flyartist

Drawing Flies 52_40 Wickhams Fancy (wet) Original status: Available, email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the Wickhams Fancy! Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache 140 lbs watercolor paper. A beautiful traditional English wet fly. I like the combinations of the wing, collar and gold body. Jason was looking forward to my "metal work", so I hope He likes this one, since it is a bit obscured by counter wrapped hackle. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_39 Bunyan Bug Original status: Available, email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the Bunyan Bug! Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache 140 lbs watercolor paper. I created this quick sketch in my new watercolor sketchbook. The paper did not react to the watercolor in the manner I am use to, but I will have to work with it some more to get the hang of it. I am going to leave the story of the Bunyan Bug up to Jason, due to his connection with "The River Runs Through It". The Bunyan Bug is one of those flies that not only looks good and catches fish, but has a story that captures your imagination. Below is a full blown painting I did of the Bunyan Bug. This one took more than 30 minutes due to the complex layering of washes, but I thought it would be of interest in this post. . The final picture is an in progress shot of the initial wash, my palette and brushes. View the full article

The Captain Rusty Hook blog has a nice post about Drawing Flies 365. You can read it here (You will have to use the translate function in your browser unless you are fluent in Italian!). Thanks for the nice post Captain! While you are visiting, be sure to check out his other posts. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_38 Joliette Hopper Original status: Available, email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the Rusty Spinner! Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache 140 lbs watercolor paper. This is one of my favorite hopper patterns for late Summer trout in the Wisconsin Driftless area. Many a fish have fallen prey to this great pattern. I used a very tattered and beat up fly from my box as reference. If I painted it the way it looks now, it would almost be unrecognizable as a hopper. I just returned from a week long watercolor color workshop up in Northern Wisconsin. This was the first painting I did after returning. Nothing seemed to work the way I had envisioned. The brush felt sluggish, color mixing was off, but I struggled through and did the best I could today. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_37 Rusty Spinner Original status: Available, email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the Rusty Spinner! Tech Info- Watercolor and gouache 140 lbs watercolor paper. Back to the traditional media I love best. I was going for the look of the spinner laying on top of the water withe the Z-lon wings and tail fibers supporting it. Great simple and effective pattern. More on this later. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_36 Dahlberg Diver Original status: email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the Dahlberg Diver! Tech Info- Dirty sidewalk, 1600 PSI pressure washer, 15 degree tip and water. Now for something completely different! I was instructing my Son on how to pressure wash our real dirty sidewalk. It suddenly occurred to me that this section of sidewalk would make a great canvas. I grabbed the pressure washer and started drawing, I mean washing, this image of the Dahlberg Diver. I evened signed it. The image only lasted an hour, before my Son cleaned it away. View the full article

I discovered this pencil sketch in my watercolor sketchbook and decided to get the brushes out and go at it. I had nothing in mind as far as colors type of fly or values when I started. I just wanted this to be a spontaneous fun piece. This original is available - email me for details. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_35 Crazy Charlie Original status: email me for information. Prints are available. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of a Crazy Charlie! Tech Info- Digital rendering in PhotoShop using Wacom pressure pen and monitor. Went digital again with this one. A real quick monochromatic study using my Photoshop brush arsenal. I have been wanting to work on my digital drawing still, so I may experiment with a few more flies. View the full article

