TRAILSIDE WORKSHOP

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I have been a professional fly fishing guide in the Smoky Mountains since 1995. Creativity has been manifest in every facet of my life including fly tying, writing, photography, drawing and painting. My life as a guide allows me to share beauty and help others gain insight to the natural world. Fly fishing is more than a hobby for me and much more than a job; it is a way of life.

Watercolor is my favorite medium because it's so similar to fly fishing. It's a tricky medium that refuses to submit to an artist's will, and in that regard it's just like a trout that doesn't want to be caught. An angler needs to understand a fish's behavior and persuade it to take the fly, to make the fish think it was its idea all along. Anyone who has taken a fly rod to the water will understand all too often the rod doesn't cast as you want and the fish won't do as you wish. Through understanding of the subject and medium I persuade paint, charcoal or pencil to represent my vision.