VIRGINIA

Back on September 13th I posted the North Carolina print (see below), the first in a series of “State” prints that I’ve undertaken. Well, here are the beginnings of the second print in the series...VIRGINIA. Obviously this is still in the pen & ink stage awaiting some color.

And no, I’m not hung up on Cardinals and Dogwoods. Both states have them as their state bird and tree. Wonder who’s copying whom?

As soon as I get up the nerve to select and add the colors that I’ll use, I’ll post the finished product.

Big Government...at it again

If you are still under the delusion that government works for us and is always mindful of our rights and interests then the following story will no doubt cause you little concern. If you are still going through your daily lives with the pollyanna attitude of “They can’t do that!” you will not be alarmed at what is discussed in the story. If however, you have come to realize that there is an agenda at play...often behind the scenes and un-noticed until too late...you will recognize a familiar pattern at work.

New Obama rules may prohibit citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, great lakes and even inland waters...

From ESPN today:
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762

My SHIRLEY

She entered my life some forty years ago and changed what would have been a wasted life of fly fishing debauchery into the life of a slightly respectable husband and father....who fly fishes occasionally.

I had great hopes of luring the beautiful young lady to my idea of a great time...fly fishing. I could just imagine us on the Firehole...landing trout after trout and being the envy of every passer by. There would be books written about us...maybe a movie. Our adventures would be legendary as we traveled the world in search of trout. But it wasn’t to be.

She was up for just about anything that I was interested in, so it wasn’t long before I started dragging her along on my fishing adventures. But a few trips to local streams showed me that she would never share my passion for fishing. Looking back on those days I recognize where I went wrong...starting with our first camping trip to the Illinois River.

It had rained for days prior to our arrival. The river was swollen big time. It was out of its banks and running brown and fast, but that wasn’t going to stop her introduction to canoeing, Alan style. We rented a canoe, arranged for a downstream pick-up and headed into the watery wilds of northeastern Oklahoma.

Did I say that the river was out of its banks? Well, every sharp bend in the normally gentle stream led us through the streamside bushes and trees. And there were lots of bends. With Shirley in the front and her highly experienced white water canoeist (HA!) in the rear, we managed to survive the river, but not without many repeats of the following dialog:

“SHIRLEY ! LEFT! Paddle left! Watch out for that branch! NO RIGHT! Hurry...RIGHT...RIGHT NOW!

(Insert various feminine screaming sounds here)

“PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I’M SAYING! I said back paddle NOW! LOOK-OUT! WATCH YOUR HEAD!

(Insert more, and louder, screaming sounds here...these, directed to the rear occupant of the canoe.)

“IS THAT A SNAKE? !!! ALAN! THERE’S A SNAKE IN FRONT OF US!

“Calm down Shirley. It’s just a stick.”

Some time passed before our next canoeing adventure, and oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the river wasn’t the only thing swollen. Shirley was 6 months pregnant at the time.

The actual camping was great. Growing up, Shirley had camped a lot with her folks so she was no stranger to camp cooking and sleeping on the ground. A good camp, great food, an even better companion. I had it made. Tomorrow we go fishing!

I had found a little backwater area where I suspected there might be a bass or two relaxing from the torrent of the main channel. As I landed a few nice Bluegills and maintained a running commentary on the many sophisticated techniques I was employing, Shirley stood patiently at my side, barely able to contain her (feigned?) excitement. Handing her the rod, she managed to make a pretty decent cast. And Eureka...she got a strike. Missed it! Then another strike and another miss. More strikes followed and despite my instructions to lift the rod and set the hook, they all avoided the hook’s barb.

Her frustration mounting, I thought to inspect the fly. And sure enough, there was a reason they were missing the barb. There wasn’t one. Midway up the bend, the hook had broken cleanly off...and as she suspected, I had probably done it before handing her the rod. (No, I wasn’t so insecure to have done it on purpose!)
That was the last time Shirley handled a fly rod.

In the forty summers since, and through the raising of two daughters, there have been lots of camping trips...in fact, Shirley instigates most of them. I’m just along for the ride...and the fishing. Her destiny was to be the “trophy” camp cook and bottle washer. And that was OK with me.

She has one fault, though. She buys tents. “That last one (no matter how big and roomy) just wasn’t big enough.” And then there’s the kitchen. Everything, and I mean everything that is on the market (including the kitchen sink) must be purchased and hauled to the campsite...even making two trips if necessary. Setting up the camp is becoming like the set of Extreme Home Makeover, minus all the hands to help.

But what fun it is. Whether it’s our favorite site just a short drive from home, or a more distant spot we’ll share with the kids and grandkids, we’ll be there this summer. I’ll be fishing. Shirley will be the pretty one tending to the camp.

Thanks Shirley
(and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

A Few Favorite Things

A few quick sketches...not really meant to make a statement, just some practice drawing for a upcoming piece.

NEXT STEP

A little over two weeks ago I posted the beginning stages of this commission piece that I’m doing for my friend Jimmy Harris of Unicoi Outfitters. Over the weekend I nearly finished the colorization stage and the calligraphy. As you can see, this beauty was caught on one of my favorite waters...Noontootla Creek in north Georgia.

