Seven years ago, I graduated from Kendall College of Art and Design and I was ready to put my 17 straight years in the classroom and studio behind me. But when I looked ahead to my future, I saw three major hurdles. First I wanted to make my college sweetheart my wife. Second I wanted to become a real, working fine artist. And third, I wanted to fly fish….A LOT!

Getting Married: This was a little tricky. I had never really talked to Janell about getting married. I felt like as we began to build our careers, we would have to count on each other like never before, and I didn’t think this would be fair to do with someone I hadn’t fully committed to. It was time to get married. As a part time server at the Olive Garden, I really couldn’t come up with the cash to buy a nice engagement ring. Then one day a Student Loan check showed up, so I went out with Janell’s dad, and bought her a ring (I’m still paying off those student loans!). That next September we got married. I still consider this to be my greatest achievement. With out her by my side, I don’t know were I’d be today, probably living in a van down by the river…

Becoming a Fine Artist: This was a little tricky. Through four years of art school the only information I had on becoming a Fine Artist was that it was very, very unlikely that you could make a living doing it. I guess they thought we were paying 24k a year to learn a hobby. In fact the school would have artists from around the country to come to our school and speak on how unlikely it was for any of us to succeed as artists.

So as I built my art career, (and I figured it would take quite a while), I planned to supplement my happiness by catching lots, and lots of steelhead (I’ll talk about that next).

First things first, I needed a Studio. Unfortunately for Janell, the Living Room would work just fine. I set up my homemade easel in the front bay window. I began painting trout, steelhead, pike, bass, salmon… constantly switching from style to style, trying to find one that fit me. Starting that May, I begin traveling around Michigan doing the summer art show circuit. My dad and I built walls out of pine lattice and PVC pipes…it sucked to set up! A local farmer sold me a homemade enclosed trailer that was bigger and weighed more then the mini van I pulled it with. So almost every Saturday, we would get up early and drive up to various tourist towns to do art shows. We met tons of really interesting and great people, made very little money, but more importantly I discovered my style, and identity as an artist. It’s amazing what you learn by sitting behind the wall of an art tent, listening to the comments of the people on the other side. “OH MY GOSH!! That painting is so cool! I love it!” then five minutes later, “Oh my, I like fish art, but this is over the top…” It became the perfect testing ground for my new ideas. It is where I tried out my Abstract Fish Face series, and decided it was a winner when the first one sold before the show even started. Later as my exhibit walls filled with more and more fish face paintings, I began winning juried shows, and my sales grew.

After a few years of doing these art shows, a client told me the real place for my work was the fly-fishing industry. He told me about a great Fly-Fishing Expo in Warren, MI. It was much more expensive than the art shows we’d been doing, (in fact we spent every cent we had to buy a booth space there). I still remember setting my humble little lattice booth up at the expo center my first year. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, I was so nervous! I felt like I was in the right place though, and by the end of the weekend, I’d know whether I had what it took to succeed or not. Thank God, the weekend turned out to be a success! The fly fisherman loved my work, and we made more sales that weekend then in an entire summers worth of art shows! I think that was the point at which I began to see myself as an actual fine artist.

Fly fishing…A LOT. This was the part that wasn’t all that tricky.

In those years I fished primarily by myself since most of my fishing buddies had day jobs. I got to the point where I wouldn’t even consider going out to the river on the weekend… too many people!

I learned the rivers near my home. I fished four days a week most weeks. I put as much effort in becoming a great fly fisherman, as I did becoming a great artist. I worked hard learning to tie flies. I learned all the important gear and rigging I fished, and fished and fished. I started out catching one fish a week if I was lucky… then two or three, then…well OK I never really averaged more then four a week, but there where times that I landed twelve to fifteen steelies in a week… they were good times. My gear… was bottom of the barrel. Next to most fly fisherman, I looked like a homeless man, wearing a rabbit fur hat, camo coat, and leaky neoprene waders they were good times.

A week ago, my wife and I headed back to Warren, MI from our home in Livingston MT. We worked at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo, saw all of our old friends, and revisited the place where it all began for me.

Today as I look back at those goals I’d set for myself I realize that it’s not all about fulfilling them, it’s about the journey. Because though I did score the girl, I’m still, and always will be learning to be a better husband.

And though my career as a fine artist has come a long way, I still get those same butterflies as I put my work out there, and hope for the best.

And God knows that as an old man, those Trout and Steelhead I fish for will still confuse and delight me. I guess those three original goals I set back then will never be fully accomplished, but I consider myself a lucky man just to spend the rest of my days trying.