here to there, or from there to here, will take a little bit of explaining.

A 1974 graduate of Forest Lake High School, House went off to college for a few years, until he just couldn’t take it anymore, and then headed to Canada to become a fishing guide.

The only problem with that plan was realizing how much he missed his hometown girlfriend Barbara. So he came back to Forest Lake and shortly thereafter, he and Barb got married. And House was on his way to dazzling his friends and family.

As good as House can remember, at this point in his life, he had carved one or two decoys. Total. Yet he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“I announced to the world that I was a professional decoy carver,” he says.

Barb’s grandparents had a home in Melby, and that’s where House and his new bride moved so John could work on his craft. For eight years he carved Canvasback decoys, which many people claim to be the King of Ducks.

They’re big, they’re pretty and they taste good on the table, House says.

During this time, House would enter decoy contests. He doesn’t recall ever losing one, but there was something missing. House had been hunting since he was 10 years old, but these decoys were not capturing the real appeal of the sport. There was no drama. The decoy could not express the drama of the hunt, he says.

So what does a professional, award-winning decoy carver do? He decides to start painting. Yes, he will start painting these dramatic hunting scenes and announce it to his friends his family.

“In the exact same foolish manner,” as his decoy proclamation, House says.

And while he’s embarrassed to admit this, “I placed my family in the tank again,” he says. But this switch in disciplines brings us farther away from there and closer to here.

House began entering DNR contests, where they select four different pieces of artwork— a pheasant, a trout, a duck and a turkey — that will be on the DNR conservation stamps that are sold to hunters and fishermen.

For the 1999 year, House finally won the duck stamp, and he originally thought that he would enjoy that victory and stop with the contests.

Then again, he could also take a run at the pheasant stamp. On his second attempt he picked up that award.

“So what if a guy won all four of them?” He wondered. “It’s never been done before.”

Until now.

On House’s first crack at the trout stamp, his painting was selected to be used in 2006. A few weeks ago, his turkey entry was chosen, which will be on next year’s stamp.

The only snafu was a judging mistake, which had the winning votes going to the wrong painting. Days later the DNR realized their error and decided to bring in five new judges and vote again.

This time House learned he had won the fourth and final stamp and hit the elusive grand slam.

“This turkey might be my best,” he says. “Others may get it [the grand slam], but God smiled on me first.”

Now he says he’s done with the DNR contests, and unlike the earlier notion he had after his first win, this time he’s certain.

“I can say with total confidence,” he states. “I have other goals.”

Thirty years into a wildlife art career, House has been incorporating more people into his work and sees himself heading toward Norman Rockwell-style paintings.

Fishing guide to decoy carver to award-winning wildlife artist to Norman Rockwell. That is so typical.

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