Painting The Ruby River Brown

  Well it has been nearly an entire month since I last posted anything of any significance and the truth is I don't have any excuse except to say that after the high of fishing the historic Montana waters I found myself wondering how I could top that.  After all, when in my fishing past have I ever had the opportunity to fish every day and pull in one beautiful trout after another?  Coming back to Carolina I found myself a little depressed that my waters could never offer me what the Gallatin and Ruby did in that memorable week.

  It has also been over two months since I picked up a paintbrush and pen.  For this there is absolutely no excuse so with the idea of rectifying this mortal sin I decided to kill two birds with one stone.  As a Thank you to Brian - my unofficial Montana guide - I decided to immortalize one of his many browns with a little pen and paint.  This beautiful trout was returned (as was every one we caught) to the the cool waters of the Ruby River but thanks to a quick photo his likeness will grace the walls of a dedicated angler.
    Starting from a photo I sketched out this black and white brown in hand.  For this style of art I use an archival ink pen that provided good crisp black lines that last even after long exposure to light.

    After finishing the sketch I then begin the fun part of dropping color into the painting.  If it looks a little like 'color by numbers' well then you are not far off the mark.  I can pretend that there is great skill involved in this process but the truth of the mater is that only a thimble full of talent is needed to combine the colors and layers to produce a living painting like this.  Given enough practice and a trained eye for colors I think that anyone has the potential to paint.
    I call this one "Brian's Ruby Brown" and by the name you can guess that this beauty is not for sale.  It will soon be shipped back to Montana and the angler that caught the fish that posed for the painting.

    For those that flatter me by following this humble blog of art and fish I would like to apologize for my recent absence from the web.  After being at this blog thing for a number of years now it sometimes starts to become a chore and not as fun as I want it to be.  When I begin to feel that way I know it is necessary to unplug from the electronic age and just exist.  This post is the first time I have warmed up the computer in the past three weeks and I would be lying if I said it was a painful absence. Truth is it was a refreshing break but now that I am back posting I can say that it is a pleasure to share my love of art and fishing with you.  Thanks again for your continued support.