Can I Use a Wild Turkey Logo Brand in My Art

How Dirt, Sticks and Wild Turkeys Helped Create "A Mossy Oak Moment"

by Brent Rogers

There are moments in fourth dimension that are forever freeze-framed in our memories. Any spring turkey hunter can recollect, with clarity, those moments when nosotros have met a grand gobbler in the turkey woods.

"A Mossy Oak Moment" by artist Dan Moreton, preserves the thrilling climax of a turkey hunt, something many of us can relate to. There are other pivotal moments in our lives, when doors are opened and decisions made, that forever change the path we tread. Dan Moreton and Toxey Haas had both walked through several of those doors by the time their paths ultimately crossed, leading to the cosmos of the stunning imagery in "A Mossy Oak Moment."

Pictured: Revered turkey hunters Mr. Fox Haas and Mr. Tom Kelly in front end of the "A Mossy Oak Moment" painting

Dan Moreton recalls, "I could always visualize natural scenes. Even as a youth, I brought those visions to life through scratching in the dirt with sticks, and making sketches." He had adequate inspiration; having spent his babyhood in Arkansas and Oklahoma, he adult a keen appreciation of the natural world through hunting and camping. Although non a trained artist, Dan e'er dabbled with fine art. Through taking art classes in high schoolhouse and higher, one can see he was steadily marching to a pulsate shell, leading him downwardly the path of an creative person. Dan graduated from the college of Agronomics at the Academy of Arkansas with an Beast Science major in 1986; interestingly enough, the same twelvemonth that a young Toxey Haas stepped out of the shadow of the Mossy Oak tree to launch his dream company.

Toxey Haas similarly grew upwards with an admiration for the splendor of the natural world. He comes from, and carries on, a stiff tradition of organized religion, family unit values and natural resources stewardship. His male parent, Mr. Fox Haas, had helped piece of work to conserve southern turkey population in the 1970'southward, and instilled in each member of his family a sense of duty to be a 'gamekeeper.' In a 2002 Holy Bible printed by Mossy Oak and adorned in Mossy Oak Original Break-Upwards, Toxey offers a foreword that embodies the Haas family unit and Mossy Oak values: "Equally people who savor the outdoors, we are all responsible every day to care for the wondrous creations in nature that our awesome God has given united states of america."

Toxey besides saw the potential of dirt and sticks, and his creativity culminated in the launch of the beloved Original Bottomland cover-up with the founding of Mossy Oak in 1986. The pattern was designed to provide southern lowland hunters an advantage while hunting the keen-eyed wild turkey.

While spending three months in Colorado Springs, Dan Moreton responded to an advertisement in a local newspaper, which had been placed by a well-known regional artist. The creative person was hosting an acrylic painting class, and Dan leaped at the opportunity. Information technology was to be a 5 calendar week class, painting the iconic Freeway's Height out of the fine art studio window. After the third week, Dan moved back to Arkansas, but he had completed his painting. Dan's 24-hour interval job for a pharmaceutical company introduced him to a managing director who had an appreciation for art. They began to talk about paintings, and Dan'south manager wanted to see what Dan had washed. He liked what he saw then much that he deputed Dan to do a painting for him.

Pictured: Dan Moreton, the artist behind "A Mossy Oak Moment"

Newly invigorated, Dan began to paint images on wild turkey feathers, and got a berth at a regional arts and crafts festival. Selling his art further emboldened him, and, in 1992, he constitute himself walking through the doors of the Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, MO. They had a notable fine art gallery, and he asked the gallery manager about having some of his art displayed and sold. Dan proceeded to lay some of his wild turkey feathers on the counter, immediately alluring the involvement of those nearby, who asked if they were sale. The apt art gallery managing director took notation, and before long thereafter contacted Dan, request if he would like to be the Bass Pro Shops featured artist during their fall hunting classic. From sketching in the clay with sticks, to painting on wild turkey feathers, Dan was hopeful he might eventually realize his dream of condign a full-time artist.

Even as a new company, Mossy Oak was quite active in attending industry events. Cecil Carder, one of the Mossy Oak squad, met Dan and was impressed with his power. Cecil, who became a lifelong friend, asked whether Dan needed more feathers, and presently afterwards, Dan received from Mossy Oak a box of tail fans and an invite from them to the 1992 Texas Parks & Wildlife Exposition! "Mossy Oak had a booth at the Expo, and permit me set upwardly and sell my art from their berth. This continued for a couple years, with Mossy Oak graciously giving me booth infinite." Throughout this time, Dan counterbalanced a full time job while continuing to produce and sell artwork at trade shows. This was with the full encouragement of his employer, who also began having him practice some internal artistic work for them. At ane point, his director, Dr. Raymond Plue even counseled him "I'll be disappointed in you, if in a yr from now, yous are not making a living at this!"