en Plein Air (official trailer) from Wildman Pictures on Vimeo. Friend and fellow artist Jared Shear at Terrapeer, shared this trailer to a new independent movie about plein air painting in the proposed Scotchmans Wilderness Area. There is nothing better than some great hiking, fellowship and plein air painting! View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_34 Hornberg Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of a Hornberg! Tech Info- Digital rendering in PhotoShop using Wacom pressure pen and monitor. Decided to do something different this week. I decided to sharpen my digital skills a bit and figured this was as good a time as any to do it. Started by creating a neutral gray background. It is always hard to get started with a big old white canvas staring back at you. I then roughly sketched it the shapes then started blocking in color using my "Chalk" brush. I have created a set of digital sketching and painting brushes that I like to use for this kind of work. I continue building shapes and values, just as I would when I use watercolor and gouache. One has to remember that digital painting is just a tool, the fundamentals are the same. I will say though that there is no "Control Z" or "Undo" key with conventional painting! I have tied a couple of Hornbergs, but I cannot say that I have had great success with them. The Hornberg was developed a retired Wisconsin Conservation Warden named Frank Hornberg. The fly has been known to imitate a large sedge or a small minnow. Knowing that Frank was from Wisconsin, my bet is that the later was what he was striving for. The Hornberg can range from "Real Scruffy looking" to more refined as I have shown. I chose this look because I new time would be a factor when rendering the mallard. I recall seeing seeing a while back a rendition of a Hornberg where the the tips of the mallard were brought together and glued with some head cement. That is the way I decided to render it. There is nothing like jungle cock as great method to draw your eye to the center of interest on this fly! View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_33 Takayama Sakasa Kebri Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of a Tenkara fly! Tech Info- Watercolor stock, Bamboo pen, sepia ink, gouache and watercolor. Jason through down artist choice on a Tenkara fly this week. I have to admit that I did not know that much about Tenkara. So I went to the web to do a bit of research. I was fornutate to come across the Tenkara USA site, which is chock full of information and videos. For those who are not familiar with Tenkara, the site states - " Tenkara is the traditional Japanese method of flyfishing which uses only a rod, line and fly. Tenkara is a category of fly fishing particularly well-suited for fishing streams and for fishing while back packing. It's a very effective, simple and enjoyable method of fly-fishing small streams." I scanned the page that had the flies listed on it and chose the Takayama Sakasa Kebri. According to the site - "The Takayama Sakasa Kebari are thought to be one of the older "sakasa" (reverse hackle) patterns used in tenkara fly fishing. It's an "elaborate" fly compared to some of the other tenkara patterns, for this one has a peacock herl collar, and a "butt". We'll never know whether it really is one of the oldest sakasa flies,but it's a beautiful one. These are tied with the softer part of a hackle, which makes them a great mix of soft-hackle wet flies, and the stiffer hackle sakasa flies. They can be very effectively fished as a wet fly (swung), or by giving it some life by light twitches on your rod." I really like the look of the reverse hackle, and I am always a sucker for peackock herl and a bright butt! I was not quite sure which painting approach I should take with this fly. At first I thought something similar, like the fishing style itself. Then I thought about something with an oriental flair. I scanned my arsenal and decided, I had to use a bamboo pen! I layed down some sepia ink, then folowed it up with the color. After reading more about these flies, I was curious as to the idea behing the reverse hackle.Since the hackle is more of a soft style, I imagine that it flows back when swung, creating an inciting look! Swing by Tenkara USA and check all there is to offer about Tenkara. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_32 Serendipity Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Serendipity! Tech Info- Oatmeal paper stock, Graphite pencil, gouache and watercolor. I was not sure exactly how to approach this weeks fly. I intended to pull out the old standbys, bamboo pen, sepia ink. Instead I went with a graphite sketch and then threw down some watercolor and gouache. Keeping true to the the name, I used all warm colors, creating a calm and serene feeling. The serendipity was the second fly I fished when I started fly fishing. Unfortunately, it did not produce, but I will try it again when the time is right. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_31 Brassie Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Brassie! Tech Info- Gouache, Watercolor and sepia ink and bamboo pen on 140 lbs. watercolor stock. Created this one in a similar method as the leadwing. I started by laying down ink lines with my bamboo pen and sepia ink. The bamboo pen is a great tool to use for drawing. You can great great thick and thin lines by adjusting the pressure when drawing. I also break up the lines by using a spray bottle. This pattern is a great imitation of a caddis larva. I have spent considerable time turning over rocks in the streams and rivers I fish. The most abundant insect that I encounter is the cased caddis. The brassie imitates the unfortunate caddis whose anal proledges cannot overcome the natural or unnatural dislodging forces. The wire wraps get the pattern down in the water column and the peacock hurl is a wonderful representation of the emerging legs from the case. A simple yet effective pattern. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_30 Leadwing Coachman Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Leadwing! Tech Info- Gouache, Watercolor and sepia ink and bamboo pen on 140 lbs. watercolor stock. Just got in from Dallas, will have more to add later. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_29 Loop Wing PMD Dun Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Loop Wing! Tech Info- Gouache, Watercolor on medium gray Canson paper. I really like to tie and fish parachute patterns. A loop wing parachute would make a great combination to tie and to fish! View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_28 Chironomid Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Chironomid! Tech Info- Watercolor, gouache, sepia ink and graphite pencil. I found this pattern a few months back and really fell for the shape. It is a chrionomid emerger pattern that I though was unique and different. Just got back from our family vacation this evening. We visited family in the "Tip of the Mitt" in Michigan. More information to follow after I adjust from vacation mode. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_27 Damselfly Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Damselfly! Tech Info- Watercolor on 140 lbs Arches watercolor paper. We tied this pattern during one of our regular Monday night club meetings. John M. from our club demonstrated this pattern and swears by it's effectiveness. John spends time every year chasing smallmouth in Sylvania and has great luck with this pattern. I rendered this pattern from the top because I liked the shape of the foam tail and the great flash and marker patterned wings. View the full article

Drawing Flies 52_26 Irresistible Original status: email me for information.. Swing by Jason's blog to check out his rendition of the of the Irresistible! Tech Info- Oatmeal sketchbook paper, watercolor and gouache. Pretty straight forward on this one. Quick sketch with some pencil, under painting with gouache to get the general values, then came in with the highlights. My day job has been keeping me extremely busy these past few weeks and I have not had enough time behind the brush or the pen. Feeling a bit rusty and awkward with this rendition. After looking at it again after scanning it, I do not like the rounded bottom side of the deer hair body, I should have clipped this and made it flat. This would have made been a better looking shape. My fly box contains a half dozen or so irresistibles. It is one of those patterns that has bits and pieces of other great patterns combined into one fly. The deer hair makes it float like a cork in rougher water and works for droppers. The front half has the classic Adams or catskill dry look to it. There are so many buggy features to this fly that i do not think the fish can resist. Hence the name irresistible! View the full article

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. View the full article

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! View the full article

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. View the full article

"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. View the full article

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." View the full article

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! View the full article

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. View the full article