A New Day!

Todays Sunrise! 

 A quick post on what I have been up to the last couple of days.    I finally finished the walleye!  (Yeah!)   It only took about 6 months!   (Better late than never, right?)  To be honest, I would say my biggest hang up was the painting and the time.   I simply did not have much time to dedicate to it on the weekends.   And when I did...  I was never happy with the painting.   Probably because I lacked the patience for the detail.   Who knows? (I had to repaint it a couple times since the last posting about it.)

But it is finally finished.   And I had to wait for a  "Mostly" decent day to give it the clear coat finish.  Although yesterday was cold and slightly breezy,  it was sunny and dry.   I took the fish outside so the fumes would not kill me or cause brain damage. ( Any more than what I already have,,, After breathing all of that polyurethane back in Michigan.) And finally... FINALLY!   I was able to add it to the collection in the basement.  

And now the question is....  What should the next fish be?  

My thoughts lean to another sport fish from the Great Lake Basin.    Something big would also compliment the collection I am building.    (it doesn't really matter, since I seem to make them all big anyway.) 

  My first thought was a Northern Pike...   But there is something about that fish that does not give it the "Flash" that I'm thinking about.   Maybe the colors or the patterns on the body.  It could also be the lack of a top dorsal fin.   I'm afraid it would not stand out enough among the colors or the flashy fins of the other fish.  

Brown Trout. 

I'm thinking seriously about a brown trout.   They are colorful and have fairly flashy fins.   And there is a romance with the German Brown Trout that sets it apart.   Unlike the heavy gear and steel leaders of "toothy" Pike and Musky... 

The Romance of Fly Fishing! 

  The brown trout can  be caught on light line fly rods or micro spinning rods. A little more grace and skill is required rather than brute force. 

 ( Don't get me wrong, I enjoy muscling a fish as much as anyone... )   

Browns are colorful!

Steelhead.

And then there is the color!   Trout in general are very colorful and could easily pick a rainbow as well.   Steelhead tend to have that mossy back with that deeply red gill plate.  But capturing the true colors of the rainbow would almost be impossible for my skill level of painting.    They are iridescent!   And flash and shimmer with blues, browns, purples and greens along their backs.  Something I can not capture with a simple paintbrush.    Browns have a rich golden brown color with black and red spots, surrounded with light brown or white halos.   Just writing about it is making me excited....

Lake Trout

Arctic Char!  VERY colorful fish!

There is also the Lake Trout. ( Not a real trout, by the way....)  And if I'm going down that road,  there are also the Arctic Char and Brook trout. ( Also not real trout... Add that to your trivia list)   These fish are VERY colorful!  With reds and greens and swirly yellow patterns.  I'll give them some consideration as well. 

Brook Trout.

I have a busy weekend planned, so I may not get to it right away.   The rest of this week is kind of in limbo as well, so I will have to find the time and work on it when I can.   Small bites!   Don't tackle too much at any given time.  (That is what got me into trouble with the last fish!)   Better to go slow rather than rush things and end up scrapping the entire thing because it 'looks like junk" when you are finished,   

Then again, I think most of my creations looks amateurish.  Lucky for me,   I'm the only one who has to look at them here in the basement.   And if they begin bothering me to the point where I can't stand them, I can always donate them or throw them away.   It's the process and not the finished product, after all,  that the artist is pursuing.  (My opinion.... And Philosophy.) 

So that is on the agenda for the future.   I may also schedule a trip to Michigan to see my Bro and visit with some family before they move to a new state.   They reached out to me and asked when I would be able to drop in for a visit.  Turns out,  I now have the time.    

And experiencing a change of scenery might do me some good.  I would hate to waste the moments doing nothing.   Because every second counts!