So, I packed up the rig and headed north to the epicenter of southern fly fishing media…where it all happens, Southern Culture on the Fly Headquarters.  The guys invited me to come up and hang out in Steve’s art studio to paint.  So, Steve is well-known for huge canvases depicting interesting formations, negative space and a lot of space in between.  I was just as excited to watch Steve paint as I was to paint in his space.  I learned a lot, a very lot.  To be around someone else that paints, but paints in a whole another way, it was very interesting and I couldn’t help but come out a little different painter.  Lately I have been on the pursuit of trying to be a little looser in painting and drawing…the sharpie drawings have definitely lend themselves to being looser and now to transfer that to paint.  Steve’s art, to me, is very loose….they are comfortable, lot of paint dripping, they take on a life, the shapes resemble something, but it takes time for you to figure it out…being different to each viewer.

So…I  immediately stole a little from him.  I began my painting of a Tarpon my friend Nam Bui caught, it was a small Tarpon, but I wanted to paint it huge, on a large canvas.  Steve’s studio space lends itself to painting large, the space is huge and I wanted to give a big painting a go.  I drew out the lines and basic colors and then decided the background was going to be nondescript colors and very loose.  I had fun with it, just letting the paint drip where it wanted to, careless dripping and it turned out very cool looking, I think.  The rest of the painting was a little more challenging.  I am still about to finish it, but also being forced into trying to finish it in a day and a half was a challenge for sure.  I definitely felt like I rushed it a bit, with the layers and the paint not drying enough in some situations.  I want the next one to be even looser, more transparent…I dont want to give away too easily what it will be.  I am leaning towards a Redish or Bonefish..we shall see.  The final painting will be in (www.SouthernCultureOnTheFly.com) on July 8th.  In all I am very excited about this painting and the ones that are yet to come.

Steve’s Artwork (http://www.stevenseinberg.com/)