Df52_4 Redfish

Drawing Fish 52_4 Redfish

Original status: Original and Prints are available email me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition Redfish!

Tech Info- Sharpie and Gouache on oatmeal paper 9" x 11".

I spun the wheel of fish this week and it landed on salt again. This time the redfish. I was really drawn to the dark spot which looks like it represents another eye which may fool a predator. Since I am still having fun experimenting with gouache, brush strokes and my oatmeal paper, I decided to use it again this week.

Au Sable Morning

My latest landscape painting painted for Ed as a parting NIFT Presidents gift.

Df52_3 Bonefish

Drawing Fish 52_3 Bonefish

Original status: Original and Prints are available email me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition Bonefish!

Tech Info- Sharpie and Gouache on oatmeal paper 9" x 11".

I was happy with the way the Pumpkinseed went, so I decided that a similar approach was in order for the bonefish. I have never fished for, caught or held a bonefish. I sure would like to do all three some day! With that being said, I struggled a bit with this one. I had to do a bit of research about this species before I could begin sketching. The information that I read that I found most intriguing is the bonefishes ability to reflect it's surroundings due to the highly reflective nature of it's scales. Armed with that information, I made sure to add a bit of exaggerated color in this piece. I also went thick and heavy with the gouache to give texture and depth to the piece. Unfortunately, the scan does not show all of the subtle brush strokes. I also had to do a few warm up sketches, since the proportions are a bit foreign to me. I really enjoyed reading all about the bonefish in my McClane's New Standard Fishing Encyclopedia. having the net and some great books to gain additional knowledge is one of the great pluses of this project.

New T Shirts!

My first shirt for Patagonia that is printed with my original art is available online! I really enjoyed working with the folks at Patagonia. This was an extremely fun and rewarding project. The Green Butt Skunk is shown here, and I will have additional posts on the other two shortly. (Hint, they are a Tarpon fly and a wooly bugger). I would like to send out a big thanks to Bob White for hooking me up with the fine folks at Patagoniaonline!

DF52_2 Pumpkinseed

Drawing Fish 52_2 Pumpkinseed

Original status: Original and Prints are available email me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition Pumpkinseed!

Tech Info- Sharpie and Gouache on oatmeal paper 9" x 11".

Bluegills remind me of Summer fun and kids. We all may be needing this kick in our memories right now! I have caught (and released) many spawning Pumpkinseeds in the Spring. I have held them and admired the depth and brilliance of their amazing coloration. The vibrancy of their colors resemble that of many saltwater species. My aim was to capture that brilliance in this painting. Almost need to wear shades when looking at this!

I started by sketching out the shapes and forms using a Sharpie pen in my oatmeal colored sketchbook. I then started to apply the base layers of gouache blending as required.

I used my stiffer bristle brush to introduce texture. This texture is to give the illusion of scales without painting individual scales. You will not see me painting individual scales (unless it may be a tarpon or carp which have large scales). My drafting days are long past and I welcome the challenge or using as few a brush strokes as possible to accomplish the task. Not to mention the 30 minute time limit helps to enforce that!

New T Shirt Art

Cameron over at the Fiberglass Manifesto has a new shirt offering for this year. And it just so happens that one of my flies from the DF 365 project graces the front. Head over to his site and pick one up as they are only offered for a limited time. These shirts are high quality and will look great out on the stream of at the tying bench!

Drawing Fish 52_1 Rainbow Trout

Drawing Fish 52_1 Common Rainbow Trout

Original status: Original and Prints are available email me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition Rainbow Trout!

Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache on 140 lbs Arches watercolor paper.

Well here we go with the first in another interesting series. I have a feeling this project will be more of a challenge than the previous. Jason and I decided to kick this off with the common rainbow trout. My first path was to ink out the trout, then come back with watercolor. Instead, I grabbed my medium squirrel brush and just went at it. the intention was to create a general feel for the skin and overlay a general shape onto it. I was a bit concerned about the time element so in place of rendering all the spots, I went at it with random splatter. I was a bit aggressive with the color and should have left some more of the white paper. Not sure how I feel about this piece, but I have 51 more opportunities to work on it.

New for 2011

Starting a new creative series on Thursday in collaboration with Jason Borger. DF 52 but instead of drawing flies, we will be drawing fish. Posts will be every Thursday. Stretching my creative legs in a new direction. The rules will be the same, 30 minutes maximum time to create. It will be artists choice on what to portray, whole fish or just portions. Skies the limit on medium. This will definitely be a challenge for me but one I hope to grow artistically from. This Thursday will be the first posting.

I will have more news on other projects slated for 2011 coming shortly.

The Rainbow above was the first fish I ever painted. I believe I did this one 8 years ago.