Fourth time was charm for local Duck Stamp artist

Philip Scholer grew up in Rochester with a brother and sister and attended John Marshall High School. He said he was too small for football and had an interest in gymnastics but really enjoyed art class using acrylic paints and working on a variety of types of paintings. His family did a lot of camping so they would pack their gear and would head to the country many weekends and sleep under the stars. It really helped him gain his love for nature and wild life, he said.
His parents encouraged education, so Phil enrolled at Mankato State University while his siblings chose schools in Colorado and Illinois. He felt Mankato was a good fit as they had a great Art Department that allowed him to do a variety of projects but he always liked realistic type paintings. When he moved off campus to a big house, during his sophomore year, with his first year dorm roommates, he would paint portraits of his roommates, friends, family members and requests from other people.
Sheryl Davids, from Buffalo Center, Iowa, lived on the upper floor apartments in this same house so things developed for this couple. Sheryl taught school at Dawson, Minn. for a year and when Phil graduated in 1973 with a degree in Fine Arts they were married that year.
Jobs were hard to find, especially one being able to use his art skills. His first job was at Abel Signs in Kasson for $2/hour working on truck lettering, logos and some store front projects. After being there a year, Phil saw a want ad in the paper for a sign designer in Rochester that fit his skills and it also doubled his salary. The company had a working connection with Holiday Inn so he would fly along with his boss to new or remodeled hotels to plan sign designs that fit with the new motel location.
After a few years Phil went to work for an outdoor sign company and would design billboards for highway locations and it was located in the same building he was already working at so he still used the same parking lot.
Phil was becoming interested in wildlife art, especially after seeing paintings of artist David Mass, which gave him ideas using birds and including landscapes into the design. He felt working on wildlife paintings would be something he really wanted to do more of while still working his regular job as it is not easy making a living just being artist.
It was then he started to enter his paintings in duck stamp contests. He won the Nevada Duck Stamp contest in 1981as this was one state that did not require the artist to be a resident of their state. He next won the Minnesota Duck Stamp in 1982 with a pair of redhead birds and that design had placed third in the Federal competition.
Phil had entered the Federal Duck Stamp four previous times and had started to move up in the placing but he hit the grand prize in 1983 winning first place among 1,564 entries during the two-day judging in Washington DC at the Department of the Interior with a pair of pintails in front of reeds at twilight.
Phil and Sheryl were in attendance at the judging when the winner was announced and this had not happened before so it was really a special moment for them and the audience.
He mentioned that earlier in the day a high ranking government official was walking among the contest paintings when the official pointed to Phil’s painting and he overheard him say that painting is the one he would pick to win the contest and it did.
Phil then needed to paint a larger scale painting of his winning entry as they would engrave the duck stamp design that all waterfowl hunters would need for their license and would also make bigger prints of this painting. Phil worked with a Wisconsin company and he became his own publisher of the prints. This way he would be better off financially from the sale of prints as compared to handing everything over to a publishing company. Phil said this edition was for 25,000 prints and he hand signed every one of them with his signature over a 10-day period sitting in a hotel room!      
Some of his next wildlife print editions of future paintings would be 570 to 780 prints to sign depending on the amount of pre-release orders. Phil used his photography skills looking for backgrounds for paintings and capturing light is very important in his paintings and especially the warm sunlight and low light conditions.
 
 
He said the Federal contest has changed some, as now they will focus on certain birds each year so it doesn’t get to be the same type each year as some are more colorful than others. Phil has gotten to know many wildlife artists and says they are really pretty good people and willing to share ideas with others, as Phil has done.
After painting wildlife pictures for about 20 years he was ready for a change as he said it is a lonely job sitting at a desk. He enjoys talking to people and really looked forward to when the UPS truck would come by.
He still likes to paint but is now doing much different projects. He said recently he painted wood retaining wall beams in their yard to match the color of the ones that have been in place for some time.
Phil then took a job at Cabela's in Owatonna working in the fly fishing section which he really enjoyed as this is something he has a real interest in. After being there for 10 years the company phased out the department so his next job was a KM bus driver for seven years.
Phil said he really enjoyed being with kids and he drove bus for various age students and the last several years was with kids with special needs. Sometimes he would need to get his young passengers attention so they would not bother other kids while riding. 
One young girl commented when exiting the bus “that crazy driver.” One day two kindergarten students were sitting in the bus seat behind him when one said “My mom is a girl”and the other student said “My mom is a girl too!”
He enjoyed working with the staff of KM bus drivers and one summer he helped clean the buses as someone needed to do it. Phil retired from driving bus this past school year when the COVID hit as he felt it would be a lot harder with the new procedures that are now needed for cleaning, etc.
Phil used to do a lot of golfing for many years with Lowell Overson and Loren Engelhardt and they would go to various golf courses when their schedules would fit. He said he has given the game of golf up as just doesn’t have the stamina he used to have.
Sheryl taught English for 10 years in Dodge Center but has been on staff at RCTC for 30 years now focusing on teaching reading as that is really important for students. She has been doing the zoom classes this fall for RCTC students.
Sheryl is a very avid reader and Phil said she really keeps him centered. He keeps busy doing maintenance projects around their home which he does without Sheryl making a list. They had dogs for many years but they babysit their neighbors dog regularly and join them on their walks in their neighborhood.
Their son, Mike lives in Rochester, so it is nice he is close by. When they first moved back to this area they lived in Kasson as they felt it was a better location since Sheryl taught school in Dodge Center but now have lived in their present home for 36 years which they really enjoy as they are surrounded by nature which Phil has a real passion.
 
 
In Photo: Phil Scholer with the painting that won him the Federal Duck Stamp competition in 1983.