Wednesday, December 30, 2009

2 Days Left for Discount!

There are only 2 days left to receive your $10 book discount! To preview and order your book today, click here. Enter the following code at checkout to receive the discount:

Orders from the US (using US $): GREATGIFT

Orders from UK (using UK £): GREATGIFT2

Orders from EU (using EU €): GREATGIFT3

Orders from AU (using AUD $): GREATGIFT4

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Drawing Flies 52

Jason Borger (whose credentials would take an entire post to list!) at Fish Fles and Water and I are going to collaborate on a new project starting January 1st. We are going to draw the same fly on the same day of the week. We will post those flies to our respective blogs every Thursday. Each fly will be our own interpretation that neither of us will see until we post it. The idea is to create a collaboration hosted by two artists who love to illustrate the same subject matter. To keep the project fun we are going to limit ourselves to 30 minutes total drawing time for each fly. That is more than enough time for me to get into creative trouble!

The first fly we will be drawing is the Mickey Finn. And it will appear on each of our blogs January 1, 2010. We will post new flies every Thursday thereafter and we plan to keep it up for an entire year. We both hope that FF&W and DF365 readers will enjoy this new project.

Stop back on the 1st to check out the Finn!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

HOLIDAY SPECIAL

Blurb is offering $10 off either version of my new book! Enter the following code at checkout to receive the discount! Hurry, offer is valid until December 31st. Click here to preview and order the book

Orders from the US (using US $): GREATGIFT

Orders from UK (using UK £): GREATGIFT2

Orders from EU (using EU €): GREATGIFT3

Orders from AU (using AUD $): GREATGIFT4

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Book is Ready



The Drawing Flies 365 book is now available! This 154 page book takes you on a visual journey as I draw/paint 365 fishing flies every day for a year. You can click here to preview 15 sample pages of the book. This link also directs you to the ordering and pricing page for obtaining your copy of the book. I decided to self publish this book through Blurb, who is a print on demand publisher. The book quality is superb. I am offering the book in two versions, soft cover or hard cover with a dust jacket. For those of you that pre-ordered the limited edition copies, you will receive an email with all the information for your order. This book will make a great unique Holiday gift! I hope you enjoy the book. Putting this book together brought back some great memories from that year.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Woolly Bugger

"Bead Head Woolly Bugger"
Watercolor and Gouache - 10" x 14"

This painting was created for an upcoming project. More details will be released later. More images from these series to come!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Limited Edition Prints


Scott Hale over at ArtCreel is offering 10 limited edition prints from the Drawing Flies 365 Series 1 collection. Stop by and check out all of the available art.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

More Posts Coming!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I have a number of items that will be announced the second week of November, namely the anticipated book release. But for now, I am Gone Fishing!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Blue Butt Caddis Emerger



"Blue Butt Caddis Emerger" This painting was done for my freind Tom Helgeson over at Midwest Fly Fishing Magazine. Tom puts out a fantastic tabloid journal that covers fishing in the Midwest. It is refreshing in the age of digital books and e-zines, that someone can still print a quality journal that you can read while dozing of in bed dreaming about your next fishing trip or while on the can passing time dreaming about your next fishing trip. Tom also hosts the the Midwest Fly Fishing show in Chicago and Minneapolis every year. Tom, hope you like the painting, and I cannot wait to try fishing this pattern for trout! The blue tail does not that prominent in the pictures. It is a painting challenge getting that blue metallic flash tail to pop off the painting.

