Thursday, January 31, 2008

No. 31


It is snowing here so I decided to use a different canvas. I used a stick to draw the fly in the snow. I call it the "Snow Fly".

I have decided to put all of the names of the individuals who have emailed a fly suggestion in a hat. The winner will be announced tomorrow. There are a few images that will not be available due to the fact that they were sold! Stay tuned.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

No 30

SOLD


Designing the wet fly - digital and hand sketching. My good buddy Corey and I had the same idea for this one!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

No. 29


This is a marker on vellum drawing of a Dark Hendrickson Wet Fly. We tied this handsome fly at one of our club meetings. Thanks Chuck!

Monday, January 28, 2008

No. 28

Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.

A classic Caddis pattern originated around 1920 in Henryville, PA - The Henryville Special. Thanks for the suggestion Rich. Sepia ink and watercolor.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

No. 27

SOLD

Green Butt Skunk - revisited. Gouache over watercolor. Thanks Sharon

Saturday, January 26, 2008

No. 26

SOLD


Watercolor.

Friday, January 25, 2008

No. 25


The Header Fly - Charcoal on Pastel Paper.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

No. 24


Experiment with pastel. Interesting, but not quite what I want.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

No. 23


SOLDI

t was one of those days were nothing seemed to click. I also discovered that my drawing, and painting is much better in the morning than in the evenings. This fly is an evening painting that did not quite go as planned. Too tight and overworked. I learned from what I did and I will try this one again tomorrow in the morning. This is called the Header Fly - Thanks for the suggestion Darren. Darren has a great site, The Daily Fly Paper Blog, stop by and check it out!

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

No. 22


Charcoal on pastel paper.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Sunday, January 20, 2008

No. 20


This is another splat fly. I first put down a rough gesso under painting. Once that was dried I applied a watercolor wash over the top. I then took a piece of mat board, put some watercolor on it and smashed it on the paper. I filled in the rest of the details around the splat.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

No. 19


Spent the morning cleaning up and organizing the studio. I was going through 3 bins of markers that I have collected over the years and do not use to much anymore due to the digital revolution. I was checking each marker, pitching the ones that did not work and keeping the ones that did. I started to sketch a fly while I was checking each marker. I gathered up a handful of random color markers and drew this fly on vellum.

Friday, January 18, 2008

No. 18

Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.

I was returning back to the studio after visiting a client, and I was stuck at a train crossing waiting for a freight train to pass. Instead of staring at the endless stream of train cars as they passed, I pulled out my sketchbook a drew up some dry flies from memory. After roughly sketching the flies, I checked and the train cars were still passing by. I had my travel watercolor kit with me, but I drank all of the water from my water bottle. I noticed I had some coffee left in my cup, so I took out my travel brush and laid down a coffee wash. I added the coffee cup rings by brushing some coffee on the cup and placing it on my sketch. The moral of the story is that there is always time to draw, you just have to take advantage of the opportunities when they present themselves.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

No. 17


Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.

"Fontinalis Fin wet fly" - gouache over watercolor - suggested by Joseph. This was a disaster! Everything is way to tight and there are not enough soft edges. This is what the series is all about though. I will post the good the bad and the ugly! I was also trying to really play the blue and orange compliment off of each other. I will have to try again. I am trying to get the hang of gouache.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

No. 16


This is a classic Steelhead pattern - the Green Butt Skunk. This is gouache over a watercolor backround. It did not turn out exactly as I planned. Hook is bent, I did not notice this when I was painting it - I forgot to step back and evaluate! I will try again. Thanks for the suggestion Sharon. I will have a better version to give you!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

No. 15


" Josephine" digital image in Photoshop. Just playing on my Cintiq 21x.

Monday, January 14, 2008

No. 14


Hares Ear wet fly. Charcol on pastel paper.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

No. 13


Another watercolor splat fly. I brushed some color on a scrap piece of mat board, then pressed it onto watercolor paper. This made the wing of the fly. Then I painted in the rest. It is fun to see what type of pattern you end up with.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

No. 12


brush pen on watercolor paper. Shape exploration.

Friday, January 11, 2008

No. 11


Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.

The McGinty suggested by Ed. (The McGinty would look great with a Kilt Ed!) Gouache with a watercolor background

Charles McGinty conceived the McGinty in 1883. McGinty was from Chicago and came up with this as a bass fly originally. It was designed to have the appearance of a bee or wasp.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

No. 10

Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.


Charcoal on pastel paper.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

No. 9

Original - SOLD

Red quill dry fly - sepia ink with a quill pen. I sprayed some water droplets on the board so that as I drew through the puddle, it created a spidery line. Thanks for the fly suggestion Paul. This is one of those classic dries with a divided wood duck flank wing.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

No. 8


"Fire Fly" Digital rendering in Photoshop. I have always had a soft spot for flames. This would make a great tattoo for someone!

Monday, January 7, 2008

No. 7


Cool experiment...took a piece of mat board slapped some paint on it, then drew a fly.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

No. 6


Countess of Seafield - watercolor and gouache

Saturday, January 5, 2008

No. 5


Original - SOLD

Limited Edition Prints - Available soon - Send email for details.

Mickey Finn - Watercolor. Thanks for the suggestion Liz! We will see more of this fly in the future.

Friday, January 4, 2008

No. 4


This is a pen and ink on sketch paper of a fly by Gene Sunday. It is called the Countess of Seafield. Gene was a very talented and innovative tier. I was glad to have the privilege to tie with him on two occasions.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

No. 3 - No Name Spey Fly



Graphite on sketch paper. No fly in particular, just started with a hook and just created the shape. I added the flowing heron. We may not be able to use heron in the US, but that will not stop me from drawing it.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

No. 2


No name fly - pen and ink on watercolor stock with watercolor accent wash.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

No. 1 - Royal Wulff

Original - SOLD

Just as when tying, proportions are important! The hook I drew was too long for the pattern. But this is only the start. This sketch was done in ink with some ground pastel wiped on for color. The excess was erased out.