June Updates

The black crappie took Best in Show, 1st place and the catfish took 2nd at the Alameda County Fair. They're still there until the 11th of July if you want to see 'em. The competition wasn't real stiff in the "fish" department, but it got me free tickets to the fair and parking so that I could introduce my 5 yr old granddaughter to her first county fair. All and all, not a bad trade-off.

I've been a bit lazy about photographing and updating my blog--been busy fishing and carving some blue gills that are turning out rather nicely along with some small trout.

Meanwhile, here's an older photo, and not a real great one either, of the replica bass I did chasing a carved bluegill. I know I'm behind the eightball on this...too busy carving little worms and little bobbers :).

And here's a photo of Ray and our 10 pound trout caught on one of my lures! Yep, they do work!

Capital Woodcarvers Association Placed 1st and 2nd

The catfish won second and here is the first place winner! This judged show seemed to favor artistic interpretation over realism.

Reproduction Bass--Painting By Request

A friend of mine asked if I could do a reproduction bass (not a carving, but a painting from a cast). Here are some of the photos of the work in progress. The Base Coat is applied first.

Then some of the beginning markings are added. I'll let you know when it's done.

Made some Headlines

Made some news recently. Here's a few of the links. Thank you to the papers and reporters who covered my work.

Castro Valley Forum

San Jose Mercury News, Alameda Times Star, Hayward Daily Review

And there's even a slide show! It would have been great if they met me at the Hayward Bookshop at B Street and Main to take photos, where all my best work was in the window for April, but they came to my home studio. It was still very nice of them to come and great to see the slideshow.

Earth Day Demo Celebration at the Book Shop on 4/23 at 1:30 p.m.

Come see a painting demonstration at B Street and Main in Hayward, CA at The Bookshop! See you there.

Caught some Goldens

I caught some golden trout the other day at Shadow Cliffs and thought I'd carve them. The inside of the mouth is a bugger to carve so many carve fish with mouths shut. Nothing ventured, nothing learned. Some shots of the fish to work from.

The Hayward Bookshop features my Carvings for April 2011

The Hayward Bookshop on B and Main Street will be featuring my work all this month of April. I have a few pictures of the window. I don't like them, but my wife does. She says they look like "fish swimming against the tide of an urban landscape."

Western States Taxidermy Championships-Carving Competition

Out of four 2nd place ribbons my Black Crappie took two of them in Open Division. The bluegill and catfish got third. Working my way up slowly through ribbons and points to Masters Division. Some guys have been at this for a lifetime. I feel honored to be among them. Still learning.

Review, Revise, Refine

I decided I didn't like the eye on the bluegill on the last display. I'm working on refining this one fish in advance of the show on the 17th--starting over.

Uploading Cats

The first catfish pictured with the lure, I carved for my granddaughter. It has the lure I designed and created enshrined as well as the fish she caught. She requested to catch a catfish in a place and with a setup I had never been successful catching catfish with and she caught one--that made me a believer in the power of a little girl's wish. It's a gift for her 5th birthday.

The second catfish, I designed for the show in Sacramento on the 17th. Keep your fingers crossed!

Black Crappie from Crappie Photos

It's always better to have good photos to work from, but I did my best with what I had. Went to visit Sulphur Creek Nature Center and took a gander at their live Black Crappie. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. What do you think?

Catfishing & Carving

When we headed out to Shadow Cliffs, my granddaughter, then three years old, said "I want to catch a catfish, Grampy." Now I'd never caught a catfish out of Shadow Cliffs trolling for trout, but what the hey, I didn't want to discourage her. Who am I to dash her hopes with the cold hard facts? Lo and behold the first fish we caught was a 3 lb. channel cat! Took plenty of pix. The fish was almost bigger than she was!

The biggest challenge in carving was the eyes--no commercial eyes were available so I had to make and paint them, cutting out stencils for pupils. This is an in-progress photo. Finished product pix to come soon.

Working on a Black Crappie

Been havin' trouble sleeping. Got fish carving on my mind. I've been trying to get ready for a show in March up in Sacramento and this Black Crappie has been giving me fits. I prefer to carve from what I catch, but I like having the challenge of carving a fish I haven't carved before--just for something different. It's been awhile since I've caught a Black Crappie so I'm working from photos. I prefer to work from my own. The photos are not the best. If anyone out there has some good links for Black Crappie, let me know.

Why Carve?

I was only four weeks old when I first went to Yosemite--and in those days, traveling with a baby wasn't as convenient as it is today.  My father called it going to his backyard.  Back then you could fish in the Merced and all the local streams around.  I grew up loving the outdoors and fishing and hiking with my dad, cousins, brother and friends.

I've developed somewhat of a reputation as a good fisherman, though I've been skunked many times as not.  Here in California, I mainly fish for trout, sometimes bass, catfish and stripers.  I get seasick, so I'm not big on saltwater fishing, though I have entertained a few trips.

Though I am a hunter and fisherman, I will admit to lately watching the wildlife and thinking about them as much as catching them for the larder.  And, for the past few years, I've taken to following my grandfather's footsteps (he turned to carving in his retirement and is quite collectible on the east coast.)

Of course I still love to catch 'em and so I do, take photos, cook up the fish, eat 'em and then spend the next two months working on my carvings of the fish I've caught.  This one of the striper had a seal bite in it when it was young, so its markings were screwy.  I kept them that way in the carving.

So here's a couple pieces of my early work.  I'm just beginning and have won a few ribbons.  I'm hoping to win even more.  Let me know what you think.