Tribute to Grandpa

"Cassi's Tribute- Art on Skin" I received an email about a week back from Cassi asking permission to use a fly for a tattoo. I have had other request for use of fly art for tattoos, but Cassi has been the only one to not only follow through, but to send a picture of the art immediately after it's completion. Cassi used No. 363 as her choice of body art. Now for the coolest part of the story. Cassi had this tattoo done as a tribute to her grandfather. Here is what Cassi had to say about her life and her Grandpa: "My entire family lives in LA and I spent time with my Grandpa deep sea fishing for tuna and fishing for bass in Newport. I have been fishing with him since middle school. It has been the best time of my life. When my granpa turned 59, he retired from Lockheed and moved to Oregon to learn to fly fish. He unexpectedly passed away one year after moving to Oregon. Three years ago I moved to Oregon into my grandfathers house. A good friend of mine took me on a fly fishing raft trip. We were not that successful, but we had an awesome experience. This is what it must have felt like to my Grandpa to learn something new." I am extremely grateful that my art can help create a lasting memory for someone who had a great love of fishing and for his family. B.C. You have a fantastic Grandaughter who now has artwork inscribed in your memory.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Respect The Fly

"Respect The Fly" This was a collaboration between Steve at Fishing Florida Radio and yours truely. We ended up with one kick ass fly! Check out respect the fly.com to order a cool camo hat and more to come! I really enjoy working on these graphic representation images of flies. Kind of like fly team mascots!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Flats Bunny




"Orange Flats Bunny 2" This is another of the paintings for Fishing Florida Radio. I really have been enjoying doing saltwater flies. Being from the midwest, the colors and shapes of these flies are a painters dream. Looking forward to trying saltwater fishing someday. Shoot on over to their site to register to win a painting!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

MidCurrent Fly Fishing News



My fly art will be featured weekly in the MidCurrent Fly Fishing Newsletter. Sign up for free to get your copy sent fresh to your inbox!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Seaducer


"Seaducer" Watercolor and Gouache.
This is another painting for the Fishing Florida Radio Monthly giveaway. Enjoy.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Royal Wulff



Limited Edition Prints Available at ARTCREEL.

"Royal Wulff" - 10" x 20"- Ball point pen, watercolor and gouache. I used a new technique to create this fly. I sketched the fly with a black ball point pen using some cross hatching to define shapes. I then went over the sketch with watercolor and a bit of gouache. What I really like about creating an image in this fashion is that you can see my pen marks through the transparent watercolor wash. I have 2 more paintings on the easel in which I am using this technique on. I will shoot pictures of the ball point image before I add the watercolor washes and show them on future blog posts. I picked up this technique from Jason Seilerwho is an incredible artists that specializes in portraits and humorous illustration. This is one of the flies for the monthly paintings which are given away on Fishing Florida Radio. Drop by their site to enter to win. You can also listen to their show via Podcasts. You will not be disappointed!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Fishy Kid

I would like to introduce my blog readers to a project that I am proud to be a part of. That project would be the Fishy Kid.org site. I was asked to be one of the artists to submit artwork for the kids coloring book project. This site is the brain child of Cameron (from Fiberglass Manifesto) and Kevin (Red Dirt Studio). Here is a brief description of the project:

"The fishy kid site was designed to provide children and families inspiration to be outdoors and on the water. There will also be an educational component to the site as we link up with conservation organizations too.

For our first project/contest we paired up with a stellar list of fly fishing artists and came up with a 30 plus page coloring book which can be downloaded from the site once you've registered as a member there. We've also paired up with a growing list of gear sponsors who are providing prizes that we'll use for a coloring contest that will run from August through November. The first week of December we'll be drawing winners and sending off prizes."

Bob White, Derek DeYoung, AD Maddox, Kevin Powell, Paul Puckett, Kurt Warner and Mark Yuhina are just some of the contributing artist to the coloring book. Drop by the site and check it out. If you have kids, get them coloring and enter to win some of the great prizes they have lined up.

