New Video: Giving it our Best: A day trip to Harkers Island

Giving it our Best from My Leaky Waders on Vimeo.

I don't get out fishing much these days, but when the opportunity arises, it is go big or nothing. As such, a when a free day came along this fall, and Sara agreed to watch the baby, I woke at 3am to go find the false albacore of Harkers Island. Unfortunately the water was too warm, and albert was out at sea. The day was still success by many standards and over too quickly. Just like this video.

If you have time, check out some of the sweet items we've got for out TU holiday party auction this year. Patagonia donated some pretty sweet stuff! 

http://billwillstu.blogspot.com/2014/12/holiday-auction-items-preview.html

Painting Through Prosek: Quail

So I know James Prosek doesn't really have a painting like this, but I can't just leave the title so easily and he is big into birds. I figure it works. 

During baby David's nap the other day I too my shot a painting a quail. They really are beautiful birds. I've only seen them a couple times in the wild. After spending an hour looking at pictures on the Internet, I can imagine why people get so obsessed with them. 

This was my first shot at a bird and I went for nearly then entire thing. I think the head went well. 

I let the details go a bit on the tail feathers. 

The finished product. 

Protect the BWCA

I taken a few trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in Northern Minnesota, and I would go yearly if I could. It is an amazing place. Patagonia has a neat blog post about a couple conservationists who paddled their way to Washington DC from the BWCA to raise awareness about a potential mining operation that could threaten some of the ecosystem in the National Wilderness Area.

Take a peak at the video. If it is something that moves you, read the blog and consider signing the petition to protect the BWCA at this link HERE.

Painting Through Prosek: Speckled Trout

Well, after a quick trip to fish harkers island, I thought it was time to look to Prosek's book Ocean Fishes for inspiration and tried my hand at the Speckled Trout, also known as weakfish or Sea Trout. This fish can look basically black and white at first glance, but with a closer look the iridescent blues, greens, and purples as well as the rose and buttercup yellows start to shine through. 

I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but that might be more a sign of my personal growth and desire to step outside the realm of the body design and start looking into fins and gill plates as opposed to the actual outcome. 

Regardless, I give you the Speckled Trout. 

Teaming up with Dogwood Black to put a Painting on your Back

Not too long ago, Mike from Dogwood Black approached me to see if we could find a way  to get some of my paintings on his Dogwood Black shirts. His team has done an awesome job coming up with the first line of shirts. Mike is a great guy and I'm proud to be a part of this project. What is even cooler is a good portion of the proceeds will be donated to Trout Unlimited or another similar organization. I love a company that gives back.

When I started these paintings, I didn't anticipate this outcome, but I am extremely happy Mike contacted me. I can't wait to see how this will grow and look forward to painting more for Dogwood Black.

Painting a Brook Trout

Ive been inspired to paint a couple more images lately due to a recent inquiry from a fishing busy who has interests in fish designs and art. There was quiet a bit of talk about a brook trout print. As I've given away both of my previous attempts, I had the opportunity to work on another one from scratch. 

I looked at lots of photos online and ended up with inspiration from several sources. I thought I would show you some of the layers and steps to the paintings. 

You start with a blank canvas and a cool beer. 

I lay down some textured base colors. In this case I think I used too much yellow. 

I like layering the oranges and reds over the yellow. 

Then it is time to craft some spot. 

Nearly finished. Still looking w bit yellow. 

Done! I darkened up the yellow belly a bit to give her that slightly dirty look, but even that is overshadowed by the autumn tummy. 

Well, thanks for walking through that with me. Have a Happy Halloween!

Painting Through Prosek: Von Behr Brown Trout

No apologies for the decrease in posts, from me. I've been busy with an amazing 8-month old and traveling for interviews. This time next year, I'll be exploring new waters. 

On to the painting...

This one has been a long time coming. One of my first attempts at painting was of a brown trout, and, man, did I struggle. I've gotten a little better control of color now, and I'm much happier with this result. I went for the warm colors of the colorful, small-stream browns when they wear yellow bellies and are sprinkled with red and black berries. 

Now, here's a question for you…. Wouldn't it be cool if we could get some shirts with these on them?? 

Strictly Business in Charleston

No fishing. That's what I mean by "strictly business." That bring said, Sara and I are making the most of our weekend away in Charleston, SC. I'm interviewing for a position and we decided to turn it into a short vacation. 

It is a beautiful town. We had a drink on the roof of vendu and tasty dinner at the first come first serve chefs table at "SNOB" as the locals call it. 

One more day of exploring and then back home to our little baby. 

Painting Through Prosek: Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout

Moving along in the series, we come to the beautiful Yellowstone Cutthroat. I actually painted this a couple weeks ago, and now looking back at it, I remember sitting down hoping to "whip through it." Well, it shows a bit. I look at it and see that I was rushed. I can almost feel the stress in the brush strokes. 

But still, the burning colors of Yellowstone's Native Beauty are enough to make me long for the opportunity to see this fish in person, and that, is part reason why I'm doing this little project. 

