With fishing as many other pursuits, success is in the details. Will I ever learn that it is crucial to check ahead for the most up to date report of the condition of the river? Even 24 hours can make a difference. For Abby’s annual Fathers Day gift of a day on the river together, with her providing the lunch and dinner on the way home, we chose the Arkansas River. Though it was still high, the prospect was for some very good fishing. While we found a few willing browns, it was tough and the wading was confined to the very edge of a heavy flow. Then the rains came and muddied the water. At the fly shop in Salida we learned that an upstream release had increased the volume by 200 cubic feet per second, almost a third again of the flow putting the trout completely off their feed. Still, spending the day fishing with your daughter is priceless whether the fishing is good or not. Dinner at the Dam Brewery in Dillon was a perfect ender.

I first was first aware of Bob Kuhn’s work when I struck out on my own as a sporting wildlife artist. In 1969 he was doing dynamic covers and story illustrations for the big three outdoor magazines. Shortly after that I saw an exhibit of his original work in a Denver gallery and bought his book The Animal Art of Bob Kuhn. I believe this was about the time he was transitioning from illustration to painting. Emulating his style would be impossible, but being inspired wasn’t.

Kuhn had a unique personal style that incorporated acrylic paint with brush and sponge with impeccable drawing. He brought to his art a completely authentic understanding of his animal subjects and their gestures that was only matched by Carl Rungius. And his decorative use of color added yet another dimension to his work.

I only talked with Bob Kuhn a few times at shows we were part of. He was warm and outgoing person. I wish I had had the chance to spend more time with him.

       Going back forty-nine years to 1965, when I made a frontispiece drawing for J. Frank Dobie’s Rattlesnakes, on a weekend during army basic training in Fort Polk, Louisiana until now, I’ve contributed art to these twenty-eight books, everything from chapter drawings to dust jackets to a whole book of my work. This aspect of my career was never intended or sought out. It just sort of happened while I was painting my passions. 

The Paintings of Eldridge Hardie-Art of a Life in Sport, Eldridge Hardie, Stackpole Books

The Fine Art of Angling-Ten Modern Masters, Diane Inman, Di-Les Books

Meditations on Hunting, José Ortega y Gasset, Wilderness Adventures Press

Leaves from a Steelheader’s Diary, John Alevras, Frank Amato Publications

Royal Coachman-the Lore & Legends of Fly-Fishing, Paul Schullery, Simon & Schuster

Shotguns & Shooting, Michael McIntosh, Countrysport Press

Reflections on Snipe, Worth Mathewson, Sand LakePress

Snakefoot-the Making of a Champion, Robert Wehle, The Country Press

Pick of the Litter, Bill Tarrant, Lyons & Burford

Pheasant Tales (anthology,) Countrysport Press

Dancers in the Sunset Sky, Robert F. Jones, Lyons & Burford

Bobs, Brush, & Brittanies, Joel Vance, Lyons & Burford

Where the Pools are Bright and Deep, Dana S. Lamb, Winchester Press

The Fishing’s Only Part of It!, Dana S. Lamb, Amwell Press

Pheasants of the Mind, Datus C. Proper, Prentice Hall Press

Fisherman’s Summer, & A River Never Sleeps, Roderick L. Haig-Brown, Lyons & Burford

Pheasant Hunter’s Harvest, Steve Grooms, Lyons & Burford

The Ultimate Fishing Book, Lee Eisenberg, Houghton Mifflin Company

Rattlesnakes, J. Frank Dobie, Little Brown & Company

Now You Hear My Horn, James W. Nichols, University of Texas Press

Better on a Rising Tide, Tom Kelly, The Lyons Press

Tenth Legion, Tom Kelly, The Lyons Press

Dealer’s Choice, Tom Kelly, The Lyons Press

Goldens Forever, Todd R. Berger, Editor, Voyageur Press

Upland Days, William G. Tapply, The Lyons Press

The Sultan of Spring, Bob Saile, The Lyons Press

Hunter’s Log, Timothy Murphy, The Dakota Institute Press

Art of the Cast, Anthology, Stackpole

The Unforgettables & Other True Fables, Bill Allen, Strideaway

I have to admit that I went for years unaware of this Spanish impressionist before an artist friend introduced me to a book of Joaquin Sorolla’s art. No mention was made of his stunning work in my art history books or courses. I suppose he was out of style in the 1960’s. I was astounded. His life-size beach scenes painted on the spot (as big as nine by ten feet!) are incredible. Last Christmas Ann gave me the beautiful new Sorolla book by his granddaughter Blanc-Pons Sorolla. Here are a few examples of his genius.

Joaquin Sorolla self portrait

Mother and child on the beach

Fisherman – detail

Fishing boat

Tuna fishermen

It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to blog. But now that we’re past the holidays and the hunting seasons have closed, I resolve to do better.  Days in the field give me new ideas for paintings whether the hunting is productive or not.  Homeward, a 24” x 36” oil, is the first of three paintings I will exhibit in June at the Prix de West Invitational at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City in June. Solid, 17” x 14” oil, will be available at The Sportsman’s Gallery in Charleston, SC.

I’ve been experimenting with eliminating earth pigments—burnt umber and yellow ochre—from my palette. It is something Len Chmiel had suggested years ago. If he needed to, Len could make his toned-down hues by muting the intense colors like the cadmiums. I’ve also found I can make rich darks with French ultramarine and a red (and a Cad orange for a warmer black.) I had justified my use of the earth colors as a quick way to less intense passages in a landscape since they were already toned down, but it seems to me that this was affecting the brilliance of the whole picture. I think it was holding me back from getting the full range of possibilities.

I’ve also made a habit of holding my lightest and darkest values in reserve and then not using them. In these paintings I’ve tried to address both issues.

ann’s salmon from Eldridge Hardie on Vimeo.

Ginnie’s Atlantic salmon taking a dry fly on the Restigouche River, New Brunswick, Canada from Eldridge Hardie on Vimeo.