No. 365

No. 365! What a journey it has been. So we exit this year with my version of the Wolly Willy. It is called Wolly Bugger (not very original, but it works.) I remember this toy growing up as a kid. I happened to find one on the internet and I converted it so magnetic flies could be drawn.

Many have emailed and asked "What's next for this blog?" Well folks, you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. So stop back Jan1 2009 so I can fill you in on the details. Have a safe and Happy New Year's and while you are celebrating, find some way to draw or create your own fly tonight. Draw one on a napkin, fashion it out of snack food or arrange some cocktail tooth picks into a fly. See everyone back here on the 1st!





"Magnetic Wolly Bugger"

Illustrator - Glen Hiramatsu

"Glenn's PT Sculpey Fly" I received an email and the above inages from Glenn who is a freelance designer who resides in California. He created an awesome clay sculpture of a PT nymph. I really dig the rocks he created. Glenn produced his sculpture while spending time on this activity with his daughter. I truely beleive there is no greater activity in life then spending time with kids being creative. Glenn is goint to try his hand at it again with a bigger hook.

No. 364

"Rogue River Special" Watercolor and Gouache. Another classic Northwest steel head pattern. I saw this twist on an old favorite in an old issue of Fly Tyer. I really dig the complimentary floss colors and the overall shape. And I cannot resist a fly with JC!

No. 363

"The Undertaker" Watercolor and gouache. This would have made a great Halloween fly. Come to think of it, there are a number of flies that are great Halloween flies. Anyways, my buddy Corey was tying these beauties up for an upcoming fly swap. I decided to paint it. Another classic steelhead pattern.

No. 362

"Glitter Fly" White glue and glitter. I was putting away my clothes from our holiday trip and I noticed a bunch of glitter flakes on my bag. They must have been from some of the gift wrapping that was packed in with our bags. Add a little glue, sprinkle some glitter and there you have it... a glitter fly

No. 361

"Purple Peril" Gouache in the Moleskine sketchbook. I am trying to figure out what fly to tie for our local steelhead fly swap. I would like to try my hand at a few traditional patterns, but also would like to tie something that would fish well in out local rivers.

No. 360

"Indigo" Indigo Pencil on Moleskine.

No. 359

"Christmas Fly" Watercolor and gouache. I painted a different version of this fly a few years back. It was worth painting again in the watercolor Gouache style. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!

No. 358

"Meeting Fly" Pen on note paper. During a phone conference today I drifted off and drew this fly in the corner of my notes.

No. 357

"Black Ghost Sketch" Graphite on Moleskine.

No. 356

"Royal Coachman Streamer sketch" Graphite in Moleskine.

No. 355

"NIFT Royal Coachman Streamer" Watercolor and Gouache. For our last tying meeting of the year, I painted this fly in front of our group. I described what was going through my head as I painted and gave a little "art lesson" to my fellow club members. After the painting was completed and the painting was auctioned off with the proceeds going to the club to help fund our clubs educational activities. This was an extremely enjoyable event for me and I hope it was just as rewarding for my fellow club members. Mike J. was the lucky recipient of the auction.Thanks go out to Corey and Ed for the photography and recording of the event.

Video Sequence Part 2

This is Part 2 in the series illustrating the steps I go through to paint my flies. For those who receive the feed, click here to view the video.

No.354

"Dec's Tragoprawn" Watercolor and Gouache. I would like to get out West to try swinging a few of these for steelhead someday. Hope you enjoy the painting sequence slide show.

No. 353

Original is SOLD

"Red Quill" Watercolor and gouache. I have fooled many a trout in the driftless area with this fly. Part 2 of the video series illustrates how the background for this painting was done. Stay tuned for that posting.

No. 352

"Red Quill Sketch" Did this all time favorite with an 8B pencil in the Moleskine sketchbook. This is a reference sketch for a painting. I do not paint from photos. I will paint from my sketches. It helps to keep me loose and impressionistic.

No. 351

"Rusty Rat Digital" This is the first in a series of 4 digital illustrations that were created for the cover art of "Broken Tippet" magazine. This magazine is produced by the folks of FlyFusion magazine. My Canadian friend Pacres (Darren) at the Daily Fly Paper is helping to head up the magazines efforts.

Artist - Fly Fisherman Jon Waske

From time to time I come across fellow artists and anglers that I would like readers of this blog to be exposed to. Jon Waske is one of those artists. As Jon puts it, "I am an avid flyfisherman and artist who spends as much time as possible trying to perfect both hobbies. I enjoy tying flies, fishing streams, drawing and painting." So drop by his site and browse the great selection of painted works.

No. 350

"Glue Fly" Hot glue on illustration board. I have a number of hot glue sticks that are used for making eggs patterns laying around in the tying materials inventory. I decided to put them to use in a different manner. This fly was created for for American Angler magazine and appeared in the "Headwaters" section of the September/October 2008 issue.

No. 349

"Copper Bob 2" Gouache on Canson paper. This is another attempt at the Copper Bob by Bob White. I have been stacked up with regular work these past few weeks. It is unusual to be so busy this time of year especially with the way the economy is going right now. I am thankful to have so much work. I will try to get the rest of this weeks posts up soon.

No. 348

"Winters Hope Sketch and Video" This is part 1 in a series documenting the process I go through to paint my flies. For those who read the FeedBurner emails, click here to watch the You Tube video. Or you can go to the blog to watch the video. Recording the videos is new to me, so I hope they improve as I go. I found it hard to sketch in front of the camera. Which is strange, because I sketch and draw in front of people all the time. Stay tuned for Part 2. I tried to post this on Sunday, but there were difficulties uploading the video to You Tube. Better a bit late than never.

