The Artistic flies of Mark Romero

[tie2fish]

The suspense is killing us -- post it already, Mark .

[willowhead]

i'll try and get a pic up later..........Misa is super busy........she usually takes the pics........if i hve to do it in a cork.....you won't be able to see the hook point and barb area very well.............which really would suck in this case...........this hook is WWWAAAYYYY Cool........magnificent hook. So i wanna try and figure out a way to photograph it right. Might not be up til Mon. actually............football is gonna dominate for the next couple days.

[willowhead]

Ok, here goes such as they are.........you really can't see how nice the hook is completely, at all..........but it's way to heavey to put in an electrical clip style hackle pliers so you can.......bout the only thing i could do, is hold the fly by the bend while Misako takes the pic.......but anyway, here's 3 shots of it.............and now i need a shot. i can't even remember the last time i had a Vodka.....but i'm havin' one tonight to celebrate 2011...........may it be a (11th commandment ), good one.
keep scrollin'.....Oh btw, when i was downloading the pics, i hadda name it something and i couldn't think of anything.....good. But now i have.....i'm going to call it, Moon River. Think of Holly Go Lightly in front of Tiffany's at 6 a.m..........i've driven by Tiffany's VERY early in the morning when there's almost no traffic on 5th Av. dozens and dozens of times.....and that wing, with no fancy dressin' it up like that, really reminds me of that scene.....there she is, (Audrey Hepburn), in a simple black dress.....KILLIN'......gotta certain "flow" to it.....

[hankaye]

willowhead, Howdy;

The REDACTED, or I guess i should say the heavey feather that goes backwards on the upper 1/2 does seem to have sort of a stainedglass look reminicent of a Tiffany type of lampshade. IMO, the top pic showes the colors best. Just my opinion ...an I got one of the other items that everyone comes equipted with too.
Gotta take the pooch out for his "Last Out" So, I'm glad my 'other' is fur covered as it's about ZERO deg. here right now.
hank

[willowhead]

Thankx hank.....at this point when Misa is takin' pics of my flies.....i pretty much just go with whatever she does.......i've long since givin' up tryin' to direct traffic and get her to do this and do that and blah bah blah......she does what she does. Life's just to short to be havin' any expectations about it.........i'm lucky to have her help me out with it at all. And it saves me a whole-hell-of-a-lotta time.
All that matters is that your able to "see" something in there that sparks your imagination to look deeper......to think.......to listen.....to experience.

HAPPY NEW YEAR...........it's straight up midnight here. Bout damn time 2011 showed up......... Gotta go kiss Misako-chan.....

[tie2fish]

That's wild, Mark ... certainly worthy of the three Jacksons you laid out for the wire part

[willowhead]

Thankx Bro. i like "wild".....good word. i'd pick up a few more of those hooks if i could find them........i have maybe 30 more Reinholds.....but no more 10/0 William Bartleets. That one was it. "Hard work when your havin' fun.'

[willowhead]

OK, the next one is goin' to be on an Alex Hayes hook.....shank is bout three times as long as the last one, and it's gotta be in the 15/ to 20/0 range......VERY Big Hook. It's a challange (ALWAYS) to tye on these MONSTER hooks.....but a ton-0-fun. Just finding materials that'll work is not easy. But i really like a big canvas.
i'm goin' to use two beads on/in this painting.....so far all i've got finished is the painting of the hook.....blue, orange and greeen. Gotta let it dry and then lay a thread foundation. Just threading the dang thing(s) can take an hour. i'll have to use the antique violin string gut again, for the eye.....but i love using that stuff.....it's great stuff. Time to hunt up some tailing material.
i quit with the football at half time of the Rose Bowl............just can't do it anymore......use to be able to watch 5 games back to back......but that was then and this is now. Not to mention i'd already ran up a $40 bill at Chile's. Least they had 3 more big fat Patron Tequilla corks saved for me.....Easy.....

ok.....3 hours later, i have the tag and tail done. Tag is Orange MoHair ribbed with a tan yearn and antique gold tinsel following that, slightly picked out and dabbed with gold and silver sparkle fingernail polish.......the fingernail polish is also dabbed on the fly-away butt ends of the tail.......i'm just havin' a ball experimentin'. The tail is four saddle hackle feathers.....two orange on the outsides of two blue. The first butt (a bead) is on there with veiling above (Ringneck Pheasent rump feather dyed olive), and below (let's just say, some very light brown Marabou lmao), and there are body sections before and after the first bead of Polar Chenille in olive and firey brown. Then the second bead is on, and that's as far as i've got so far. Gotta do the eye now. Good thing bout not bein' able to put the eye on until any and all beads are on.....is that you get that added time to think about what's gonna be next while your doin' the eye.

[kanutripr]

Little late getting here, bit of a rough New Years

That is gorgeous! That must be one of the most beautiful feathers I've ever see and everything goes together wonderfully! It is certainly worthy of the iron.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE.



Vicki

[willowhead]

Vicki, when i stop and think about what New Years Eve. was like when i was your age.................never mind........
Glad you like the fly............
You may not believe this.........but something quite.............damn, i dunno what word to use here..........let's just say, "interesting" just happend. And it's the first time it's ever happend to me while tying...........
It only last bout 3 seconds, but i was outta my body, looking back at myself.....and then in a flash, it was like, Oh Yeah right, this is me. i mean i was just in such a groove.....and all of a sudden i realized i was watchin' myself tye. And soon as i relized what the deal was.....it was over. But it was a TRIP for a couple seconds.
Anyway.....bout 6 hours into the fly and it's almost finished. i may add another feather to the collar.....there's already one on there. i've put as many as five feathers into a signle collar before......
i forget if i ever mentioned this before on this site.....so if i have, please forgive the redundentcy.....but Paul Rossman once said, that all fly tying really is, is problem solving.......and boy he couldn't be more right. If you'd like to see Paul's work, look at "some" of the volumes of the Angling Arts mags. that the Schmookler's put out, before all that went south. Lemme go see which number (volume), the best one is. Be right back..........
Ok.....boy, i still wanna slit my wrist every time i look at Paul' work..... combine that with the very sad fact that all the world ever ended up with were the 9 volumes..........well.......anyway, you wanna get the (or find in a library of whatever), Spring 2002 volume to see Paul's work, although his work is also in other of the 9 volumes as well. But the feature on him is in the Spring 2002 issue. i just saw him again in Nov. in Conneticutt, and when i first met him round 2001 he was a chef. But he's been running his own Bed & Breakfast for the last few years. NOBODY on this or any other planet can do bodies as well as Paul. "Maybe" as well.....but no way better.
When that outta body thing happened.....i was right in the middle of solving a problem.....that's why it was such a trip. There's just nothin' like "gettin' it right."

somewhere between 7 and 8 hours after i started it..........

Second coat is drying on the head now.....i'll get a pic up .....when i get a pic up.

Third coat is drying.....