Thursday, July 30, 2009


Jason Borger over at Fish Flies and Water has a nice post about the Drawing Flies 365 project.
Thanks Jason!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Emulator Sculpin

"Emulator Sculpin" - Watercolor and gouache. Dave P. (Speymaster and fly fishing guide extraordinaire), called a few weeks back and requested a commission painting. Dave was invited to Michigan guide Kevin Feenstra's wedding and wanted to give Kevin and his bride a unique gift. Kevin guides in West Michigan and his known for his Sculpin pattern and many other flashy steelhead patterns. Dave requested a painting of Kevin's signature pattern the Emulator Sculpin. This was the result. Dave called me last night to let me know that the Happy newly weds really enjoyed his gift. Congrat Kevin!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Napkin Fly

"Napkin Fly" Sharpie and gouache on napkin. I happen to be sitting outside eating my lunch one fine afternoon when fly inspiration struck. I pulled out my trusty Sharpie and started to sketch. When I returned to the studio that evening, I enhanced the sketch with a bit of gouache.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Mark's Skunk


"Mark's Skunk" Watercolor and Gouache. Friend, fly tyer extraordinaire and fishing guru, Marty Howard contacted me to do a commission painting for his good friend Mark O'Meara (the professional golfer). Marty wanted to give Mark a unique gift as a wedding present. This pattern is one that Mark likes to fish and tie. It is pretty cool knowing that one of my paintings is hanging up in a professional golfers house. I wonder if Mark keeps an eye out for rises in the ponds while he is golfing. I can imagine him asking his caddy for his 5 weight, then dashes over to the pond to catch a few gills with a foam spider while the other golfers make their shots.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Superfly Vodka


"Silver Hilton" Superfly Vodka Label Well I guess I have a run on the liquor industry!Ryan Webster at Superfly sent me an email about creating some art for his new line of potato vodka. I responded with the Slver Hilton. The first batch out of the still is due the middle of July. I am looking forward to sampling the first batch. Check out Ryan's website at www.superflybooze.com to find out more information. Ryan runs a grass roots operation at Superfly. This is the type of industry and spirit (no pun intended) that has made this country great.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Sheri's Fly

"Sheri's Fly" 18" x 22" Watercolor and Gouache

I was approached by the Sportsmans Alliance for Alaska about donating a painting for their online auction. In summary the Sportsmans Alliance are
Hunters and anglers working together to preserve fish and game habitats and hunting and fishing opportunities on our public lands in Alaska. Fishing in Alaska is one of the top 5 trips I want to take before I take a dirt nap. Sometimes it becomes difficult (especially in these economic times) to donate cash to worthy causes, so I decided to donate an original fly painting for the auction. In the past, I have donated finished paintings of my choice to the auction. This time I allowed the auction winner to pick the fly they wanted painted.

The winner was Mike H. and this was his email to me: "The fly I want to have drawn is a simple one. It's one that I have been tying for my wife, Sheri, to use for 25 years in the lakes we fish and it's the only fly she uses. Nothing special to anyone but us. We call it a Fore & Aft with a Red Tail, or more typically, "Sheri's Fly". Not very creative, but descriptive. It's like a peacock lady with a few different colors."

Well Mike, I hope you and Sheri enjoy this painting! Nothing like a fly with a great story!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Collector’s Edition “Jeff Kennedy” Wines




Collector's Edition "Jeff Kennedy" Wines
5% of Sales to Support the Federation of Fly Fishers


Since my surgery I've learned that it's fairly easy to enjoy a glass of wine with the other hand...moreover, wine labeled with my own art!

Recently, I was afforded the opportunity to apply my creative talents to the world of fine wine in collaboration with StoneFly Vineyards and their sister winery Windsor Vineyards. Both craft outstanding wines and are doing a tremendous amount of work to pair the traditions of winemaking and fly fishing.

In trade for the use of my paintings "Fishing on the Fox" and "Milwaukee Morning," they applied their label design skills to craft two stunning labels of collector's edition "Jeff Kennedy." Take a close look at how they used two of my fly paintings "McGinty" and "Halloween Spey." I think they did a remarkable job of crafting a label and preserving my original artistic intent...and the wines are outstanding!

Continuing in the spirit of collaboration I am now offering my readers the limited opportunity to purchase these fine wines labeled with my artistic creations. Moreover you can enjoy these wines while making a difference for fly fishing. Together we will contribute 5% of your net purchase of these wines to the Federation of Fly Fishers, whose work is instrumental in keeping our fly fishing community thriving and growing.

