I really enjoy well made illustrations of fish, and this new book by Artist Flick Ford has really impressed me. You can view the illustrations and glean a bit of information if you check out Field and Stream's web page dedicated to the book BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches. Of course putting aside the great illustrations and the well written citations I am a bit saddened to think that we may never see fish like this again. Even the well established rules for recreational anglers about size minimums may need to be revised. If we want to see fish like this again we need to implement rules to let the big fish live on. Scientist are beginning to support this kind of thinking to allow these fish to do what they do best. Reproduce in quantity. By taking larger fish we may be working on diminishing returns.
If anyone is having a hard time finding me a birthday gift, may I suggest the limited collectors edition of BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches for only $1350
Press release below......
Award-Winning FISH Artist Publishes New Book
BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record Catches
Paintings by Flick Ford – Text by Mike Rivkin
With an introduction by George Reiger
Published by the Greenwich Workshop Press
Over 50 color paintings plus hundreds of photos • 216 pages, 14" x 11" • Hardcover, jacketed $50.00 ($65.00 CAN)
To see more from BIG go to www.greenwichworkshop.com/BIG
To schedule an author or artist interview or reserve a review copy contact Wentworth@greenwichworkshop.com
Seymour, Connecticut – July 2008 This October, the Greenwich Workshop Press, in conjunction with
the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) will publish BIG: The 50 Greatest World Record
Catches. Renowned artist Flick Ford and IGFA historian Mike Rivkin have combined to tell the stories
of fifty of the most amazing record fish catches from around the world, selected for their sheer size,
popularity, beauty and classic record story. Through species research and archival photography, Ford
reconstructs a stunning watercolor portrait of each record catch as it would have looked emerging from
the water. The accompanying text spins the yarns of fifty casual and dedicated fishermen, the history of
big-game angling and the fine art that brings the sport alive. Dare to compare your biggest catch to one
of these world record marvels, reproduced in this oversize book at up to two feet long.
The incredible stories range from Dr. John Cook’s legendary and still-standing 1916 brook trout record
to fifteen-year-old Sara Hayward of Texas, whose wahoo catch was an astonishing thirty pounds bigger
than the previous record. World record catches are compelling for the normalcy of the settings, a day
like any other, the usual bait, and the muttered promise of “just one more cast.”
Artist Flick Ford studied art for ten years and then dove into New York indie film, publishing,
illustration and music. Since the early 1990s he has been painting fish. Concern about the effects of
pollution, over-development, and acid rain in the Northeast inspired him to keep a record of the fish he
caught. Flick’s first book, FISH: 77 Great Fish of North America (Greenwich Workshop Press) was
published in 2006 to wide acclaim, including the bronze Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for
best coffee table book. His detailed watercolor portraits of fish are widely exhibited and sought by
collectors. Today he lives on the Hudson River outside Albany, New York. He ties his own flies and
fishes more than 100 days a year.
Author Mike Rivkin is a retired catalogue publisher widely recognized for his spirited and successful
copywriting. He is also a veteran offshore angler, Past President of the venerable Tuna Club of Santa
Catalina Island, and has served as an International Game Fish Association International Representative.
Mike has written extensively on the history of angling, including the widely acclaimed books Big-Game
Fishing Headquarters: A History of the IGFA and Angling and War: The Collision of Big-Game Fishing
and WWII. On the water, he has caught every type of marlin that swims, including a 1,226-pound black
marlin taken off Australia in 1984. Today Mike lives in La Jolla, California with his wife and three
children and plies the nearby Pacific waters on his boat Silverfish.
George Reiger is Conservation Editor of Salt Water Sportsman as well as Conservation Editor Emeritus
of Field & Stream. He has fished throughout the Pacific Basin from Alaska to Australia; and in the
Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to South Africa. His books on fish and fishing include Profiles in Saltwater
--- MORE ---
Angling, The Bonefish, Silver King, and The Striped Bass Chronicles. His ecological tour of the Atlantic
Coast, Wanderer On My Native Shore, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Non-Fiction.
About the Greenwich Workshop, Inc.
The Greenwich Workshop is a leading provider of limited edition fine art prints and canvases, fine art
gifts and books. They represent more than 50 leading artists through their authorized network of more
than 1,200 art and framing retailers located throughout North America. Established in 1972, the
company’s mission is to enhance the quality of people’s lives through high quality, affordable art.
Contact Vincent Grabowski, VP Sales, Greenwich Workshop Inc. for special sales 1-800-243-4246
Greenwich Workshop Press books are distributed to the trade by Artisan, a division of Workman Publishing.
www.greenwichworkshop.com/BIG
Comments