Cold cold water

Dark at 50°, acrylic on 8” diameter wood

Just for fun I decided to paint some some small round paintings. I started with three owl portraits, which I displayed in a previous post. On my birthday I caught a massive mackinaw (lake trout) and decided to do some trout portraits! This is the newest painting, I love the strange dark vibe. I am going to do one more portrait and then wade back into my landscape work!

Yellowstone

1988, 24”x18” acrylic

In 1988 there were huge forest fires in Yellowstone National Park. My Dad and I drove through the park on our way to an epic backpacking trek just south of Yellowstone. I thought I would never see forest fires like that again, I wish that were true.

1988 (detail)

Mac the fish

Mac 8” diameter acrylic on wood

I am painting a few trout portraits to honor our aquatic friends. I caught the largest trout of my life on my birthday. I always catch and release fish but they are netting these Mackinaw trout to reduce their numbers. They are serious predators and clearly get huge! This fish was 17.85 lbs and 36″ long! It is providing a lot of meals for the family!