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| Ink & Wash ~ Jan Cottrell |
The dog days of August are
full upon us in the Northwest. Hatches that spurred great trouting this spring
& early summer have boiled down to a faint spritz in late evening, serving
to bring up only a few trout, & those, smaller fish.
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| Green Butt Spey ~ Jeff Cottrell |
I miss Jan & Jeff from
the Evening Hatch, who’ve pulled the plug until September, moving their
operation to more productive territory over in steelhead country. On days off
from guiding, Jeff & I fish. Or, sometimes, they come over with a bottle of
wine or two, & Jan with her sketchbook. We sit around the picnic table in
the yard, Doris & Jan sipping wine & working on their drawings or
watercolors while Jeff & I chainsmoke & shoot the shit.
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| Ink & Wash ~ Jan Cottrell |
If I was in the life game for
monetary gain, I’d of gone into real estate or politics. But Henry James said: “It
is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance, & I know of no substitute
for the beauty & force of its process.” Birds of a feather do tend to hang
together, & one of the most satisfying rewards inherent to the artist’s
life is the companionship we often find in fellow artists, as these tend to
possess developed observational skills that serve to make them interesting
& fun company (for the most part). (Unless you really love living
dangerously, I’d suggest avoidance of depressed, ear-snipping painters &
shotgun-wielding writers.)
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| Orange Heron Spey ~ Jeff Cottrell |
Regarding ‘things’, Deepak
Chopra acknowledges: “If it’s not absolutely beautiful, or absolutely useful,
you don’t need it… it is an anchor.”
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| Ink & Wash ~ Jan Cottrell |
The fruit of Jan & Jeff’s labor meets both
criteria for things worth keeping.
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| Harlequin Spey ~ Jeff Cottrell |
Jan left me some of her
exquisite watercolor & ink drawings. Jeff gave me some of the Spey designs
he ties for steelhead. In these things we see that art truly does reflect life,
but also the refinement of its crafters, & their intimate connection to
life.
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| Ink & Wash ~ Jan Cottrell |
Jeff Cottrell’s fly designs
are available from Rainy’s Flies. Anyone interested in original, print, or commission
work from Jan Cottrell, might reach her through contacting me at: columbiatrout@sbcglobal.net
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| Deep Purple Spey ~ Jeff Cottrell |
