Downwing Caddis

The classic Downwing Caddis



Scott SC Bamboo Fly Rods
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March Brown Wet Fly

Big Eyed Squid Fly

Nothing new to add to todays post so all you get is a saltwater Squid Fly quickly done for the daily post project.

The Hornberg Special

Here is a quick rendition of the classic Hornberg fly.  A Wisconsin conservation officer, Frank Hornberg, developed the fly prior to the Second World War.   I'm not entirely sure of the actual history of the fly or the man but I got the impression  that this man was not one to share his secrets.  I also remember reading that he had a particular dislike for any 'worm dunker" that dared to fish his hole.  If anybody has more info on the subject - please inform us in the comments..

Three Kings Of The Stream

 Right now you are thinking to yourself, man that look quite a bit like the last three trout painting he did, why doesn't he get some new stuff.  Well in case you missed yesterdays post, this painting is similar to the previous on purpose.  It seems that during shipment of the previous painting, the shipper decided that it would be good to place an elephant on top of the box that was holding my clients painting.  As you can guess, this is not a good thing to do to a piece of art.

 So in order to replace the first original I have tried to duplicate it with the same style and at the same time make this piece original in its own rite.  You might notice the addition of a more colorful background to this work.  My client suggested that I add some of the effect I have used as a background for some of my flies and this is what I came up with.  Overall I think it worked well.  It adds a dimension of the fish in their natural environment.

 I have also changed the layout of fish in the work.  I find that when I copy the same painting over and over again, I get board with it and the overall work suffers.  It is important to keep the artistic drive for each of my original works if I want it to truly be special.

 After dropping in all the color layer by layer, nothing is left but to add the finishing touches.  Adding spots, sharpening lines, detailing fins and so on take time but in the end it improves the piece too a polished work of art.

On the suggestion of a few bloggers, I have added a picture of me at work.  I am not sure why anybody would like to see me working on a piece but as they say, give the people what they want.  Notice my fishing cap -Life Is Good - Trout Cap.  Hopefully I can replace it soon with a custom Year On The Fly Cap.  I have been looking into making a handful of baseball caps with a bit of art on them for sale on this site. Keep an eye out for them in the future.

Midgeman Inspired .... & A Doubletake

 Here is a quick midge inspired from the midgeman.  I took a little liberty with the colors but the overall look is direct from the man himself.  I am not sure how he ties such small and beautiful flies so consistently but he does and is worth a visit.

It took me a bit to do today's post but as you can see from the photo below, I was a bit busy.

If you are thinking that this painting looks remarkably similar to my last large three trout painting, you would be right.  Unfortunately a shipping mishap destroyed the last work so I in order to replace the one that got ruined I set to work on another piece.  This one does have a look all its own despite some similarities but I will wait to give you details until I post the final work.
As for the destroyed work of art.  I was nearly physically sick when I got word of how badly the shipper had treated it. This was the first time something like this had happened to one of my works and I think how it happened was that I let the package store pack the work for my instead of packaging it myself.  It was insured so there was no monetary loss but when you loose an original work of art that took so much time and energy to produce, it still hurts.  On the plus side, you get to see yet another three fish painting.  I am going to call this one "Three Kings Of The Stream" and should have the final work for you tomorrow or Sunday.

Bass Bug Quick Colors

Just a quick bass bug for today.

Salwater Streamer In Greens & Some Thanks

This green little guy has a lot of color in the tail that in the clear blue water of the gulf would catch the eye of any passing bonefish.  It has been my dream to spend a month or two (or a year or two) sailing the Caribbean fishing for tarpon and bonefish in the shallows of some forgotten reef.  Until that day comes - if it ever does - I will paint these beauties and dream of latching onto one of the scaled beasts for the ride of my life.

Also I would like to thank Albert Rasch from Rasch Outdoor Chronicles for profiling my art on his blog. When he contacted me about doing it I was really humbled. He runs one of the top hunting and outdoor boots on the web and it is an honor for him to take time and do a post dedicated to this blog. I would post a link to his blog but unfortunately I'm mobile posting and can't pull up to link option. You can however click his link on my blog role and give him some traffic.
Many thanks to all that have given my blog post time over the past year. PLEASE CLICK ON THOSE AND THE MANY OTHERS on my blog role that take time out of their lifes to share with the rest of us. Thanks once again.

