Contents:                                
Sporting Art
Events & Exhibitions:

Fins & Feathers - Contemporary Sporting Art Masters
June 30 – August 22, 2008, Union League Club, New York City
Featuring original paintings by Al Barnes, Flick Ford, Eldridge Hardie, Stanley Meltzoff, James Prosek, Arthur Shilstone and Mike Stidham. Contact Fred Polhemus for more information at (802) 598-8301, or sportingartnews@gmail.com.

BIG: 50 World Record Fish –
Fall, 2008 (exact dates TBD)
Featuring original paintings and a presentation by Flick Ford on this extraordinary book project with the IGFA. Contact Fred Polhemus for more information at (802) 598-8301 or sportingartnews@gmail.com.

Flick Ford continues to paint and research the subjects of his upcoming milestone book - BIG, 50 World Record Fish (Greenwich Workshop Press, 2008), working from a variety of resources within the records library of the International Game Fishing Association, in Dania Beach, FL, as well as other resources available from various angling circles. Flick has about two-thirds of the paintings completed, and we have recently received all of the completed paintings. Many of these paintings have already sold and we continue to receive inquiries and requests as word spreads on the news of the book. We will keep you posted on a culminating event including original paintings, books and limited-edition prints, as it develops, and we have a better sense of specific dates. In the meantime, here are a few images of the most recent paintings and you can see more on Flick’s thumbnail page.

Flick Ford
'IGFA Record Chinook'

Flick Ford
'IGFA Record Barracuda'

Flick Ford
'IGFA Record Wahoo'

All of this painting has not slowed Flick down, however, as he continues to discover new waters in the Northeast & mid-west in search of beautiful specimens of trout, Bass, Steelhead & Salmon for paintings down the road. A few weeks back, Flick was Steelhead fishing on the Ashtabula River in Ohio with Cleveland Browns All-Pro Offensive Lineman Joe Thomas and Outdoors Ohio celebrity and renowned writer D’Arcy Egan. Flick will be featured on the Outdoors Ohio show sometime in early June. I will keep you posted as we learn an exact date.

I just spent this past weekend with Flick at the Orvis Flagship Retail Store in Manchester VT, helping celebrate their Orvis Days event, at which Flick was on hand to meet collectors, sign books and prints, and showcase several original paintings from the upcoming book. For those of you who have yet to make the pilgrimage to the Orvis-Manchester VT store, a sportsman’s Mecca and campus that offers literally everything to the angler, advanced or beginner, I strongly advise you make the effort to get there. Additionally, the American Museum of Fly Fishing is right next store and is a must for anyone who is interested in the origins and history of this great pastime.

While Flick and I were in town, we had a chance to meet the newly appointed Museum Executive Director, Catherine Comar, who just took over the post in the last few months. Prior to assuming this role, Catherine enjoyed a fascinating career at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, where she managed the Museum’s permanent collections. Congratulations to Catherine on her new leadership role! Her first order of business is to launch an art show titled: Ogden M. Pleissner: The Sporting Grand Tour, featuring many paintings and artifacts that chronicle the rich & distinguished career of an artist who is considered by many to be the finest Sporting Artist of his time.

When collectors speak of the work of Ogden Pleissner, more often than not does Arthur Shilstone’s name enter the conversation as the legitimate successor of Pleissner and similarities are quickly drawn between the two artists – Both true masters in their field, both recognized for their work in this genre and both making such significant contributions to the Sporting Art arena. Of equal importance, however, are the significant projects and milestone events these two artists have documented during each individual’s long and distinguished career.

As I have recently spent much time with Arthur at his studio, we have together “unearthed” many paintings from projects throughout his career, including many paintings for NASA, chronicling several Space Shuttle Launches, assignments for National Geographic and Smithsonian, and magazine articles and covers for publications such as Yankee and Life. I continue to be fascinated by Arthur’s unique ability to place himself in any environment, covering virtually any subject and be able to execute such striking and convincing images – all skills of a rare bread of artist.

Just a few weeks back, Arthur and I spent the day together at the
Bedford Sportsman, Bedford, NY, at which Arthur was on hand to meet with collectors, personalize his

Arthur Shilstone
'The Pool Below the Falls'

Speaking of Arthur Shilstone and books, Mike Stidham, who along with Arthur is featured among an elite group of sporting painters in The Fine Art Of Angling – Ten Modern Masters (Di Les Books, 2007), has been very busy painting several commissions for collectors throughout North America, but manages to find time in his busy schedule to provide us with his breathtaking images of many different species of fish in their natural environments.

Mike continues to create his images in such a convincing way, that one can feel the water and the light reflecting from above on the fish and the ocean floor or river bed. Mike and I are planning a few days of fishing in June on western waters with which Mike is very familiar and knows how to find fish. I will report back on how the trip plays out. Until that time, Mike is very busy getting ready for our show this July in New York City at the Union League Club. If you are in town, make sure to stop by and see his new works.

