Drawing Flies 52 Humpy done in charcoal. Drawing time was about five minutes. One of the cool things about Humpys: they catch 8-inch brook trout and 8-pound browns just fine, thanks.

Tech info: 9″ x 12″ charcoal on Strathmore coldpress watercolor paper. Decided to go about 180-degrees from 01_Mickey Finn. Grabbed my pad of paper and a medium-dark charcoal. Hadn’t worked in charcoal since, oh, about high-school, but I wanted to jump back into it for the book series anyway.

I did a few prelim sketches to get used to the flow of the material and paper (really different than the pen!) and then set-up to draw. I did a quick shaping of the deer-hair “hump” first, then slashed down the tail. Did a single line to set the belly, and curved in the hook. Onto the wing (this could be considered a “Royal” variation since I went with a white wing). Did the hackle next, very fast and loose, and then blocked in the shadows to pop some contrast. Head and eye were next, and then touching up the detail shadows and general line weights. Done.

Chracoal is pretty interesting in that there is not much in the way of going back. Can’t really white it out, can’t really paint over it, you just lay the dark down and there it is. Didn’t want to get into smudging, using a opaque white pencil, or other “adjustments” since I am veeerrry rusty in my charcoal technique right now. But I was still pleased with the end result, especially considering the timeframe. The lesson for this second fly: Don’t think, just do!

Available for purchase? Yes (contact JB).

And a bit more…

I wanted my hand to get the “feel” for the DF52 Humpy pattern before I got out the expensive paper, so earlier in the week I took a few minutes at lunch and scribbled on a legal pad. I think you can clearly see the final charcoal fly taking life here. I also like the camera angle explorations. Could make for an interesting take on an “official” DF52 fly given the right pattern.

Update: Just checked out Jeff’s painting—23 minutes and 10 seconds to another very nice piece. I am a fan of the “spatter” effect from the brush, as well as the types of background washes that Jeff uses. Once again, my friend: nice work! I have an idea for next week, something I’ve been playing with in terms of ink, and with Jeff’s approach this week, I think I’ll run with it.

So, Jeff, what’s our next fly? How about something salty, perhaps a Keys/Stu Apte-style tarpon fly? Our choice of colors/hackles?