In 1987, the editor of Fly Rod & Reel asked me to illustrate a short story by John Gierach, whose work I knew from Fly Tyer. A few years later, after Lee Wulff’s death, we were invited to collaborate on the magazine’s closing column. Our first, “The Sporting Life,” appeared in March 1992. Over the next twenty-nine years and more than 160 columns, that partnership endured until Fly Rod & Reel closed its doors. We were fortunate to find a new home with Kirk Deeter at TROUT, where “Convergence” debuted in October 2017.
When John passed on October 3rd of 2024, he left us with nearly a year’s worth of columns to ease us into a world without his voice. It’s been both a privilege and a quiet difficulty for me to paint for this diminishing collection of his essays.
All told, we worked together on more than 200 columns across several magazines. In many of the early paintings, a distant figure in a brimmed hat stood in for John, though I never felt compelled to paint him directly. That changed with our 100th column in 2008, when I made what might be called a true portrait. I remember his reaction—sheepish, a little embarrassed—to find himself at the center of it.
While John may be the subject of future paintings, this is the final painting I’ll render for his words. It’s how I’ll remember him – it’s a portrait of my friend.