The cost for the very tasty 06 Zinfandel is $15/bottle and for the 2007 Mendocino Chardonnay $18/bottle. You can order as little as one bottle or even multiple cases. To place an order you can reach Nick at 707.836.5492 or nickp@stoneflyvineyards.com.

Friday, May 22, 2009

FREE iTouch - iPhone Wallpaper

I have created a set of wallpaper images which you can download to your iTouch or iPhone. Get the entire set free here. Download the Drawing Flies 365 Wallpaper set.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Silver Hilton


"Silver Hilton" 22" x 14" Watercolor and Gouache. This image will be used on an upcoming project that will be revealed shortly. This is the first fly that I have been able to paint using my right hand. Although painful, physical therapy is helping to loosen up my tight right shoulder.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Sketch Blog


"Mill Stream" Sharpie and Watercolor. I have a few new sketches up on my Sketch Blog. Drop by to have a look. You can also receive all of my latest studio news by subscribing to my newsletter. Simply add your email address in the newsletter subscription sidebar.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Pete's Killer Frog


"Pete's Killer Frog" Watercolor and Gouache. Pete H. from my tying club commissioned the painting of his signature fly.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

L E F T Y 1

"LEFTY ONE" Watercolor, Sharpie and Gouache. Thanks to all who sent emails and comments! It is greatly appreciated. Well, here is the update. I had a complete tear of the rotator cuff. 4 surgical sutcher screws were inserted and used to repair the cuff arthroscopically. 6 insertion pointss around my shoulder were used to repair the cuff. I also had a frayed bicep tendon. The Doc performed a Bicep Tenodesis. Normal attachment of the biceps tendon is on the shoulder socket and reattaches the tendon to the bone of the humerus (arm bone). By performing a biceps tenodesis, the pressure of the bicpes attachment is taken off the cartilage rim of the shoulder socket (the labrum), and a portion of the biceps tendon can be surgically removed. Essentially a biceps tenodesis moves the attachment of the biceps tendon to a position that is out of the way of the shoulder joint. The tendon is reattached lower on the bone using a screw. Along with general anasthetic, I was also given a nerve block in the right arm. This keeps the arm numb anywhere between 6 to 12 hours. The arm was still nice and numb after surgery due to the block. After the block wore off, a hell broke loose. The pain was incredible. The pain meds had little effect. I did not sleep for 24 hours. Each day has been better. Went to the Doc yesterday to have the staples removed from the port incesions. The staples still remain on the big incesion. The bicep on my arm is completely bruised. looks like it eas beat with a sledge hammer. Physcial therapy begins next week. I am so bored with TV and movies. I felt decent enogh this morning to hit the studio. I grabbed my watercolor sketchbook and a Sharpie and started to draw with the left hand. Not the greatest, I kept my expectations low as was just glad to be drawing and painting again. Grabbed the watercolor brush aand stated laying down washes. This is much easier with the left hand then the drawing portion. I practiced signing my name on a scrap piece of paper using my left hand. As you can see, I opted form my initials. My dear wife has been an incedible help throught this process. I Love her dearly and could not have done this without her.

Monday, April 27, 2009

S U R G E R Y

Bad News - Tomorrow I will be having surgery on my right shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff and a frayed bicep tendon. Since I am right handed, my painting and drawing will be put on hold for a while. Depending on the extent of the recuperation period, I may try my hand at painting left handed. May be a fun and interesting way to pass some time while being laid up. I am hoping for a quick and miraculous recovery!

