New DeYoung Tarpon Work and Video

Since I was an 8 year old boy, opting to watch Flip Pallot on the Walker’s Cay Chronicles rather than Saturday morning cartoons, I have dreamt of someday becoming a tarpon fisherman. No, not a once a year trip to the keys to be guided into a tarpon. I wanted to know my query, understand them. For the past four winters, I have put my mind, ego, wallet and wife’s patience to this task. No, I’ve not achieved anything close to a mastery of tarpon angling, but I’m learning everyday that I spend on the water. And the adventures that I find myself in while on this journey are the stories I will tell my friends and family for years to come as we sit in front of campfires in the pitch black darkness of the north woods.

As an artist, much of this expertise I pursue is a visual understanding of these fish, so I can communicate that through my paintings. These paintings are based on a childlike, vividly imagined version of these giant silver fish. To paint tarpon in a straightforward way, little knowledge is needed. But to push these paintings in the way that I have, and to still preserve a level of authenticity, it is important that I know as much as possible about my subject.

Check out my latest tarpon video, based on the beautiful silver giants that inspired it.