The Fly Fisherman

13" x  22" Acrylic on heavyweight paper

© Copyright Julie Bender

 

Living near the Big Thompson River Canyon affords me numerous drives and photo opportunities when traveling to Rocky Mountain National Park, less than an hour drive.  During one particular drive up the canyon I noticed the gushing waters resulting from a previous heavy snow storm along the rocky river that travels down from the Rocky Mountains and settles miles away toward the eastern plains of Colorado.  I stopped at one spot to watch how the water splashed and careened about and took photos that I new would make it into my art.  When considering this piece, I knew I wanted a bird who hunted these waters.  Settling on an eagle was easy as I'd seen them a number of times soaring up and down this scenic canyon.  I had much eagle reference from various sightings in northern Colorado.  This eagle fit the scene perfectly, so I composed it and went to work.

 

First, I penciled in the scene and masked out the placement of the eagle using liquid mask.  Unlike all my previous works, the background would be painted first, then the eagle.  I also knew that I wanted to paint the entire work, rather than burn a part or whole of it with pyrography.  This would be another great challenge for me, though I was becoming more comfortable with acrylics as a primary medium.

 

Photo taken in January, 2020 of the eagle that I used in this work

 

Photo taken along the Big Thompson River in March, 2024

 

The 13" x 22" scene is composed on 300# hot pressed watercolor paper

 

Liquid mask is applied to protect the eagle from background paint

 

Starting to loosely block in the background river and rocks

 

Painting layers of color and texture to convey the movement and power of the river

 

Removing the now rubbery mask from the eagle - he's ready for paint!

 

The piece in entirety with negative space remaining to paint the eagle

 

The eagle is painted!

 

Tweaking colors, layers and values until the piece is complete

 

"The Fly Fisherman" has so much meaning to me, but as always, I am most deeply inspired by the Colorado landscape and all her precious animals, her four intense seasons and my insistence on discovering new and innovative ways to express myself through my art.  Each piece I create allows me to grow and break through layers to reveal my most authentic self.

 

All images and written content of this website are copyrighted by Julie Bender.  All uses without permission strictly prohibited.