Saltwater Streamer In Blue

Another Saltwater Streamer for today.  I have said it before and I'll say it again:  Saltwater streamers like the tarpon, redfish, bonefish streamers are great looking flies.  I know this might turn off some of the trout followers in CO but look for another salty fly on Wednesday.

Hey! There's a fly in my beer.



Big Eye Clouser

Another late day post today mostly due to a lack of motivation.  I have been a bit under the weather lately and not so driven to paint but it is so close to the end of the year I knew I had to continue the streak.  So for today I got off the couch and whipped a bit of paint on paper for this Big Eyed Clouser Saltwater fly.

Hatching Mayfly Nymph

As promised, here is a painted fly.  I did this with a little color but I wonder how effective this fly would be tied up all in black. I have never seen this guy in black but I suspect that if you are fishing hatching flies this winter or early spring, I suspect a black version of this fly would probably produce.  Anyway, I know this is a late day post but I hope you like it and if you have fished this fly (or one like it) in black, let me know how it produced for you.

Doodling A Midge

 Just a classic Midge done for another day in black ink. I did this one once again in a larger format as you can see from the sketch below.  I think, like yesterdays post, the work looses a little something in the photograph.

Hopefully by tomorrow I should be able to throw a bit of paint around and come up with a painted fly for the post. 



 On another subject, If anybody out there would like a custom painting in time for Christmas then the deadline is next week to get in your request.  I am currently working on a few projects but should be able to fit in a few more in time for the holidays. 
 
If you would like a print or two as a gift for a buddy or perhaps a gift to yourself, please get your requests in as soon as possible to ensure you receive it by Christmas.

For custom paintings just email me with your request.

For prints just visit the BUY A FISH PRINT page near the top of this blog and follow the instructions and proceed to checkout vie the paypal button then add into the remarks which print you are requesting.

Doodling A Streamer

I had a day off of work yesterday and surprisingly enough, I didn't go fishing, I didn't paint, & I didn't even tie a fly.  What I did do was work on removing about six inches of leaves that have accumulated in my front and back yard over the past month.  I now have a five foot high, seven by twenty five foot pile of leave on my front curb that I have very little idea how to easily get rid of and an equally large pile in my back yard waiting for the burn pile.  The smoke from the fire I plan to light today is sure to piss of my French neighbor.  I am sure I will once again get swore at in a language I don't understand but need no translator to comprehend.  It has become a once a year ritual I don't look forward to but have little option to avoid, that is unless she wanted to pay the $100 fee to have them hauled away...  But I don't see that happening. 

What will probably occur will be something akin to the last time the fire marshal was called.  He came out and agreed that I had made all the necessary notifications to the state and county offices of the burn and then told me "I'm only out here to make it look like I'm doing my job."  He then told me he was heading back to his house to do the same thing I was doing.

Oh well - this is a streamer - but you knew that.  I inked it out last night in a slightly larger format than usual .

A little Owl Bug....Sort Of.

Here is a bit of a poached fly the the Owl man in good old Northern GA.  It isn't an identical take on his version but I got to make it my own.  If you haven't seen this guys blog / blogs - you are missing out.  Good funny stuff.  I am also liking his X-Wing fighter fly OMG ITS FLY TYING & Fly Fishing Southern BlueRidge.

Giant Stone & The Countdown Begins

 Here is a giant stone fly via the new site Carolina Fly Tying Blog. 

And now the countdown begins.  I have been doing a post a day for 11 months now and am quite excited that the year is coming to an end.  I Started this crazy thing as an attempt to focus my wondering mind on two subjects I love, Fly fishing and art.  I had thought that it was a simple thing to do - a quick sketch - a few words - and that was it.  What I have learned over the past year is that this blogging thing is a whole lot of work and is far more rewarding than I could have imagined.  Over the past 11 months I have learned more than I did in seven years of fly fishing and painting.  I believe I have also improved in my painting ability as well as the confidence I have in my work and as the year draws to a close I find myself looking to the future.  What am I going to do with this blog?  Am I going to continue a blog a day for another year? Short answer -NO.  Am I going to abandon the blog all together and consider my project done? No.  I am still struggling with how to proceed but am leaning toward a by-weekly or weekly blog post with a few random posts added for good measure. 

Whatever I decide one thing is for certain, the Year On the Fly will continue.