Drawing Flies 52_05 Muddler Minnow

Drawing Flies 52_06 Muddler Minnow-Compressed Charcoal on Pastel Paper.

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Muddler Minnow!

Tech Info- Now for something completely different! My buddy Corey and I were having a beer after the GreatWater show this past weekend and he mentioned how he liked a past graphite version I did of the muddler. I created this muddler sketch about 4 years ago. I wanted to do something a little bit different from the original muddler and to break away from the watercolors and gouache, so I decided to used some compressed charcoal on a cream colored pastel paper. I started with a very quick sketch of the basic shapes. I used my 6B pencil for this. I then started to block in the dark areas around the outside edges of the shape. This resulted in a nice negative shape of the muddler. I then added some details and dark marks to the interior to help describe the forms. I used my hand to smudge the charcoal to create some values. My finger tips and palm of my hand were black with charcoal. I had to make sure that I did not dry my hands on the light colored towels in the bathroom or else! If I do another in this style again, I will use a different paper. Although I like the tooth of the pastel paper, This brand of paper has very distinct horizontal lines that are part of the graining of the paper. The lines are a bit distracting and take a lot of work to fill in.

Update: After looking at the image a day later, thee one thing that I would change is to have some more midtones. A bit too heavy on the darks. I could add some more mids and maintain overall the mood of the image.

Jason had some happy accidents and new discoveries with this one. As the time approaches the 30 minute mark, you tend to do some quick responsive things to get the fly done. It is this type of experimentation that pushes us into new directions. Way to go Jason!

Next week will be a Hex Dun pattern - Artist choice.

Below is an in progress shot. You can see my quick warm up sketch off to the left.

Below is a picture of the Muddler Minnow I did over 4 years ago.

No. 32

Purchase the Original Painting and Limited Edition Prints Here.

Muddler minnow blasting through the water column. 15" x 22" watercolor and pastel. I have always been fascinated at how different flies look and move in the water. The way the current moves the fly at will producing a strike from an awaiting fish. The muddler minnow is designed to imitate a bait fish. The story behind this piece is one of movement. Many of my fly paintings are portraits of the fly. Although I attempt to interject character into these portraits, they are what they are, a static representation. This piece is designed to be dynamic. The flowing blue water column parting as it hits the deer hair head of the fly. You just know there is a fish lurking in the shadows ready to strike.