Drawing Flies 52_25 27000 ft Gartside Sparrow

Drawing Flies 52_25 27000 ft Gartside Sparrow

Original status: email me for information..

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Gartside Sparrow!

Tech Info- Black Flair pen on Moleskine sketchbook with a bit of saliva.

I have had a busy and hectic week. The day job has been keeping me going from early in the morning to late at night. So busy that this weeks fly was done on the fly at 27,000 feet. That has to be one of the highest flying sparrows I have ever seen! Alright, now you are probably wondering what 27,000 feet, sparrows and saliva have to do with this fly. The fly was drawn today on my return flight from St. Louis. As I had my tray table down and I was sketching away, the pilot announced that we were at our cruising altitude of 27,000 feet. And a bit of spit was used to soften and smudge the ink in a few areas to give a softer impression in the tail and collar of the fly. So there you have it, a 27000 ft Gartside Sparrow.

The top photo was shot from my iphone after I finished it up. I used a whopping 4 minutes to create this fly. I had 56 minutes left to rest and listen to some music the rest of the ride home.

Drawing Flies 52_24 Crazy Claw Crayfish

Drawing Flies 52_24 Crazy Claw Crawfish

Original status: email me for information..

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

Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache. Pretty straightforward process, a few quick pencil lines for proportion, a very loose blue background wash, then coming in with the details. I layered the image so that I could get my lights and darks to read.

I had a hard time deciding which fly to do for this week. I had the opportunity Saturday evening to run down to the Fox River to try my hand at swinging a fly for the first time this year. I landed a nice 16" smallie on my third cast. As I was removing the fly from his mouth, I happened to look down his throat. He had recently eaten a small crayfish, and I could see its claws, antenna and eyes in the back of its throat. My decision was made as to which fly to paint next.

The next decision was which pattern to paint. I have a number of crayfish patterns in my smallmouth box, but none spoke to me as good subjects. I remember my buddy Corey had a great rabbit strip version that I thought might work. I was over at his place watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup (Hawks Win!), and I asked him if he had any of those patterns laying around. He did not, but he did produce tise crazy claw version he had caught fish on. So it was decided, this crazy claw crayfish would be this weeks pattern to paint!

Drawing Flies 52_23 Sofa Pillow

Drawing Flies 52_23 Sofa Pillow

Original status: Original not available.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Sofa Pillow!

Tech Info- Sharpie and brush pen on sofa pillow.

I grabbed my Sharpie and brush pen and went to work on my rendition of the sofa pillow on a sofa pillow. Well, it is actually my hammock pillow. Boy was my wife mad when she found out what I did!

The story described above is a complete fabrication. I sketched the fly on bond paper, scanned it and created a digital composite with an actual picture of my hammock pillow in my hammock. No actual sofa pillows were harmed it the making of this image! Nor is my wife mad at me.

The sofa pillow is one fly I fish frequently when I am using a dropper. It it very visible and rides high even in rough water. The Sofa Pillow and it's cousin, the stimulator are great mid to late summer flies in the Midwest when hoppers abound.

MAPS-Illustration

"Planning" - Watercolor and sepia ink on140 lbs. watercolor paper.

This painting was used in concert with an article titled "Maps" by Jim McLennan featured in the latest edition of FlyFusion magazine. This is a great article about using multiple special use maps ( good old paper maps not GPS) as a means of locating that great fishing spot.

Drawing Flies 52_22 Dr. Oatman

Drawing Flies 52_22 Dr Oatman

Original status: Original available, email me for info.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Doc Oatman!

Tech Info- Gouache on neutral toned paper paper. Did a very quick sketch of the proportions in pencil, then went at it with the gouache. I started with the wing, then worked on the body. Started with basic flat shapes, then added darks and lights to make the surfaces read. I did a lot of "fiddling" to get things the way I wanted them and it caused me to run the full 30 minutes. Joseph Meyer at One More Cast asked my why I have never included a vise in any of my images. He told me that "after all I am also a fly tyer you should have a vise in a few images". Well Joseph, there you go!