Meanwhile, the innovation of new camouflage patterns, for all hunters, in all situations, continued at Mossy Oak. 1995 was to run across the launch Mossy Oak Break-Up, a pattern with more prevalent leaves, limbs, bawl, branches and natural coloration for woodlands settings. Toxey and team were over again creating with the help of dirt and sticks. "During the development of Break-Up in the spring of 1995, Mossy Oak, reached out to me. They wanted to commission me to do a painting to be used in the promotion of Mossy Oak Break-Up." By this fourth dimension, Dan's future was prepare, and with his growing success, and the encouragement of his parents, he had become a full-time creative person. Painting outdoor scenes, complete with clay and sticks, was a dream come true.

Mossy Oak sent Dan jackets and pants in Mossy Oak Break-Up, with some requests for the painting he had agreed to do. Given their strong family orientation, the painting was to illustrate a father and son, clad in the new camo pattern, on a turkey hunt. The name of the impress, "A Mossy Oak Moment," sprung from a asking from Toxey Haas to use "Mossy Oak" in the title. "Mossy Oak and I tossed a few ideas around, and "A Mossy Oak Moment" stuck. Information technology took several weeks, all-day, every day to consummate the 30x20 oil painting on canvas," Dan recollects. His procedure is to paint a portion of the painting, and and so, over time, there are numerous additions and corrections. According to Dan, "many times, certain portions of the painting may accept been painted and re-painted several times before I was satisfied. And so, there are probably multiple layers of images in portions of that painting."

Dan's familiarity with the outdoors and hunting wild turkeys, along with the direction and support of Mossy Oak, at present culminated in the completion of the original painting, "A Mossy Oak Moment" in early 1996. Years of difficult work, friendship, and pursuing obsessions are axiomatic in the final event.

Pictured: Prints of the painting of note, "A Mossy Oak Moment"

The painting'south focus is appropriately on the wild turkeys; the trees in the background gradually fade away, cartoon attention to a magnificent pair of gobblers in total brandish in a forest glade. The seasonal theme is well-captured, with newly leafing trees and the first woodland flowers. The browns of winter are giving way to the greenery of spring, and a search of the foreground reveal details familiar to u.s.: new growth of plants and ferns, last year's pine cones, even a fragile spider-spider web. One might completely miss the pair of hunters leaned against a tree, just as the gobblers have done, if not for the knowledge that they are there. The youth has his shotgun raised in anticipation, and the begetter holds steady an old box-telephone call. A moment of perfection and worthy of remembrance.

Mossy Oak originally did a run of 2000 signed and numbered, newspaper lithograph prints. They ran a promotion for people that purchased Break-Up clothing; those customers could turn in their proof of purchase to qualify to obtain a impress. Those fortunate few! The original painting was acquired by Mossy Oak, and it proudly hangs in the office of Toxey Haas, at the Mossy Oak Headquarters, in West Point, Mississippi. In 2013, Mossy Oak Properties reached out to Dan, and they bought 100 prints for each of the side by side couple years, besides using them in a promotion for those purchasing properties.

Nigh recently, Mossy Oak has continued to be an industry leader in conservation by releasing the first private wild turkey conservation stamp. Mossy Oak has stated that 100% of the money raised will "directly fund wild turkey research projects to ensure the wild turkey is around for generations to come up."

In a corresponding letter by Toxey Haas, he says, "Without wild turkeys there would be no Mossy Oak. And information technology's our responsibleness to do everything we can with the time we have on Globe to ensure the turkey hunting community leaves the wild turkey better off than nosotros found them. Turkeys are a precious resource, and they're more vulnerable than most of the animals we hunt."

Dan Moreton's "A Mossy Oak Moment" was accordingly selected every bit the perfect representation of that vision; it is the featured stamp in the release.

The Mossy Oak 2022 Wild Turkey Conservation Stamp is available now.

Dan Moreton's fine art, including full-size, express edition giclee prints and smaller open editions of "A Mossy Oak Moment" are available at www.danmoretonart.com.

richardsondustrads.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.mossyoak.com/our-obsession/blogs/turkey/the-painting-behind-mossy-oaks-inaugural-turkey-stamp