Al Agnew Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I just wanted to thank everybody at the Blowout for the warm welcome and response to my talk. It's always great to get together with a bunch of smallmouth enthusiasts, and it was also great to be able to put faces to the names of those I've gotten to know on Riversmallies. Also, I'm happy to have won some stuff--I now have some good flies and if I can make myself put down the casting rods and actually flyfish seriously for smallies I should be well-equipped! Thanks again.... Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 It was our pleasure, Al! It's always refreshing to have a speaker who can captivate an audience and hold their attention. All three of our speakers did that this year. Your artwork and stories behind each painting made for an excellent presentation. It was nice to meet the woman behind the man, the driving force. Mary seems like a very sweet lady.... you're a lucky man, and I'm sure she'll agree! Your first Blowout and you walk away a winner. What are the odds? I've been attending for years and this is the first time I've ever won anything! HA! Thanks for signing up to the forum also. Nice to have you aboard! QUESTION: Your painting of the bear up on the rocks.... what's the chance of that print being available? That would look great in my living room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick G Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I really enjoyed Al's presentation. I wish I could have talked to him, but I was busy selling tickets. It was such a busy evening that there was not time for the usual Q & A after his talk. I would like to know more about the artistic process that results in such striking pictures. Does he work from photographs, or often paint from memory? Does he work on more than one painting at a time? How many days or hours to do a completed picture? Does he paint only in the winter, and do field research (fish) in the warmer months? Does he have a special paint color/mixture that is smallmouth "bronze" that is used as a base color for many of his paintings? Also, is there any chance of getting any more of Al's t-shirts or hats anywhere? I put a lot of tickets in the raffle for one, but I would gladly pay for one if they are available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm M Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Al, Great to finally meet you after years of enjoying your posts on River Smallies. One question, can you please take back all the rain you brought in with you? I'm going fishing now, the better half just got back. There are some flooded trees with my name on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Kast Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I really enjoyed Al's presentation. I wish I could have talked to him, but I was busy selling tickets. It was such a busy evening that there was not time for the usual Q & A after his talk. I would like to know more about the artistic process that results in such striking pictures. Does he work from photographs, or often paint from memory? Does he work on more than one painting at a time? How many days or hours to do a completed picture? Does he paint only in the winter, and do field research (fish) in the warmer months? Does he have a special paint color/mixture that is smallmouth "bronze" that is used as a base color for many of his paintings? Also, is there any chance of getting any more of Al's t-shirts or hats anywhere? I put a lot of tickets in the raffle for one, but I would gladly pay for one if they are available. Geez Dick, anymore questions? Check this out for merchandise. http://www.alagnew.com/SuperStore/SuperSto...AssortmentID=24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ferguson Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Al, thanks again for taking time to come to our event. It was a pleasure meeting you and your wife, Mary. We got so many favorable comments about you, your presentation, and of course, your beautiful artwork. If your travels ever bring you back to the Chicago area during the fishing season, I'm sure we can put you on some nice fish. Just let us know. Scott Ferguson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 i enjoyed your presentation as well. and i believe you won the flies or jigs that i tied. they work! i did notice that you are the only one to put a skirt on the bottom treble of a crankbaits. now you hav esome of us thinking! Thanks for coming rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks much for your participation, Al. This event serves to provide funding for conservation of smallmouth and their habitat...and you need to pat yourself on the back for being a part of it. Everybody in that room on Saturday made history, and generations to follow will benefit from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Agnew Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I really enjoyed Al's presentation. I wish I could have talked to him, but I was busy selling tickets. It was such a busy evening that there was not time for the usual Q & A after his talk. I would like to know more about the artistic process that results in such striking pictures. Does he work from photographs, or often paint from memory? Does he work on more than one painting at a time? How many days or hours to do a completed picture? Does he paint only in the winter, and do field research (fish) in the warmer months? Does he have a special paint color/mixture that is smallmouth "bronze" that is used as a base color for many of his paintings? Also, is there any chance of getting any more of Al's t-shirts or hats anywhere? I put a lot of tickets in the raffle for one, but I would gladly pay for one if they are available. I'm glad to answer your questions...wish we'd had more time to have a Q and A session. I work from my own photos, sketches on location, and color notes I make in my sketchbook--I take a lot of photos everywhere I go, especially these days with digital cameras. However, I can pretty well do smallmouth paintings from memory--I know about how many scales are in the lateral line, how many rays in the fins, etc. With familiar animals and fish, I only use the photos to check my details and make sure they are correct. On underwater settings I go mostly by memory--I've spent plenty of time snorkeling in Ozark streams. I seldom work on more than one painting at a time, but will sometimes be working on a catalog cover or magazine illustration at the same time I'm working on a painting. Actually, most of my Bass Pro Shops catalog covers and other illustrations are done entirely on the computer, using the drawing and painting tools on Photoshop. So I can work on them on the computer for a day or two when I get bogged down in a painting or need to finish them for deadlines. The time I spend upon a painting depends upon the size and complexity of the piece, but generally for a painting of the size of the smallmouth prints (16 X 24 inches), it will take me in the neighborhood of two weeks--something like 50-60 hours actual painting time. That doesn't include the time spent sketching and working out the composition. I work throughout the year. In the winter I tend to work 5 days a week, usually 6-7 hours a day. In the summer that drops to 4 days a week, with at least one weekday reserved for fishing! I'll usually go on one or two major resource gathering trips (like to Alaska, Africa, or various areas in the U.S.) per year. Mary and I will also spend about two months per year at our cabin in Montana, near Yellowstone Park--fishing time and reference gathering as well, but I also paint while I'm there. We usually go out for a couple weeks in late April, then for three weeks or so in mid-summer and three to four weeks in September and October. Nope, no special smallmouth bronze color. In painting, color of the subject is greatly dependent upon lighting and color of the background. Let me know if any of you have other questions, both about art and fishing. Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick G Posted March 13, 2009 Report Share Posted March 13, 2009 Wow! I really did not expect an answer to my musings. Al, you kind of take the fun out of my imagined scenarios. I pictured you painting for a few hours, checking out the water flow gauges, looking at the weather channel and dropping everything and heading out to the nearest river. I guess I have watched too many PBS 30 minute painting shows with "happy little clouds". Seriously, I had a pretty good idea that you adhered to a rigorous work schedule, but I had a little hope that you only painted enough to support endless hours on endless rivers pursuing endless smallmouth. Thanks for replying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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