Remember, you can support our local Trout Unlimited Chapter and purchase your set prints from my Painting Through Prosek Project at my easy page. All proceeds go to the Bill Wills Southeastern Virginia Trout Unilimited Chapter to fund our involvement in Project Healing Waters, Trout in the Classroom, river cleanups and more. If you have a print you'd like to see as a card or an idea for a special order, contact me at David.Loring.Nash@gmail.com and I'll see what I can do to help. Thanks for your support!

Camping with a Baby

Loft Mountain Campground
is at the bottom of the map

We did it! We went camping with a baby!


Last weekend, we took David on his longest car ride yet and his first camping trip! He fussed the first 30 minutes in the car and we almost turned back, but thankfully, we powered through it and made our way to the Shenadoahs for a Blue Ridge Overnight.


I pulled the map off another website (Midatlantic Hikes). You'll see the campground loop at the bottom where you can also see the Appalachian trail (white line) loop around the campground and mountain ridge.

Great job setting up the tent David!

We drove up on Saturday morning with a friend of Sara's who was visiting with her 4 and 1/2 year old son from Switzerland. After several pit stops for bathrooms, breast feeding, diaper changes and gas, we managed to find a tent site at Loft Mountain Campground in the Shenandoah National Park. 

Now that is a happy camper :)

For essentially having no plans, it couldn't have worked out more perfectly. We found a nice site that gave us some extra space, set up our tent and went for a short hike before making a fire and having dinner. 

Heading out on our first hike.

Picking berries. 

The trail encircles the campground. All in all, we hiked about 2 miles. A perfect easy hike through the woods and mountain ridge provided spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Davids

Happy Family. Mom and Dad each with the emergency clip-on baby attire.

The Appalachian Trail swings around the
campground with spectacular views. 

Collecting kindling.

After making a fire, roasting hot dogs and s'mores, we all called it a night. Our Coleman tent (borrowed from Kevin over at Sweet and Salt was spacious and cozy at the same time. We set up a Pack-n-Play in the tent for David and he did great while Sara and I cuddled up on the floor. 

On a side note, Nicole, Sara's friend was worried we'd see a bear. I told her not to worry as it was pretty rare. Also, the ranger at the station told us, as long as we store our food properly, it won't be an issue because there are plenty of raspberries and apple trees for the bears to munch on. As we got the fire going we stopped to fully absorb our home for the night only to notice we were surrounded by berry bushes and covered by a canopy of apple trees :) We laughed a lot about that, but not too worry, there were no fuzzy, big-pawed visitors.

A very cool silver spider at the bathroom.
He had to go too, apparently.

We woke early, as we always do with baby David, to have a nice breakfast and start our morning hike to the Doyles River Falls. It got hot fast and the kids were heavy (yes, Nils, needed up needing carrying too). So we trudged back up the mountain and enjoyed lunch before making the drive home at midday.  It was a short and perfect trip. I enjoyed a re-broadcast of Prairie Home Companion while everyone snoozed most of the way home. 

The Upper Falls
I've got a Lamb's Ear Leaf in my hat to match David's.

Painting Through Prosek: Provo River Strain Bonneville Cutthroat

The cutties in Utah used to be big. Real big. We are talking 10lbs big. Long gone are those day, but there are some remaining strains of the ancestors of those big fish. I can just imagine James Prosek and his buddy, navigating the Utah landscape in an old pickup truck, searching for the unique strains of trout. 

With only a few paintings left in this project, we stop to admire the Provo River Strain of the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout - a strain native to Utah. 

I was a little too light on the par marks and could have gotten my red coloring of the lateral line better, but I'm happy with the fin. 

I think I have four more set aside to paint. Then it is either on to Trout of the World, or time to look at something other than trout. 

Have a great weekend!

Painting Through Prosek: Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, Again

So, funny story. I guess I'm tired. I just realized I painted this trout already. Nice one, David. 

After another 12+ hour day at work, I came home to a sleeping household. Wife. Baby. Cat. All sound asleep. After finishing a couple chores, I decided to move forward with the next object of study in the Painting Through Prosek Series. 

The state fish of New Mexico is one I would love to see in real life. The Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout comes in many colors, but it always seems like you can imagine a desert landscape in the profile. 

Prosek's version is colorful. Mine is inaccurate, but okay nonetheless. 

If you are interested in acquiring a couple prints of the Painting Through Prosek Series, visit my Etsy page. All proceeds go to our local trout unlimited chapter. The bundle of cards will come tied in fly line. My very first fly line, in fact. 

His is better :)

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies:

On a totally separate note, try mixing 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, and a dash of cinnamon together and baking for 10 minutes at 425F. Crazy easy. Crazy delicious. 

The Eastern Shore

When life starts to get really crazy, we are so thankful for the quick getaways like the one we had last weekend to our friend's "Shore House" on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The weather couldn't have been better and the company was top notch. No fish, but the word is the Tarpon at in Virginia. 

Here are a few shots from the weekend.