Drawing Fish 52_26 Smallmouth (Bronzeback) Bass

Drawing Fish 52_26 Smallmouth (Bronzeback) Bass

Original status: Available, email me for details..

Swing by Jason's blog to see his rendition of the bronzeback!

Tech Info- Sharpie, watercolor, gouache and pastel

I really dig fishing for these beauties in my home waters of the Fox River! Either by swing a Ralphies Minnow with the 6 weight or under a float when the water is high is always a good time.

Best in Show

I exhibited at the annual Art On The Fox Festival over Father's Day weekend. I was honored with a First Place Best In Show Ribbon! Totally unexpected.

To read more about the event, click here and here.

Be sure to check out the photos from the event.

Atightloop Magazine

Swing by Atightloop .com to check out the premier issue of this new Midwest Fly-fishing oriented e-zine. Stuart and Kurt have put together a great issue and look to expand the offerings on upcoming issues.

I am honored to have been interviewed for the premier issue. Swing by Page 63 to read the interview and click on the link to watch the interview at the end of the article.

Be sure to sign up and subscribe to future issues.

Drawing Fish 52_25 Yellowstone Cutthroat

Drawing Fish 52_25 Yellowstone Cutthroat

Original status: Available, email me for details..

Swing by Jason's blog to see his rendition of a Yellowstone Cutthroat!

Tech Info- Sharpie, watercolor, gouache and pastel

This is a memorable fish for me. In 2008 we packed up the family and the camper and headed to Yellowstone. After a bit of sight seeing, we decided to do a bit of fishing in the Yellowstone river. I had the family all spread out at the Nez Pierce access. I looked across the river and I could see fish constantly rising. The river was a bit high and I had a short deep section that I had to navigate. I felt confident with all of the steelhead wading I have done in the past. It was a tough slow wade, but it was worth it. I found a gravel shoal up stream of the rising fish. I stayed put for quite some time, mesmerized by the rising fish. I tried to determine what they were feeding on. made a nice cast and drifted the fly right over them. Nothing. They still continued to rise. I tried a few more casts with no success. To make a long story short, I tried just about everything in my box with no success. I decided to throw on a Royal Wulff. I had never caught a fish on this pattern, even thought I have tied a dozen or so and I know that in my heart it is a tried and true pattern. The proceeded to implement a parachute cast and let the Wulff drift right into their feeding lane. BAM! I set the hook and held on. It took a bit of chasing and dealing with the swift current, but I finally landed that beautiful cut. I was able to get close to shore so that my wife Janine could snap a few shots before the release.

Drawing Fish 52_24 Crappie

Drawing Fish 52_24 Crappie

Original status: Available, email me for details..

Swing by Jason's blog to see his rendition of a crappie!

Tech Info- Sharpie and pastel on cardboard

I had a different approach in mind then what I ended up with. I will try this different technique on a future fish installment. Sketched out the crappie with a Sharpie on a piece of cardboard. I then went in with pastels to add colors and value.

Drawing Fish 52_23 Leopard Rainbow

Drawing Fish 52_23 Leopard Rainbow

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

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

Tech Info- Watercolor, Pastel and Gouache on Arches 140 lbs watercolor paper

This is the heavily-spotted form of the Alaskan Rainbow. Just started sketching with my pencil, then came in with washes and gouache details. Feeling a bit tight with this one. The brushes did not dance the way I would prefer. Adding the pastel helped to pull it together. There is always next week.

Drawing Fish 52_22 Permit

Drawing Fish 52_22 Permit

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

Thanks to all that emailed your responses to Jason and myself. We did accept either the answer Permit or Pompano. So I gathered all of the correct answers and put them in a hat. My lovely wife will now pick the winner. And the winner of this Permit painting is......Donna L!

Donna - I sent you an email so that you can provide your mailing address. Thanks to all for entering and congratulations to Donna L!

Drawing Fish 52_22 Mystery Fish

Drawing Fish 52_22 Mystery Fish

Original status: Original will be sent to one lucky winner.