I really like the long sleek lines of traditional streamer patterns. I also enjoy all of the patterns created by Lew Oatman. I was introduced to the oatman patterns by my friend Chris Delplato.

Chris also started the Streamer List, which is a network which is dedicated to tying, fishing and history of the long fly.

Chris provided this history on the Doctor Oatman - Not a lot of specific history on that fly. Circa 1953. As you know, Lew designed each of his streamers to imitate specific baitfish. This is the only one of his 'published' patterns (Bates' "Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing") which I suspect is a 'tribute' fly. As far as I can see, his notes for this fly don't reference a specific forage fish. None of the correspondence I have from him make mention of the Dr. Oatman as "an imitation of ...." This, coupled with the the naming of the fly, leads me to believe it is more a tribute pattern than an exact imitation of anything that swims."

DrawingFlies 52_21 Big Old Strip Leech

Drawing Flies 52_21 Big Old Strip Leech

Original status: Original available, email me for info.

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

Tech Info-Watercolor and Gouache on watercolor paper. Pretty straight forward, laid down the yellow marabou tail first, then the brown body. I then came back over the top with the big dark rabbit strip. Detail work next with the gouache and watercolor.

Jason sent the suggestion this week for a "run-off" style fly. This was timely, because in our neck of the woods we have had abundant rain with the local rivers at or near flood stage. Jason suggested doing a 70's style leech pattern. This pattern is one of Gary Borger's from way back when. So we decided to honor Gary's upcoming birthday with this fine leech pattern. I have to admit that I am very fond of leech patterns. There is something about how the rabbit fur comes alive when swinging one of these beauties for big browns or steel head.

Happy Birthday Gary!

Drawing Flies 52_20 Woolly Worm

Drawing Flies 52_20 Woolly Worm

Original status: Original available, email me for info.

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

Tech Info-Charcoal, Nu Pastel on kraft colored shipping paper.

Went big on this one! 22" x 31". Took 25 minutes to complete. One thing that I wish I would have done was to step back from the piece more as I was developing it. I was a bit concerned about the time due to the scale, that I just hunkered in and did not step back to view proportions.

The WW is another one of those "Gotta Have" flies in your box. They work great for many fish species.

According to the text I have found, this fly was developed by Don Martinez who lived in Chicago. Don was a resident of Chicago for 30 years and was also one of the founding members of the Izaak Walton League.

Below are some in progress shots my wife Janine took while I was working. The images give you get an idea of the scale of this piece.

Drawing Flies 52_19 Redfish Wrangler

Drawing Flies 52_19 Redfish Wrangler- Digital.

Original status: Prints are available, email me for info.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the redfish fly!

Tech Info-Went full digital with this one. This image was rendered in Adobe Illustrator CS4 and my 21" Cintique pressure sensitive pen monitor. Just grabbed my pressure sensitive pen and started drawing.

Since I have never fished for Redfish let alone any saltwater species, I searched the web for some patterns. The Redfish Wrangler is a combination of a number of patterns I found. As Jason mentioned in his last post, we are dedicating this fly to the Gulf Coast fisherman and guides. I can only hope that the disastrous oil spill will be resolved quickly and this fragile ecosystem does not sustain long term damage. This disaster will not only take it's toll on the fish and wildlife, but all of the small businesses that survive on the fishing that occurs in this region.

DrawingFlies 52_018 Solomon Caddis Pupae

Drawing Flies 52_18 Solomon Caddis Pupae- Sepia Ink, Watercolor and Gouache.

Original status: Available, email me for info.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Caddis Pupae!

Tech Info-Tried my hand again using my new oatmeal toned paper. Started with a rough pencil sketch Then came back with gouache to build up the shapes and values. I diddled around to much with details and noticed that time was passing quickly. after the time was up, I took another long look at the results and noticed that I did not have enough darks and too many mid values. I guess that's why this image appears so flat to me.

I will be experimenting with some new techniques in the upcoming weeks. I feel as if I am getting into a rut with my current approach. Stay tuned to see what happens.