Noontootla Creek is one of the prime waters that Jimmy and his staff of guides have access to, and if you are anywhere near north Georgia and enjoy catching huge browns and rainbows in an absolutely beautiful setting, you MUST get in touch with them before the season is fully booked. If you do manage to book a day at Noontootla Creek Farms this year you’ll be doing what I'm doing...talking about the trip for the rest of your life!

Give David or Becky Hulsey a call at their Blue Ridge shop at 706-632-1880.

When I get the hands done I’ll show you all the finished artwork. Stay tuned!

The other day while perusing the internet I came across some fantastic drawings done by Thomas Weiergang, and as the style was nothing I had attempted before I thought I’d give it a try. This little rainbow and the treatment of the water was fun to do.

HERTER'S

I’m gonna have to call Orvis. A week ago I ordered what is called a “head loupe” to salvage what’s left of my eyesight. It has variable magnification, and as I am forever trying to increase the lighting on my work, the headlights that came with it also got my attention. That and the price. I’ve been abusing my eyesight for decades now. Going back to the early seventies when I got involved in jewelry design and gemology, a head loupe was firmly affixed to my brow while at work and at night as I slaved over my artwork. With all the years of close-up, highly detailed work it’s a wonder I’m not cross-eyed.

Anyway, this head loupe is no good. It’s no slam against Orvis...most everything they sell is first quality, and they can’t be expected to be experts on everything...especially something as specialized as head loupes. The point of focus on these is off and the so-called head lights, which are nonadjustable, point in opposite directions away from the work zone. (Maybe if I were cross-eyed...) So I’m sending them back, and will continue using my old one.

Not to worry. I’m sure in a future catalog they’ll be pushing an updated version. I wonder how many catalogs Orvis sends out a year. Seems like I get one about every other week, which truly tests my will power and threatens my status as the cheapest guy on the block. It didn’t used to be this way. I was always cheap but I never had this much temptation. Long before the days of multiple Orvis catalogs, those from Cabelas, Bass Pro and the hundreds of other fishing gear proprietors, there was only one. Herter’s. And you only got one catalog a year.

Growing up in a house full of anglers, the yearly arrival of their catalog was special. To see the latest and greatest gear and stuff on the market; to study each and every item and imagine its usage; to dog ear the favorites and day dream of the fish they would catch come spring kept us going through many winters.

Dad gave me free rein to order anything and everything that I thought might be effective. To this day, I still have a number of hook assortments from Herter’s in my fly tying kit along with some old deer tails, floss, chenille, rusted tinsel and moleskins. (Did you ever notice how those little skins look like miniature bearskin rugs, tanned and preserved by a tribe of Lilliputian hunter/gatherers?)

I recently came across a familiar yellow and black envelop full of size 24 hooks. I’ll probably pass those along to my grandson...at least he can see them. Since they’ve been in there for over 40 years now, I doubt I’ll ever tie them up. And another thing...you’ll never catch me breaking out my tying stuff at any of the festivals I attend, ‘cause the first thing I’d have to set up would be my vise. As the other tiers would be setting up their $400 Renzetti vises, I would be sheepishly setting up my old Herter’s model...the same one you can find on EBay for just a buck or two.

I’ve been tying as the need arises for many years now, without one bit of improvement in my skill level. My flies were, and are, functional. I’ve never been accused of being an artist with hooks and feathers. Nowadays, I tie out of necessity. And my tying is an ongoing experiment in creativity.

Fishing Bennett Spring in Missouri one year I walked by a shallow pool where a good number of trout had been cleaned and witnessed fish gorging on the entrails, which got me to thinkin’. Later, with a tube of white silicone caulking, in a very unorthodox method of “matching the hatch” I created some pretty good replicas. Did they catch any fish? Not one, but I had a lot of fun trying. My buddy Jerry still ribs me about it, but last year he too succumbed to creativity. Jerry supplied me with a selection of his “Nub Worms” which were tied with a secret product found in the automotive department of every Wal-Mart in the country. Does his creation catch fish? Yes indeed. Does it replicate anything ever seen by a trout? Not unless they are hanging out at Wal-Mart.

But I still experience the joy that comes from catching trout on a home-made fly...I remember the first one and the last one, but the in between ones, like my vision, are a little blurred now.

Finally

Finally. Finally a Brook Trout that I can be proud of. Of all the fishes, the colors of the Brookie have always given me the most trouble. It must be that red/green color blind thing that I’m stuck with. Anyway, I like the way this one turned out.

I really can’t identify a number of colors. While I can obviously “see” the colors, duplicating them takes a lot of trial and error. And even then it’s questionable that you’ll see them the same way that I do. Color blindness is a fascinating thing. We all say that the sky is blue. We associate the color we see with the word “blue”... but do we all really see the same color? Is my green your blue...or vice-versa?

45,000

Here’s a sneak peak of a new commission piece that I’m working on. A few of you over the past year have indicated an interest in seeing the process that I use and this is a pretty good example.

