When I was commissioned to carve these pieces, I was asked to include five trout species indigenous to different parts of the country as one piece for a hunting cabin located in upper Michigan. They would be installed in an area roughly 3’x4’ above the stair case landing which leads up to the cabin’s second story bedrooms and loft with a study that overlooks the stair case. This presented a challenge because not only did they need to be installed on a vertical wall they couldn’t share the same habitat.
So- it was carve five totally separate pieces with their own habitat which in my opinion would lose continuity being one piece and it would also present a problem with carving rocks, driftwood etc. Then try to make it so they would mount to a wall. That’s all been done before anyway. Realism can be mundane and can end up only being about technique which at its roots is what it is. “Wow! It’s so life-like” is a wonderful compliment; but for me it needs to be more than that. I want to hopefully evoke emotion and not tell a story that’s been told before. Not the easiest thing when you’re carving fish. Fish swim, eat, try to stay alive, and make baby fish. I don’t know the first thing about what makes art- art. When I look at a piece of art I feel it first, I don’t look for what it says, it’s all about how it makes me feel. And somehow I needed to include “that” part of myself and at the same time make it very personal to the clients. The part I love most about being commissioned for artwork is the relationship that is formed with the client. But client is too impersonal, it's friendship...
I had the pleasure of meeting Rich and Sue (wife and husband team) while they were on a fishing trip here in Florida. And through our conversations and correspondence and photos of fishing trips I sensed their open-mindedness and learned about their travels all across North America and love for fly fishing, and that they were not only avid anglers but basically naturalists and conservators of fisheries. The enthusiasm was very inspirational for me and I spent a lot of time just day dreaming about traveling and fly fishing in remote locations throughout this grand country of ours. I even watched one of my favorite movies, A River Runs Through It. Then while researching the various trout species it suddenly came to me.
I’ve always loved the illustration drawings and paintings you see in field guides and the illustrations of Audubon, Tomelleri… Prosek. And I’ve always wanted to try my hand at painting my own illustrations. So I thought- why not do 3D illustrations? It opened up all kinds of possibilities, even delving into mixed-media but mostly it allowed me to carve five separate trout species from different regions while maintaining continuity- biggest problem solved. Then the idea started snowballing and all things came together with the red, white and blue colors which were done in linen, denim (very American) and white-washed beadboard. A distressed pine frame and what I see as field notes written by hand in the title of each fish and there ya go.
Of course the whole piece is a reflection of me but I’m very happy knowing how pleased Sue and Rich are with not only the attention to detail, anatomy and craftsmanship but the thoughtfulness that went into the artwork in which they can see a reflection of themselves.