Larry Solomon devised this duck wing version of the caddis pupae imitation. This dressing was designed to imitate the rising pupae. Other pupae patterns rely on the impression of a bubble similar to a LaFontaine's Sparkle Pupae. This pattern imitates the wings and antenna all tucked along the body just like the natural

DrawingFlies 52_17 Hendrickson

Drawing Flies 52_17 Hendrickson- Sepia Ink, Watercolor and Gouache.

Original status: SOLD

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

Tech Info-I waffled a bit on how to approach this one. I knew I had the option to go either dark or light. I decided to go dark and work the background shape into the the values and shape of the fly. I also used a limited palette of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue. I did throw in a bit of orange for the wing. I started this one by lightly blocking in the shape then I lightly sprayed some water over the image. Next I used some sepia ink and my bamboo quill pen to add a bit of line work. As the pen ran over the water drops, it broke up the line to give it an overall loose effect.

Both the dark and light versions of the Hendrickson are extremely versatile patterns. This fly has a long and storied history. Hope to read about some of it over at Jason's post.

Drawing Flies 52_16 Undertaker

Drawing Flies 52_16 Undertaker- Charcoal Pencil, Watercolor and Gouache.

Original status: SOLD

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

Tech Info-I just received three 13.25" x 11" Canson scrapbook pads. These books are spiral bound an contain 20 sheets of 80 lbs. oatmeal colored paper. This is a perfect mid weight mid value paper. I could not wait to give it a try. Since the fly has a lot of black in it, I went with my General's brad 4B soft charcoal pencil and drew in all the details except for the floss. I typically used a combination or colors to get black, but for this I went straight charcoal. Next I added the watercolor drop shadow and started in with the gouache work. I was not sure how the gouache and charcoal wold act, but I liked the way I could smooth out some of the charcoal with a damp brush.

Last week I received an email from my good friend, fly tying master and one hell of a spey caster, Marty Howard. He suggested something steelhead for this week. I told him to name it, and he came back with the undertaker. Marty has a great pattern that has some similarities to an undertaker. It is called the undercoach. It is a great come back fly that you can throw on if you receive a strike but no hook up. Change the fly over to a come back version, take a few steps back up river and start swinging again. Most times, in the right hands, it results in a hook up. I had the opportunity to tie up and swing a few of Marty's pattern during my trip out West this past Fall. Like stated earlier, in the right hands it usually works, in my case it did not.

Swing by the spey pages and look under Hooks, Feathers and Floss. You will find some great Marty Howard step by step tying. His explanations and photography is top shelf. If you would like some great instruction on tying steel head and spey flies, check out the DVD that Marty and Dec Hogan produced. This DVD has a prominent spot in my collection!

Drawing Flies 52_15 Gold Ribbed Hares Ear

Drawing Flies 52_15 Gold Ribbed Hares Ear- Watercolor and Gouache.

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Hares Ear!

Tech Info-Decide to create this rendition using a very limited palette. I used ultramarine blue and burnt sienna and white gouache. I started by laying in a medium value wash using a burnt sienna and a touch of ultramarine blue to gray it down a bit. I basically painted in the silhouette of the fly first. I then came back in with a darker mixture and less water an placed the darks. To finish it off I added some white gouache to the mix to add some highlights and the gold color to the rib. The last shape I painted was the cast shadow on the ground.

If I had to pick one fly that has the most casting hours it would be the hares ear. This fly is at the top of my list of the "6 must have" flies.

Drawing Flies 52_14 Bass Bug

Drawing Flies 52_14 Bass Bug- Watercolor background, digital sketch.

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Bass Bug!

Tech Info-Decided to dabble in the digital world this week. I rely on PhotoShop and my Cintiq drawing capable monitor for my day job. I decided early on that I would produce a watercolor background for this one. After I completed the background, I let it dry and then headed to the computer to start drawing. In PhotoShop I opened a blank document and grabbed the digital drawing stylus and started sketching. The nice thing about using the Cintiq is that the marks made on the digital canvas are pressure sensitive. This creates a more natural looking sketch. I roughed in the shape using a dark gray digital pencil brush. Once that was complete, I added colors on various layers to complete this of cartoon looking bass bug. Once the watercolor background was dry, I scanned it and dropped in into the background of the image. I scaled the background to fit and did some erasing to complete the image.

