NC Trout Portrait For A Special Angler

For fathers day I had the special privilege of rendering a record catch for one father from his sons.  Caught in a North Carolina stream, this beautiful rainbow was an exciting experience for this angler and his sons wanted to surprise their dad with a wall hanger to remember it.

It had been a while since I picked up the paints so I was eager to get started on this piece.  Painting fish not only fills me with joy it also serves to scratch my creative itch while keeping my love of fly fishing alive.  I also get great joy out of seeing my work so appreciated by the people that receive it.
I was told by John that his father absolutely loved the surprise and just couldn't stop staring at it after he received it.  His smile was permanently set for a long time after the unveiling and it makes me just as happy to contribute to the joy he felt.
 For this piece we added to the framing of the painting the actual fly he used to hook the trout that day which only adds to the special nature of this memory.

www.hexfishing.com

Adding Art For Sale, Brookies, Tigers, Rainbows, & Browns - Love them Trout

Its time for a little self promotion.  I am told I need to do this a little more to get my art out there but the truth is it just kinda makes me feel like a vacuum sales man.
Anyhow -  www.hexfishing.com - my art website has finally been updated to include some of the newer paintings I have done as well as some not previously up for sale.  Some of these have made it to this blog and some quite simply have slipped through the cracks.  Whether you plan on buying or just like to view paintings of trout, I hope you click on over and see my works Below are just a sampling of some of the paintings now available at unbelievably cheap prices for ORIGINAL artwork.  I have also been asked 'why are they so cheap?' and the answer is simple - I enjoy painting them and frankly I cant have hundreds of my paintings just hanging around on shelves in my studio.  I would much rather put them in the hands of fellow anglers that can appreciate them.
Check it out and share it with your friends.

Old School Art & Being P.C.

I passed through Knoxville a little while ago and came across a few examples of some old school art on southern money.  For all those out there complaining that there has never been a woman on our paper currency, (Sacagawea has her own dollar coin in case you forgot) I say look to the past and look to the south.  The Ocoee Bank Of Tennessee not only placed a southern bell on their $10 note, they also included a Native American and an African American (and two horses).  I'm not a big fan of removing key founding fathers from our national currency in the name of political correctness (anyone who knows me knows P.C. is a not my forte anyhow) but if we ever issue a new denomination, I am fine with a deviation from the norm.  I nominate Sitting Bull for a new $25 note, Betsy Ross for the $75 note and, G.W. Carver for the $150 bill.  Who's with me?  How cool would a $25 bill be?

Keeping Up The Skills

Nothing much to say about this one other than it has already been spoken for before it made it here.  It was a practice piece just to keep me involved with the color flow and to practice my watercolor skills.

This one was just a simple sketch done a few moments before the marbles.  I did this in a rough style and under five minutes just to get my mind going.

Yes, none of this has to do with fish but its what I have been up to so I thought I would share it with you.

Quail Stippling Illustration

    I have been experimenting with dots lately and got inspired to do a little bit of dot sketching outside my usual fish subjects.  A recent client of mine asked if I have done any birds in watercolor and I immediately thought back to the Pheasant and the California Quail I did a few years ago.  Of course I have also done various song birds and even a few mallard ducks (which currently hang in my hallway) but they are still a bit different than my favorite subject - the trout.
    That being said, birds offer another layer to my art that a trout just can't.  They also contribute to the scope of what I consider myself to be - a sporting / outdoor / nature artist.

   The butterfly was done a few months ago and also falls into the category of my love of nature.  For many people, the butterfly is about the only beautiful insect out there but as a fly fisherman, I see striking similarities between the butterfly and the mayfly.  I venture to guess that most people have never looked past the wings of a butterfly to see the insect body holding it all together.
 Both these illustrations are for sale, just shoot me an email.