TShirt Design, maybe

I have been working on a design for some summer shirts. If I can get some cash together maybe these will get done. Nice cool white summer shirts with sea foamy blue/green ink. The big piece at the top would go on the back, the small one on the bottom would be on the front, left chest.

Early June Fishing

The fish have been active and hungry. The heavy and strong 26 inch fish of last season have come back to be 28 to 32 inch heavy, wild fighters. A great class of fish. The recent winds have kept action down. Tough to fly fish in that wind. The last few days have been outstanding. Surface feeds on the Devereaux beach side of the neck and down to Ram Island area. These fish are great. Monday June 6th we went out in the evening. Left the dock at 5:30 and fished til dark. Great action with 20-24 keepers caught. We have not had a better time catching fish. They were taking all flies. White, Black/purple, chartreuse. They were on the feed.

June 1st Fishing Report

First real morning of fishing around Marblehead. Dropped Mike's boat into the harbor last night at about 9pm anticipating opening morning of fly fishing. Few other boats out on a Wednesday. 5:30 on the dock and we were off. Minor electrical mysteries were overcome and we headed over to Salem Harbor where we had heard of surface feeds in the mornings. Usually shutting down by 7:30 am. No action while we were there. Low tide was 6:00 am and that could be the answer to that. I blind casted for a while and I caught an 8 inch Mac. So we were in the right place but not the right day. Went out to Fidelity Rocks and caught 3 fish, almost 3 I had a nice fish on that peeled line but popped off after 2 minutes. Small olive clouser, Mike small chart clouser. Strong SW moving to South breeze, probably 10+ mph. Made it a bit sloppy outside the harbors. Mhead Rock we got 3 more, all small. We both changed to B/P flies. Biggest was 22". I landed none, both fish I had got off somehow. Back to the dock by 9:00 am and beat a small TStorm. Good Opening Day.

How Deep Do You Sleep

I have done this idea in paint many years ago. But I had to do it in wood. The frame is 36 x 32. Many things to consider when you create works in wood. I am learning alot about the wood. I love this piece. It will be the centerpiece of my booth at Paradise City/Northampton on Memorial Day weekend. Come and see it for real.

Heads+Tails

Here we go. This is the start of something BIG. The Heads+Tails series is going to be fun and I have many ideas. My personal cabinetmaker, Elmer, is the only way I am going to do these pieces. He can make the frames in minutes I couldn't make them in hours. Its funny how artists minds work. This one is BlueFin Tuna heads and tails. Much more to come. The frame is 45.5 x 12.5 inches.

The Great White Shark

I made this shark a few months ago and never got a picture. It is 40 inches long x 14 inches high. The Cape people wanted to see one when I was in Chatham. Maybe the shark frenzy will last into this summer. Tons of seals in the summer equals GWSharks.

SnowRow 2011

Coming up on March 12 is the 2011 Snow Row. It is a 3.5 mile rowing race in Hull, MA. Over a hundred boats in a bunch of different categories. This will be my third year in my 24 foot dory, Rowdeo. It has been decent weather every year so far. I'll get some pictures. This picture is from 2009. Artie Graves and myself.
The Reality
Sat morning it was decent temp, sunny AND blowing 10-20 with gusts up to 35 out of the SW. Half way there we decided the conditions were not worth it and I only went and observed. By the time I got there the wind had not let up but it did shift to the NW. Made for a tough first leg and very tough on the second leg but a nice down wind finish. Everyones times were about ten minutes longer this year. We wil live to race another day. Essex River race May 14th! That was the windy one last year.

The Whole Striper

It took me some time but I finally did a full 3D fish. It was inevitable. The striper is my standard 36 inch but it is a full round, both sides. What a concept. Hang it somewhere, it can stand on a table but it would need a cradle or something to keep it safe. It came out so great. I think I finished it in November, maybe October and I still love having it at home. I am off to the Fly fishing Show in Marlborough next week. Jan 14 - 16 and I will bring it along. Although I want to keep it, everything has a price. Come and see the fly show.

Blue Whale

People love the shape of my Humpback Whale and so I thought I would try the largest mammal in the world, the Blue Whale. I made him a while back and never got to posting it. It is a bit bigger at 44 inches and the scale would probably work better in a 7 foot size. Can't wait to try that.

The Web Site is Here!

Go to www.tinkersislandfish.com
A great Christmas present came to me from my pal, Todd Deschene at Graphic Fuel Creative. The web site is up and functioning. All the pages will get finished soon but it is fantastic. This is a snap shot of the homepage. You can see all of my different fish. I am working on exciting new designs for the upcoming shows.

The Magic Process

I put together a set of pictures that show the whole fish carving process. The basic overview. I worked with the famous videographer and neighbor, Bob Welch. Enjoy!
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein

The WEB site

Here we go! The real thing. Just Do It. Be all you can be. The new web site will be great. I have been working on that with my WebGuru, Todd Deschene of Graphic Fuel. Plus new postcards to give away at shows. www.tinkersislandfish.com Stay Tuned!

The rest of the Line Up

The newest edition is the Gold Lobster. I have toyed with a gold Cod but in Marblehead that has been done. I think they look great. Along with the HumpBack Whale, Striper and the arched Brown Trout. I want to make the Brown and the Rainbow in either straight or arched.

The Line Up

I guess this needs to be done in two posts. These are the new shots I had done at Ditto Editions. Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, BlueFin Tuna, Bluefish and Cod

Tinkers Island Fish Co

Here are the original two designs I started developing. They have come quite a way from the first ones. The marble eyes are some thing I resisted at first but now they are the cherry on top, the icing on this fishy cake. I have been working with Ditto Editions, Susan and Nick Fader, to get my presentation more polished. Nick just reshot all of the fish and I will be posting them as soon as I can get them ready.

Big Brownie

This is the Large Brown Trout that I brought to the Chatham Arts Center show. So I'm not the best photographer. I think the sun was bad when I first tried to shoot it and then I forgot later in the day. You can see the scale in the tent (10'x10'). I will get a bettter shot. The fish is about 5.5 feet long. The Brownies are always my favorites to paint. The colors are great.

Biggie Striper

This biggie is about 6.5 feet long by 22 inches deep. It was the fIrst large scale fish I tried. It looks great and people do love it at the shows. These large fish I have coated with a gloss or satin polyurethane. I am thinking about do it to all of the fish soon. I like the matte finish with the paint I am using but I am going to have to test it out. Maybe try a matte finish. This picture was from the Chatham show.

Fresh Carved

I have finally put together the official Blog for my Tinkers Island Fish Company. The original 6 designs and everything new that makes its way out of the shop. Its a place to see all of my carved fish and upcoming news of shows I will be attending. The biggest change that happened ths year is the LARGE fish. Most of my original fish are 32 to 36 to 40 inches long. This Humpback Whale is 7 feet long, 22 inches deep and is a bold, graceful swimmer that will bring the ocean into any large room. The big whale has so far been to 2 shows; Manchester Arts Festival in July and the Chatham Arts Center Show that was in August. He has not found a good home yet but he does stir the minds of many art lovers. This picture was from the Manchester show.