It is Spring time in the Midwest and the temps have soared this week into the mid 70's! It will not belong before I am down on the Fox chasing the smallies!

Great Waters Show

I will be attending the Great Waters Show in Minnesota this weekend. You can find me in the authors booth signing my latest book. If you have previously purchased a book and would like me to sign it, drop on by and I will be glad to personalize your copy. I will also have both hard and soft cover books for sale. If I am not in the authors booth, you may find me at Bob White's booth. Drop by and say hello!

Drawing Flies 52_13 No Hackle Dun

Drawing Flies 52_13 No Hackle Dun- Watercolor and Gouache

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the No Hackle Dun!

Tech Info- I do not know where to begin. Had a real rough day and it carried into the things I enjoy doing. Anyways, I will spare the gory details. Struggled with getting this one to come together. Came down to the 20 minute mark and I was close to the point of switching gears and finishing up with an ink sketch. I decided to keep at it and make the best of it.

I have only fished this pattern once. It was late in the afternoon in June on the Ausable River. I was in experimentation mode on a rising trout up river. Threw a number of patterns at it with no luck. Tied a no hackle on my tippet and hookup!

Drawing Flies 52 & MidCurrent Collaboration

MidCurrent.com is now including Drawing Flies 52 fly art in the weekly MidCurrent e-newsletter. Jason and I will add additional content that may not be included in out original posts! MidCurrent is your one stop shop for all things fly fishing. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter so that you do not miss out on all the great information.

Drawing Flies 52_12 Bomber

Drawing Flies 52_12 Bomber- Gouache on chip board 8.5" x 11"

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

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

Tech Info- I really enjoy drawing and painting on chip board. It is inexpensive and creates a great textured neutral value background. Chip board is the stuff you will find on the back of note and paper pads. Threw down a quick pencil sketch to rough out the shape, then I followed up with applications of gouache. I started with darker values and worked to the lightest to define the form. Creating the illusion of deer hair is always an interesting challenge. The spun deer hair for this fly was created by dabbing the end of a stiff bristle brush on the surface. This was the most time consuming task and I had to layer the paint carefully as to not overdue the effect or blow the 30 minute rule.

I have not swung a waking or skating fly like this for steelhead yet. Since the steelhead season here in the Midwest is unpredictable and the times I get to my home river I am usually fishing my confidence patterns. I should take a day to experiment with this style of fly. I know steelhead on my home river have been caught on a waking fly. Catching steelhead swinging a fly is an incredible experience, but catching one rising for a dry fly has to be the ultimate experience!

This fly is modeled off of Dec Hogan's bomber pattern. I really like the shape and the way the orange band breaks up the body. Bomber patterns are available in numerous colors and shapes.

After I finished it and stepped back I realized that I should have fattened up the body a bit more. Almost exaggerate the shape a bit. But hey, when you only have 30 minutes, you do what you can and hope for the best.

Above is a quick fun sketch that I did yesterday while sitting on the tail gate of my truck enjoying the Spring weather.

Drawing Flies 52_11 Connemara

Drawing Flies 52_11 Connemara-Watercolor and Gouache

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

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

Tech Info- This is the start of a series that I have been wanting to work on titled, "Reflections". I ran this one right to the last tick of 30 minutes. There are some more tweaks that I would like to have done, but this is a good start. I added the jungle cock to the fly to help define a center of interest, plus I just think that jungle cock looks looks great on both actual flies and paintings.

Happy Birthday Corey!

A Happy Intruder Birthday shout to my best buddy Corey!

Drawing Flies 52_10 McGinty

Drawing Flies 52_10 McGinty-Watercolor, Sharpie and Gouache

Original status: Available. Contact me for information.

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

Tech Info- And now for something totally different! Boy this ended up totally different than what my intentions were. I will not tell you what I had originally planned because I will attempt to create it again. This was definately a more colorful approach. Not sure I am pleased with the results, but I will say that it is very different. A bit more graphical in nature almost cartoon like. Started by drawing with a Sharpie, then applying the watercolor layers. Finished up with a bit of gouache.