Mike’s work is certainly reminiscent of another master – Stanley Meltzoff, and he is working hard to fill the huge shoes Stanley left in the Sporting Art arena with his passing. Below is a great example of a painting Mike just recently finished for one of our collectors.

Mike Stidham
'A Definite Maybe'

Mike continues discovering new waters throughout the West, Keys and Bahamas to feed his creative energy, and is also discovering new techniques with every painting he creates. I am sure we will continue to see many paintings as a result of this discovery process.

Speaking of Artist Stanley Meltzoff , Diane Pogrant, Stanley’s Widow, has enlisted the services of Author, Angler & Historian Mike Rivkin to help her with Stanley’s upcoming book, Illusions of a Fishpainter. Mike is currently putting the finishing touches on Big: 50 World Record Fish, in collaboration with Flick Ford and The Greenwich Workshop, as well as authoring a book to be released next year, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club. He will be a perfect fit to help Diane finish this significant project, due to his vast knowledge of and experience in angling, as well as a deep appreciation and understanding of Stanley’s work. I will keep you posted as we near the release date.

In the meantime, we just received
 this incredible painting that has come in from a significant collection of one of our customers, who is as avid an angler as he is an art collector. As many of you know, Meltzoff Northeast Striper and/or Bluefish paintings are becoming increasingly hard to find, and this painting has it all!

Stanley Meltzoff
'Elberon Autumn'

Gallery patron Mike Krause recently spent a week hunting out west with artist Eldridge Hardie, and reported back that they both had a wonderful and productive trip. Mike and Eldridge spent their childhood together in west Texas and have been close friends ever since. They manage to plan at least one hunting trip a year together and Mike always has a few good stories upon his return. Eldridge was featured in our ‘Flats’ show earlier in the year and sent us this spectacular painting of a pursuit we in the northeast all dream about during our dark, cold  winter months. We hope to see more breathtaking works from Eldridge soon!

Eldridge Hardie
'Evening Flats'

I checked in with artist Al Barnes a while back and he too has been busy with commissions for collectors, finding there are often not enough hours in the day to keep up with customer demand. We anticipate new paintings from Al for our summer show in New York.


Al Barnes
'All's Right'

Al Barnes
'The Berrys'

I spoke with Artist James Prosek recently and just learned he is a featured celebrity on a newly released DVD, titled Why Fly Fishing. Presented by the American Museum of Fly Fishing, Why Fly Fishing is a 31-minute DVD created to promote and share the grace and beauty of fly fishing. The DVD features stunning images and commentary by some of the most well known names in the sport—including Joan Wulff, Nick Lyons, and John Gierach, along with other noted anglers.

James will be in New York City on May 22 at the Yale Club to help celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Yale Angler’ Journal, which James founded with fellow angler & friend Joseph Furia. Additionally, I learned from James of his coming children’s book  Bird, Butterfly, and Eel (Spring 2009 from Simon and Schuster), in which James writes about how these species spend their summers on the same coastal farm, but in the fall they go to very distant and different places. Their journeys to the far reaches of land and sea make them remarkable creatures. James uses these creatures' stories and his own sun-kissed paintings to introduce young readers to the basic elements of bird, fish, and insect migration.

James Prosek
'A Rod and Flies'

Artist Keith Cardnell of the UK just emailed to tell me he and his wife are on a trip here in the US to “Explore the vast western landscape”, as he put it. Keith and his wife plan to take in as much variety our western landscape has to offer and are moving from location to location via train! Keith promised me a full report upon his return and indicated he will have loads of material for new paintings of many of our western rivers and landscapes. We all look forward to what he creates upon his return and I will post images as I receive them.

Keith Cardnell
'Blue Boat'

As always, I could go on and on, but this covers some of the highlights. The truth is there is always a fascinating story surrounding all of our artists and I will be posting many more in the near future, so check back soon. I will make every effort to keep in touch with each of you as well. We have many more great works of art from all of our Sporting Artists here at the J. Russell Jinishian Gallery, including Christopher Atkins, Robert Blazek, Peter Bowe, Keith Cardnell, Glen Hacker, Richard Dana Kuchta, Robert Lagasse, Nick Mayer, Don Ray, William Simpson, Kent Ullberg and others. If you find yourself near the gallery, I welcome you to visit. If you are looking to get out on the water, I would love to join you, and Russ and I are always looking for good stories from all of you, so keep in touch. I will keep you posted on new works and events here at the gallery, and always look forward to hearing about your recent sporting adventures!

Tight Lines!
Fred Polhemus
J. Russell Jinishian Gallery – Sporting Art
sportingartnews@gmail.com

About Fred Polhemus