Swing by Jason's blog to receive an additional clue of the mystery fish!

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

We are going to try something a bit different this week. As you can tell, I did not reveal what fish it was. You only get a small glimpse. Now for the fun part. Send me or Jason an email with your guess as to what the fish is. All of the correct guesses will be put into a hat and a winner pulled. The winner will be announced on Tuesday (6-7-11) when the full images are revealed. The winner will receive my original painting of this mystery fish. Deadline is Monday (6-6-11) by midnight CDT to email your guess. 1 guess only, no multiple guesses will be allowed. Good Luck! You can also receive another hint as to the fishes identity at Jason's Blog.

Artist in Residence Week at Bristol Bay Lodge

If you have never been to Alaska to fish, now is the time to book a trip!

Join me, Bob White, CD. Clarke and Rick Harrington for Artist in Residence week at Bristol Bay Lodge.

This project is the dream child of Bob White and is the second year for this annual event. As Bob put it: "The artist-in-residence program at Bristol Bay Lodge is a culmination of what I've lived and breathed for nearly three decades, and promises to be an epic experience for many years to come."

I am honored to be able to participate in such an event with such great outdoor artist!

If hanging with artists isn't your thing, BBL is also sponsoring Writers Week - July 2-9 withScott Sadil . Nashville Song Writers Week - July 16-23 with Scott Laurent, Earl Bud Lee, Dave Turnbull, Wynn Varble, and John Wiggins. and Photographers's Week- July 30 to August 6 withMike Dvorak, Tosh Brown, Aaron Otto and Dave Lambroughton.

Guests will have the rare opportunity to fish with the artist. Over the course of the week guests will have the rare opportunity to watch as the artist paint on location (plein air), then see the finish showcased work at the end of the week. BBL guests will get an inside look at the process behind the finished pieces.

To learn more contact Steve Laurent at Bristol Bay Lodge via email or call (509)964-2094. Or you can contact Bob White at Bob White Studio via email or call (651) 433-4168

You can view a short video from last years artist in residence program here.

Drawing Fish 52_21 Golden Dorado

Drawing Fish 52_21 Golden Dorado

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of his Golden Dorado!

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

What a cool looking fish - Big shoulders, golden color and some razor sharp teeth! Kind of like a piranha's big brother. Drew the image in with a Sharpie on my favorite oatmeal sketch paper. Laid in some big juicy washes or pthalo blue and quin gold. I just let the colors mingle, then I added the details. Enjoy!

Drawing Fish 52_20 Colorado Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Drawing Fish 52_20 Colorado Green Back Cutthroat Trout

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

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

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

It has been a while since I have picked up a brush and painted. It felt foreign and I need to paint more.

Colorado Greenback Cutthroat Trout - The Colorado State Fish!

My family had a condo in Colorado ski country during my youth. I spent many a Spring and Winter skiing the slopes. When I was in High School, I dreamed of going to college in Colorado or maybe become a ski bum. I ended up staying in the Midwest, but visited Colorado on a regular basis. I proposed to my wife at the base of "B" lift at Copper Mountain. My wife and I would take our two young boys out there for Summer vacations. It was during one of those Summer vacations when my fly fishing obsession began. During my Colorado fly fishing, I had the pleasure of catching a few of these cutty's. There are so many great memories from Colorado. They will stay with me always!

Drawing Fish 52_19 Amur Trout

Drawing Fish 52_19 Amur Trout

Original status: Prints are available email me for information.

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

Tech Info- Hand Sketch - Digital - Adobe Illustrator

AAARRRRGGGHHH! Blogger was down last night, so I was not able to post. I did post this image on my FaceBook page last night. Feel free to to look me up on FaceBook and send a friend request. Note to self: I should put a FaceBook link on the blog!

Went digital again, and decided to create a Euro style oval sticker. Thanks go out to Mark Johnstad at Mongolian River Outfitters for the reference photos of this trout.