Book Update

I just wanted to post a brief book update. The book is coming along, slowly. I am in the throws of sizing all of the images, which is a bigger task than expected. Needless to say, I should have a preview of the book available in the next two weeks. At the release of the preview, I will have a firm release date for the book! Thanks for waiting.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Bit Me Bunny


"Bite Me Bunny Fly" This is not your run of the mill Easter Bunny. This is a bunny with attitude! I think about all of the rabbit I have put on flies, and this fly may come back to bite in my dreams. This is one waskly wabbit! Happy Easter Everyone!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Nabours and Friends - Healing Waters Event

Ron S. who has been visiting the Drawing Flies 365 blog since it's inception, has passed along information on an event that he has organized. If you are in the Caney Fork Rivers, TN area this weekend, drop in to check out this event. For more information, check it out here and here.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Red Quill

"Red Quill" Pen , Ink and watercolor. Just a quick sketch to post. I have a number of others I have been working on and will post them shortly.

Monday, March 9, 2009

BWO Cripple


"BWO Cripple" Watercolor and Gouache. If any of you had the chance to drop by and see me at the Whitefish Studio booth at the Great Waters Fly Fishing Exposition in Minneapolis, there is a good chance you saw me working on this fly. John over at Trout Lily Studio had asked me to paint this fly for him. This is one of John's favorite trout flies for the Minnesota spring creeks. It was great to see and meet all of you who dropped by the booth to say hello. I would also like to Thank Bob and Lisa for the great conversation, pizza and a great place to crash during my stay.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Heading To Minneapolis



I will be at the Minneapolis Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo on March 7th and 8th. I will be set up in the Whitefish Studio booth painting with Bob White in the "Studio" section of the booth. I had the privilege of having Bob painting in my booth at the Chicago show. It was a great time seeing Bob paint and having people stop by and introduce themselves. If you are in the area, stop in and say hello! Here are some pictures from the Chicago Show.



Working on the Shanaynay


There is always a joker in the crowd! That's my buddy Corey giving me the Peace Sign or rabbit ears or maybe he wants 2 paintings done.




Bob at work on his latest oil painting.


Pictures courtesy of John Koch at Trout Lily Studio.

Friday, February 27, 2009

SHANAYNAY

"Shanaynay" This is an original pattern by Joseph at One More Cast. I created this painting as a demo at the MidWest Flyfishing Expo this past weekend. There is an interesting story to this fly. If you would like to know more, drop Joseph a line.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

"Flats Bunny" Watercolor and Gouache. This fly was created for the winner of the monthly drawing for Boodreaux's Boondocques ESPN radio show at Florida Fishing Radio. The January winner was Jason H. and the fly he requested was the Flats Bunny. Here you go Jason and Congrats!

Jack's Fly


A few weeks back, I received an incredible gift of some retired oil brushes. These brushes were from my good friend Jack, fly tier extraordinaire and an all around great guy to have a pint with. When you look through art catalogs, they have brushes categorized by the type of paint that you create with, brushes for watercolor, oil and so on. I decided to use one of the oil brushes with watercolor to paint this fly. I know it may seem like art blasphemy, but if you do not branch out and push the limits a bit, you will never full realize full creative potential. Thanks Jack for the brushes!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Field and Stream



Tim Ramano editor of the Field and Stream blog has a nice post on my projects. Check it out here. It is fun to read the comments. Thanks Tim for the post!

It's Been Awhile

I know it has been I while since I have posted anything. My product design consulting work has been keeping me really busy lately. Given the state of the economy, I am extremely thankful to be so busy.

With that said, there has been little time to keep up on my painting list. I did just finish a painting and will post it in a day or so. The book is coming along, but slowly. I hope to have it wrapped up in the next 30 days or so.

I have also been preparing for the Great Waters Fly Expo at the Schaumburg Convention Center. If you are in the area Feb 20th-22nd. Stop on by my booth. I will have live painting demos and prints for sale.

Jeff

Sunday, January 18, 2009


I had the privilege of being interviewed by John "Boodreaux" Bauman and Steve Chapman on ESPN Outdoor Radio. It was great fun to talk with these guys about the Drawing Flies 365 project. You can learn more about Boodreuax's Boondoques over at Fishing Florida Radio.
The guys have a monthly contest going going on so click here to get all of the details.

