Drawing Flies 52 – 10_McGinty
Drawing Flies 52 McGinty. Charcoal sketch with watercolor.
Available for purchase? No.
Tech info: 6″ x 9″ Strathmore paper, medium-soft charcoal with watercolor. I like charcoal in that it is so immediate and so spontaneous. With a toothy paper like I used here, the look and feel almost charts its own path as you go. Of course, charcoal has a down-side: It’s hard/impossible to fix when you get in “too deep.” With that in mind I went right ahead and overworked some areas. Frustrating! But in the end, it was a good experiment/exercise overall, and I was mostly pleased with what I got.
I had originally intended to do only the charcoal sketch, with perhaps a small splash of color. Once I got the charcoal done (literally just a few minutes), I had a lot of time left, so I dabbed in some yellow, then some more, then things kind of went from there, until I had to stop myself for fear of ruining it. I certainly see some future possibilities for technique after doing this fly.
Jeff’s McGinty is here. Personally, I love the graphical look. Always thought Jeff had such strength there, and his fly is a great example. There’s just so much “pop” to the piece, and heavy line accented by the white border, really bring the fly off the paper (almost like a cut-out that’s been rubber-cemented in place). Might not have been what you wanted, Jeff, but it is one of my absolute favorites to this point.
![FF&W [art] - DF52 Grayling](http://fishfliesandwater.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/df52_16-grayling-sidebar.jpg)
Great looking fly as always. I have just posted my version along with my daughter’s take on the McGinty. Ten down, 42 to go :)
http://www.undertheaspens.com/blog/2010/03/drawing-flies-52-week-10-mcginty/
That’s a real beauty!! Somehow it uniquely stirs my fly fishing passion–a classic fly. Well done!
JB- Another sweet one! I really like the way the charcoal brings out the tooth of the paper. The teal flank fibers balance out tail nicely. As always I really dig your hook! Simple but reads extremely well! Another nicely done rendition in the can! I did not think of it until now, but we probably should have saved the McGinty for St. Patrick”s Day week. Guess we will have to cook up something else for then.
Jeff—Thanks for the compliments (I worked literally for years on drawing hooks freehand when I was a kid). The McGinty would have been great for St. Pat’s! How about another wet, perhaps a Connemara, which would also be a good Irish-style choice? I know it’s two wets back-to-back, but it’s a nice looking fly to draw.
JB- Connemara it is! I never get tired of drawing wet flies. I do have to admit that I am not familiar with this one. I will have to do a bit of research first.
Matt and Dan—Thanks to you both. Matt, I always like seeing what your daughter comes up with for these flies. She definitely has her own style!