Drawing Fish 52_18 Coho Salmon

Drawing Fish 52_18 Coho Salmon

Original status: Prints are available email me for information.

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Coho Salmon!

Tech Info- Hand Sketch - Digital - Adobe Illustrator

Went with a Yin Yang Pacific Northwest Native American style with this one. Basically I sketched up the shapes, scanned them in and created the shapes in Illustrator. I really dig this Native american style of art. It is simple and folksy.

Drawing Fish 52_17 Mako Shark

Drawing Fish 52_17 Mako Shark

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Mako Shark!

Tech Info- Watercolor and Gouache

Searched the internet for some great info on fly fishing for Mako's. Had no idea how relatively popular it is. The rich blues, gray and white of this shark are stunning in photos. I can only image how great looking they are in real life.

Not sure how I feel about this one. Tried to go real loose, but ended up with too much detail. Have not painted much in the past few weeks, need to get that brush wet more often.

Drawing Fish 52_16 Grayling

Drawing Fish 52_16 Grayling

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Grayling!

Tech Info- Sharpie sketch Watercolor and Gouache

Had to go with highlighting the dorsal with this one! The Grayling is one of those species that is on my list of fish that I would like to catch before I take a dirt nap. Pretty straight forward with this one. Quick Sharpie outline then went at it with watercolor washes and gouache details.

Drawing Fish 52_15 Taimen

Drawing Fish 52_15 Taimen

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Taimen!

Tech Info- Sharpie sketch and Gouache

Since I turned the big 50 today, Jason chose the world's biggest trout species, the Taimen, for this weeks fish image. I went with a triptych illustration for this one in the hopes to exaggerate the size of this bad ass trout. I basically carved out the negative space around the image and threw in a bit of color. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Jason turned me onto the Mongolia River Outfitters. As their website states, "The Guides for Ghenghis Khan's Home Waters". MRO provides guided fly-fishing adventures for Taimen, Amur Trout and Lenok from their private camps located in the Mongolian wilderness. Swing by their site and check out the great pictures and what they have to offer!

Drawing Fish 52_14 Large Mouth Bass

Drawing Fish 52_14 Large Mouth Bass

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Large Mouth Bass!

Tech Info- Sharpie sketch, Adobe Illustrator

I decided to break away from the comfort of my oatmeal sketchbook, watercolor and gouache this week. Instead I went retro and digital (Boy, is that contradictory!). I was looking through some old retro reference information for another project when the idea hit me for the creation of this retro looking piece. Almost reminds me of the illustrations in the old "Children's Highlights" magazine when I was a kid. Started with a sketch with a Sharpie, scanned it in, then started drawing over the top in Illustrator.

Drawing Fish 52_13 Golden Bone

Drawing Fish 52_13 Golden Bone (aka Carp)

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

Swing by Jason's blog to check out his Golden Bone!

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

As you can tell by now, I am really comfortable with using my Sharpie, watercolors and gouache on my oatmeal paper. I know I need to push myself in other directions, but I am just having too much fun with these tools! Carp fishing with a fly is a blast and not an easy task. My buddy Corey and I have frequented a few of local streams that drain into the Fox in search of carp. Nothing like casting an olive wooly bugger to a tailing carp. I would like to get out and fish for those monster golden bones feasting on the flats of Lake Michigan. The Midwest equivalent to bone fishing in the tropics.

Drawing Fish 52-12 Lake Trout

Drawing Fish 52_12 Lake Trout

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

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

Tech Info- Sharpie, Watercolor and Gouache

Pulled out the Moleskine watercolor sketchbook for this one. Laid down some quick Sharpie marks, then laid in the watercolor washes. The Moleskine paper behaves differently than my sheets of Arches watercolor paper, but I managed to make the body gradient work. Colors are a bit off, but this paper does not allow over glazing of colors well.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! This image is the business end of the Lucky Charm Fly swimming in a sea of ale. This was an image from the 2008 Drawing Flies 365 series. This fly pattern is typically used to catch "Tavern Locked Salmon"!