Drawing Flies 52 Damsel Adult (in red, white and blue for the American Fourth of July holiday). I have been fortunate enough to have fished some of the most spectacular damselfly waters in the world. Seen hatches so thick that I can’t really describe the action, but a few epic emergences were enough to get [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Irresistible. Caught some plump brookies and gleaming little cutts on this fly. Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. The drawing went so smoothly that I was done with a few minutes of reserve time on the clock. I forced myself to do a faint pencil underdrawing first, which helped [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Gartside Sparrow. A little piece for an fondly remembered friend who also gave me the best tour of Boston that I could ever have hoped for (this one’s for you, Jack). Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. I wanted a fly that reminded me of Jack Gartside. Not just [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Crayfish (or Crawfish, however you prefer). More specifically, this pattern is the Fleeing Crayfish/Upside-Down Leech. This fly can really do the job on smallies (and big browns). Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Went for the same general technique as last week, but wanted to add some more [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Sofa Pillow. The big salmonflies are out and about in some places, so this fly seemed appropriate. Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Like the Doc Oatman, I used all 30 minutes here. I had to do an underdrawing/painting first, then rinse/wipe it, and then do the pen [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Doctor Oatman. A really cool streamer pattern that just begs to be drawn or painted lovingly over the space of a day or two. Jeff and I had 30 minutes. Tech info: Pentalic paper with four different pens (Pigma in 02, 05, 1, and “brush tip”) and watercolor. I’ll add some more [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Strip Leech. A pattern of my father’s from a long time back (the glorious 70′s). This fly caught me my first ever 6+ pound brown trout (from Wyoming’s Green River) when I was 10 years old. It has done the deed all over the world, and for a broad spectrum of fish. [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Woolly Worm. A little break from the usual. When I drew/painted this, I was thinking of the dim, dusty corners of the old Weber Tackle building in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin. Weber is long gone, but my father still has sets of drawers from the place, bought many years ago. A lot of [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Sand Shrimp (variation). This fly is for everyone dealing with the Gulf oil spill, and hoping that disaster can somehow be averted in the marshes and beaches of “sportsman’s paradise.” Tech info: Brush-tip Pigma pen with watercolor. Feeling like I got my “drawing mojo” back after two weeks of mediocrity! This one [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Caddis (Sparkle) Pupa. Pigma detail pen with watercolor. Tech info: I had gotten a request for one of my “old school” style pen-and-ink pieces, and while I didn’t have the time to do what I would normally do with intense detail work, this drawing has more little bits to it that last [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Hendrickson(s). Chisel-point pen with watercolor. Tech info: Pen and ink with watercolor on Pentalic paper. Long story as to why this fly was so late, but to get it done while it was still Thursday, I had to remind myself of the “Three Rules” of Drawing Flies 52: 1) Agree on a [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Undertaker. Made with pen, paper, scanner and software. Tech info: Pen and ink on Pentalic paper, scanned into Photoshop for adjustment, exported to Illustrator, tweaked and colored. I wanted the Undertaker to have a sense of darkness about it that went beyond the fly itself, so I scribbled a thick black background [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear. Mechanical pencil and watercolor on tracing paper with watercolor wash underlay. Tech info: More soon, but I can tell you it was a week for experiments, based on last week’s work. I can also tell you that the fly has basically no color to it at all—just pencil [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Bass Popper. Mechanical pencil and pastel pencil on tracing paper with construction paper underlay. Tech info: This was a pencil and pastel sketch, done in a fast hand on tracing paper. I really like working on tracing paper, and one reason is that it can overlay other paper or fabrics to get [...]