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A large Black Marlin chasing a bridle rigged Bonita, Dorado chasing ballyhoo and two Wahoo- all in a frenzy!!!

Two days left here in Nica and we are planning on returning some time soon. We moved down to the beach house so making updates to the blog isn’t possible unless we are at the camp. Two new crews arrived today and the camp is at full capacity. Lance and a few of the guys went out in the boat today and landed a nice sailfish and a few dolphin. Jimmy is taking a different crew out tomorrow an hopefully they will land something nice, we are itching to do a nice fish print.

The mural is coming along nicely and we should be wrapping up most of the work tomorrow. The finishing touches will be added on the last day where we are just adding the final highlights and glazes. Started on the details of the wahoo and they are looking mean. Abby was detailing out the bait ball and the ballyhoo which look incredible. Here are some pics of the major updates so far.

Day three here in Nicaragua and loving life, it’s going to be tough dragging Abby out of here after the next couple of days. The mural is progressing along great and we have employed some great help from Jimmy, one of the Surfari guides. It’s pouring down rain today so it looks like we may just be hanging and painting until it clears up.

Andrew swung through yesterday afternoon with a crew from the Sanctuary to check out the work and play a little ping pong. After working up a sweat in the loft it was time to go for a surf. Hit up a nice little 4′-6′ right point with just us 5 guys in the water. We ran through the pole positions off the peak and traded off set waves till sunset.

Here are some pics of the process so far. Should have quite a few more for tomorrow with work completed today.

At the airport waiting for the red-eye to Nicaragua. Looking forward to kicking out this mural project with Abby and Andrew, doing some surfing and just enjoying the time away. This is Abby’s first trip out of the U.S. and should be one for all time – plus our first big project together. Keep posted to the blog for project updates and photos of the process, you won’t want to miss this.

One week and counting until we are off to Nicaragua for our next mural project. We’ve been gathering supplies, packing cloths, making preparations with our hosts so as soon as we arrive we can get right to work, if you want to call it that.  All the fish have been coming alive through our sketches and we have come up with some pretty nice images so far. The latest additions are the Hoos,  the Wahoo and the Ballyhoo. Both of these fish have great color and patterns that will make them pop once painted – we can’t wait to put these on the wall. Enjoy.

Well, we did it again and scored another mural gig in Nicaragua. This project will be for Lance & Kristen Moss at Surfari Charters. Lance caught us finishing up Tony’s mural at The Surf Sanctuary and liked it so much he felt he needed one too. The specs are very similar to The Sanctuary’s, a deep sea underwater scene with dolphin, marlin and the associated bait fish for pelagic fish. The project will be completed in his bar seating area and poses some creative challenges within the space – which we always enjoy. With the extra time we had to plan for this project we were able to complete some detailed sketches to help push us in new directions. Also, as an added benefit we are bringing along Abby Salter on this trip to lend us her very talented artistic skills. Enjoy the pics and keep checking back for updates.

Just made it back to the states yesterday from my trip down to Nicaragua. I can’t say enough thanks to Tony, Nancy and Andrew at The Surf Sanctuary for their hospitality and good company. We finished up the mural on the last day, caught two sessions of 4′-6′ Playa Santana and avoided the stingrays. The mural turned out better than I ever expected and everyone was super stoked on the final product – not bragging but it’s nice to surprise yourself sometimes on what you can do. Got a verbal on my next commission from Lance at Surfari Charters and am already planning my next trip back down that way. Enjoy the pics and contact Tony if you are planning a trip down that way to see the mural first hand.

Two full days left and the mural is coming together nicely, I haven’t been this stoked on a painting in a while. Had a little set back yesterday morning after being hit by a stingray while wading out to surf. That laid me up for most of the morning but with the help of two rum shots, a macau (local rum drink), some ibuprofen and herbal meds I was up and about just after lunch. The marlin, chicken dolphin and bull dolphin are just about finished, we’ll probably tweak them a little more to add that extra punch. Hopefully finishing out the bait ball and tuna today so we can just play tomorrow before catching the red eye tomorrow night. Enjoy the pics.

Eric got down to The Surf Sanctuary a few days ago and is having a great time.

Started working on the mural and really liking where the process is going. We have a marlin tagging up on some dolphin on the right wall. In the center wall the there is a large bull dolphin swooping in on a bait ball of sardines that bends around the center bulge. On the back side of the bait ball, on the left side of the front wall, is a sailfish flashing and pushing the ball apart. On the left wall we have a school of yellow fin tuna schooling in towards the bait ball.

Heading out the door to Ft. Lauderdale to catch my flight to Nicaragua. Along with the objective to catch some waves, fish, and check out the surroundings of Playa Santana, Andrew and I are going to be completing a mural for The Surf Sanctuary. So I am loaded to bear with tons of supplies. Lucky for me I am not carrying any boards, Andrew is supplying me with some nice Shapes by Jay Gordon.