M. Wayne Willis
Wildlife Art

Wayne was born in eastern Kansas and also spent a part of his youth in Virginia and Maryland. In both regions of the country he spent much of his time hunting, fishing, and learning the sportsman’s appreciation of nature and "wild" places. His paintings take you to the backwoods and the backroads, to familiar waterholes, across spring-fed creeks and past abandoned farm buildings reminiscent of an earlier era.

For over 60 years, Wayne has captured on paper, on canvas and in wood every movement and nuance of waterfowl and upland game birds. Ranked among the top U.S. wildlife artists and known for his adroit rendering of background scenes from his prairie and Midwest experience, he is considered by many to be the country’s premiere quail painter.

. He spent the latter part of his life divided between his studio and gallery in Wichita, where he could be found regaling his frequent drop-in visitors with an inexhaustible supply of amusing anecdotes; and the ‘Flying W’ ranch located near Eureka where, through a program sponsored by the Kansas Fish and Game Commission, Maxima Canada geese have been breeding on the lake for nearly 20 years. The ranch continues to be managed for wildlife by his daughters.

Wayne was very active in Ducks Unlimited. He was a National Honorary Trustee for the organization and recipient of the Palette and Chisel award. His donated prints have raised well over a million dollars for D.U. conservation and restoration projects. Also a charter member of Quail Unlimited, Wayne was selected by that organization and the Kansas Fish and Game Commission as the artist for the State’s first quail stamp and print. He was also commissioned by the Kansas Department of Economic Development to create the first stamp and print in the Kansas Wildlife Series. His paintings have been used to illustrate numerous books and articles on wildlife and the environment.