I start each piece with a very faint pencil drawing to get the basic details and layout in place. From there I go to the pens, employing a pointillism technique to show depth and detail. I will typically complete the entire piece in pen and ink before touching the colored pencils. Some may consider it redundant to add this much detail at this point, but if I don’t have it right at this stage, then it’s time to start all over again.

Once the ink is dry I can gently erase the pencil marks from the design and begin applying the color. In this example I haven’t decided how to handle the hands...Not sure if I’ll use the pens or if I’ll just go with the colored pencils with no pen and ink underlayment. I’ll probably color the fish before deciding...

45,000? That’s about how many dots I figure it took to get the piece to this point. No, I haven’t counted each one of them, but I have a rough idea of the average number I apply per minute. That number times the number of minutes spent equals 45,000!

We Are Not Alone

Zach Clayton, who happens to be just about the savviest marketing guru on the planet, has reported on his blog some very interesting news about social networking. The info comes from the emarketer Report and it confirms that I am not unique regarding my recent entry into the world of social networking.

I jumped into the Facebook deal about a month ago as an experiment. I had been getting those mysterious emails inviting me to be a “Friend” and in the hustle bustle of going through my emails each morning I just about wore out the delete button in getting rid of them. Then one day I thought, what the heck, I’ll give it a try.

As an outsider I had always viewed Facebook as the place where so-called celebrities had their nude photos anonymously posted to boost their careers. But much to my surprise, just about everyone I know in the fly fishing world was already there (fully clothed, thankfully)....and their numbers are growing daily.

According to recent research, the geezer community (of which I am a proud member) has embraced social networking in dramatic numbers. In 2009 Boomers (aged 44-62) and Matures (aged 63-75) “saw dramatic 15% and 22% increases in social network activity from 2008 to 2009—that jump is particularly surprising when compared to the activity increase from 2007-2008, when Boomers and Matures increased their presence by a mere 1% and 4%, respectively.”

Lisa Phillips, eMarketer senior analyist and author of the “Boomers and Social Media” report, supports this idea, saying “Boomers expect that technology will help them live longer and better lives and keep them connected to family, friends, co-workers and, eventually, healthcare providers. To fulfill these expectations, boomers are turning to social media.”

Seventy-three percent of Boomers and 90% of Matures claimed to maintain profiles on Facebook in 2009.
Interesting.

Crawfish Etouffee

Add a roux (dark please) onions, garlic, celery and green pepper and the feast is on. Of course this gentleman prefers his raw, but in honor of the Saint's victory tonight I thought I'd fancy it up a bit.

This is the brown trout that I was imagining in my post of last week. Like the cutthroat in that posting, I was going to add a fly to this one, but the mud bug seemed a better choice.

Day Dreamin'

I posted the pen and ink version of this a few weeks ago, and over the weekend I couldn't resist dressing it up with a little color. So now, rather than a non-descript trout of unknown variety, she is now officially a Cutthroat...in fact, it’s from Slough Creek, Second Meadow. Hit the Muddler really hard.

Ah yes, fantasy is a wonderful thing. Especially this winter. And tomorrow we are expecting another foot of snow! Wonder what I’ll "catch" this weekend. Hmmm, there’s a nice Brown hanging out over at.........

A Lazy Rainy Saturday

After a great monthly meeting at the Asheville VA Hospital on Saturday morning with our Project Healing Waters crew, I turned down an invite to fish the Davidson from Ryan to get some much needed "catching up" done back at my studio.

The meeting was a lot of fun as Ryan had arranged to get his hands on three of those Echo practice casting rods for our vets to try out. After a bit of instruction we held a casting competition for the vets and the top five winners got some pretty neat prizes...some prints, flies, books, etc...all designed to whet their appetites for an upcoming on stream adventure.

Those Echo practice rods are fantastic! (I'm trying to figure out how to put a reel seat on them for some bluegill action this summer.) They really do mimic casting with a regular full sized rod and they were great for teaching the vets some of the finer points of casting.

Back in the studio I tackled some of those un-fun bookkeeping items that we all hate, but also managed to have a little fun finishing the rainbow you see above. Hope you like it.

PROJECT HEALING WATERS

Project Healing Waters has just added my art to the “Buy Stuff and Help Us Out” section of their website! Needless to say, I am proud to partner with them on this new fundraising effort, and I hope you’ll jump over there and check it out. For this special project I’ve done a series of four prints...a Brown, a Rainbow, a Brook and a Cutthroat...and I’ll be donating ½ of the sales price from each purchase to their great organization.

If you are familiar with their ongoing work with our veterans you know what a good cause it is...and if you’ve been considering a donation to support their efforts, here’s your chance to do so and in return you get something nice to display on your wall.

I spent a couple of nights this week drawing this Rainbow, and sometime over the next week I hope to bring some color to it and finish it up. The week has also been spent trying to lay out a schedule for this Spring and Summers' shows. I know that I'll do all of the ones from last year and I might be adding a new one or two as well.

Scheduling the shows is the easy part. Now I've got to plan some new artwork...