As a nature and wildlife artist, Derek Wicks’ currency has been on the rise for some years now, but Canadians will likely carry his latest work not just in their hearts, but their wallets too.

The Royal Canadian Mint has permanently etched Wicks’ illustration of a common loon with its arched wings splashing in water, in its 2016 Olympic Lucky Loonie circulation dollar coin.

The coin marks Canada’s tribute to the country’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in the Rio 2016 Summer Games and is currently available online.

“Art is where I recessed into as a child and youth,” said Wicks, who grew up depending on the Children's Aid Society. “I have won many awards, but those are nothing compared to how I feel about this (Lucky Loonie). My country raised, clothed, fed and gave me an education and I have to say, a tear came to my eye seeing my work on an actual circulation currency of the country I owe so much to.”

Crowned the Ducks Unlimited Canada Artist of the Year twice now, Wicks reckons he has designed some 10 coins for The Mint, but the Lucky Loonie will hold a special place of pride in his home and heart, he said.

Wicks, who grew up in Peel Village and Heart Lake areas of Brampton, said he studied all the existing copies of loonies to understand individual design components before rendering his ideas.

“I figured since the coin was for the Olympics, an event where people exerted huge energy and held nothing back, I decided the loon would be the most predominant element of the coin,” Wicks said. “I knew we had to have a powerful energy and initially, I spent a lot of time trying to get that (energy) from the loon, but in the end, I got it out of the splashing water.”

The design that made it to Wicks’ drawing board was first captured on Wicks’ camera. The Bramptonian shot the photograph while visiting Buckhorn Lake near Peterborough County where he watched a family of loons cavorting in the water.

“I took that picture and manipulated the chest and wings of the bird,” he explained. “It wasn’t until my second or third revision that I decided to make the water splash. It started to get real after that.”

The Royal Canadian Mint’s tradition of releasing the Lucky Loonie dates back to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Apparently, the coin was buried at the Olympic venue to bring luck to Canada’s gold medal-winning men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. Since then, The Mint has released a Lucky Loonie for each of the subsequent Olympics.