No. 347

"Rusty Rat" Charcoal on pastel paper. Still experimenting with minimal charcoal application to achieve a desired look.

No. 346

"Saltwater BF" Charcoal on pastel paper. Simple and minimal rendition.

No. 345

"Red Quill" Pastel Pencil and watercolor.

No. 344

"No Name Gouache Fly" I tried some gouache from a different manufacturer on this fly. I like the colors and the way they apply to the paper. With this fly all I did was grab a piece of watercolor paper, a brush and the gouache and started painting. No reference or particular fly in mind. Just let my hand eyes and mind go to work.

No. 343

"Chocolate Wet" Chocolate syrup on a dinner plate. Inspiration for flies can hit at any time. I was at a clients office working today when some bad weather rolled in. It was raining in the morning, turning to sleet in the afternoon and eventually snow at the rush hour. Normally this drive takes 45 minutes. tonight it too a little over 2 hours. A good portion of the ride I was behind a truck. On the back of the truck was a graphic of a pile of ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. Well, after staring at the image for a while, it got me thinking about today's fly. Have you ever been at an upscale restaurant and ordered desert? The desert would be served with some type of sweet sauce drizzled on the plate along with the desert item. Well, this is what a fly fisherman's desert would look like. By the way, after I created the fly, the series of photos following show what the fly looked like after I licked the plate! The first lick actually created a nice wing effect! Obviously this original is SOLD. My stomach and taste buds enjoyed the original art.

No. 342

"Paper Streamer" I pulled out the X-acto blade and some paper and free form cut this fly out of the paper.

No. 341

"Ink and Water Fly 2" Tried another one.

No. 340

"Water and Ink Fly 1" I shot a video of the process of a fly I created a while back. I did this by accident when I created the first fly. The way this works is I paint the fly with clean water on the paper. I then drop in ink and watch the way the ink flows into the created form. I cannot see much when I am doing this. Basically going by feel only and looking at the sheen on the paper.

No. 339

"Korey Strut Spey" Watercolor and gouache. This is Friday's fly. This fly is dedicated to Karen D. for her Birthday. Happy Birthday Karen!

No. 338

"Business End" Graphite on Moleskine. This is Thursdays fly post. Things this week have been crazy!

No. 337

"BWO RPE (reverse parachute emerger)" Watercolor and Gouache. I had received an email from Roy Christie a few months back concerning the reverse parachute sketch I did back in August. Roy is the originator of many reverse parachute fly designs. You can see his Photostream here.

A couple of days ago he sent an image of his BWO RPE. The shape and colors were so striking that I had to paint it! This is Roy's comment on the fly:

"You can, if you wish, draw my reversed parachute emerger. I tie these up to imitate all surface hatching mayflies and midges, the idea being that the hook will pull the tippet through the surface. So degrease the tippet, grease the hackle and you get a clean image on a flat surface the moment the fly lands on the water. This is a very effective presentation.
Thanks again for your daily drawings.

Roy Christe, an Irishman in London UK

And the final winner is....

The winner for the last print drawing is..... Dave C. (vtfly). Congrats Dave, I will send you an email with the details.

I would like to thank everyone who sent in suggestions. They were all great and I wish I could get to all of them.

Things are a bit busy here these days, but I will soon be posting a number of announcements concerning the blog and what is in store for next year. Stay tuned.

No. 336

"No Name Skunk" Graphite on Moleskine. Just a quick one for today. My day job has me constantly running!

No. 335

"USK Grub" Gouache in my Moleskine. I was reading my Dec Hogan "Passion for Steelhead " book and past few evening and I came across this pattern. painted it up quick, to try to get the shape of the fly. The real fly is much better looking than this version. You can read about the history of the fly in this must have steelhead book!

Last Chance

I will be picking the last winner for the Drawing Flies 365 free print on Wednesday. If you have a fly to suggest, get your name in now to enter the final raffle!

Steelheadquarters

Had a great writeup at Steel Headquarters! Check it out here.

No. 334

"Up Close" (and personal) Graphite pencil on Moleskine.

No. 333

"Grizzly King" Graphite in Moleskine sketchbook.

No. 332

"Blue Charm" Graphite and gouache on moleskine. We spent the Thanksgiving Holiday with my wife's family in Michigan. I brought my Moleskine sketchbook some assorted paints and an arsenal of graphite pencils. I drew this fly in graphite and added the blue bird as an accent. Something different for Friday's fly.

No. 331

"Thanksgiving Fly" Sepia ink and watercolor. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

No. 330

"Alewife Spey" Watercolor and gouache. This is a fantastic Midwest Steelhead pattern created by the talented tyer Jon U at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters. I am not exactly pleased with the way this one turned out. It was a bit of a struggle to get the look I was aiming for. I will have to try again.

No. 329

Original - SOLD - prints available for sale. Email me for details.

"Pretty in Pink Dee" Watercolor and Gouache. This is a Marty Howard Pattern. Drop By The Spey Pages to check out more of his flies.

No. 328

"Pretty in Pink Dee" A quick sketch for tomorrows painting.

Latest Press

I know this has nothing to do with drawing flies, but I am still going to announce it here anyways. I had three paintings published in the November/December issue of Ducks Unlimited Magazine. My good friend Bob White who has illustrations regularly published in this and many publications, called and asked if I would be interested in creating paintings for an article for the DU Magazine. This was a bit of a challenge for me due to the fact that I have never been duck hunting and the paintings involved some rather close ups of people. Well, I took the challenge and the following is the result. The paintings were developed around the well written story by Dave Books.