Click HERE to hear the podcast. You can listen to all of the podcasts HERE.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Milwaukee Marauder


"Milwaukee Marauder" 15" x 22" Watercolor and Gouache. Well, it has been a while since I have had a chance to post anything. I do have to admit that it has been a bit strange not drawing flies everyday! The Milwaukee Marauder is a derivative of a pattern that I did which produced the brightest and hottest steelhead I have ever caught. I tied this pattern up for a fly swap that we had last night. I am a part of a loosely organized group of steelhead junkies that chase chrome with a double hander in and around the Milwaukee area. This is an incredible group of guys that get together once a month to BS about steelhead, flies and cool places to fish. Guys in this group have chased steelhead all over the U.S., so the group has a diverse and interesting talent base. We ususlly run into someone from the group whenever we take a trip to fish up on the river.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

What's Next

What a year it has been! What started out as a simple challenge to myself blossomed into an incredible experience I will never forget. I want to thank my wife and two boys for their support and for putting up with me and my pursuit. I also want to thank all of you for following me on this journey. I am so grateful for the many kind emails and comments that I have received this past year. It was this type of encouragement that kept me going. I also want to thank all that have purchased my art. It is an incredible feeling to know that my art has touched people in such a positive way. I have met so many helpful people along the way and to all I give a big thanks.

Many have asked and emailed me wondering what I plan on doing next.

The Drawing Flies 365 project and the blog will stick around. There are still many flies that still need to be painted. I truly enjoy painting flies and will continue to do so. The only caveat is that I will not be doing this on a daily basis. I will post flies as I paint or create them. I will still take print orders and commission requests To get all of the latest updates, please point your RSS reader to the blog or sign up using Feedburner (Box on right margin of the blog). You may also email me to sign up for my "Off The Easel" Newsletter. This is a bi-monthly newsletter that keeps the subscribers up to date on all of the events and new paintings from Jeff Kennedy Studio. Rest assured that this is a private list and is not shared with anyone.

The reason the fly art will not be conducted on a daily basis is that I need that time to move onto some other projects that require my attention.

The first project is the publication of the Drawing Flies 365 book. About a quarter of the way through this project, I started to think about the possibilities of such a book. My plans are to have this book available for an end of January release. The book will include most of the flies created along with my thoughts that occurred during the creation of the paintings. Please email me if you are interested in purchasing the book. The book will be a high quality coffee table style hardbound book. The estimated cost will be around $79 each book. For the first 15 people that pre purchase the book, I will sign and number each book. I will also include a print with your book. Click this link to make a $20 pre purchase to reserve your book. Your $20 dollars deposit will be subtracted from the purchase price one the book is available.



The next project is one that I have been toying with but have not seriously put the effort into until now. That project is Brook.

Brook is a project that was conceived a few years back. I really admire the work of Varga and Gil Elvgren. Their ability to render the human form while telling an incredible story from their images set the wheels in motion to create Brook. The one area of drawing and painting that I would like to improve on is the human form. I would like to take some life drawing classes and work on my gouache renderings of the human body. My goal is to create a calendar with brook in various fishing situations. landing a trout, sunning herself in a float tube while catching blugill or fighting a leaping tarpon are just some of the ideas.

Brook has a website, but the first order of business is to bring it up to date. That will happen the first part of this month. I have also created a blog where I will be posting my progress on this journey. The blog was just created and needs some design attention. This will also happen the first part of January.



So there you have it. Drawing Flies 365 will still continue to exist, Brook is born and a book chronicling the Drawing Flies adventure will be available soon.

I also would like to spend more time on my landscape painting. You can view my paintings on my website in the gallery section (which will be updated) or at my sketch blog.

This Saturday (Jan 3rd) I will be interviewed by Boodreaux and Steve Chapman on Orlando ESPN Radio. You can listen to the live stream or you will be able to download the podcast later after the broadcast. You can go to the website for more information.