Author Archives: tim

Ready to Start

Posted on by
ready_to_go

That is a LOT of canvas

Catherine and I decided to make a day of it in the city since I had to go pick up canvases between 12-8 in Pioneer Square.   We took off at 10 and headed to the Seattle Art Museum where we saw the Peru show, which was pretty amazing and worth going to.   Next we drove down to the gallery and I picked up my box full of canvas panels.  Finally we went to Cafe Flora for lunch and lucked out since it was Restaurant Week and they had a great special going.

Early this morning I cleaned the studio since it was a mess, got my new paints situated and cut up some rags.  When we got back home from lunch I unloaded the box of canvas panels.  Laying them all out is kind of intimidating, facing one blank canvas is bad enough but 30 of them is a bit daunting.  Let the painting begin…

 

The Marathon of Painting

Posted on by
New supplies, ready to paint

New supplies, ready to paint

Last year our friend Teri Capp participated in the Seattle 30-Day Art Challenge and we went to the show during the first Thursday art walk in Pioneer Square.  It was a fun event with 8×10 paintings of all types and quality plastering the walls of the gallery space.   It got so crowded and hot in there we finally left to walk around outside to go visit other galleries.  The show was very inspiring and I actually started doing some pastels again as Teri was working on her 30-day paintings and I thought “hmm, maybe I should try this next year if I’m not doing contract work.”

It is now next year and I signed up this week to do the 30-Day Challenge.  Since I’m just working on my own iOS apps right now and haven’t been able to do my usual physical challenges of a marathon or ultra I decided this would be my “marathon” challenge this year.  The Challenge starts tomorrow when I pick up canvases and ends on November 17.   The show will be on Dec. 5 at the T.K. Artists Lofts in Pioneer Square.

Continue reading →

To PRP or not to PRP, that is the question…

Posted on by

fig1It has now been almost 24 weeks since I tore my right hamstring near the attachment point near the  ischial tuberosity.  I spent the first month or so with a traditional MD and physical therapy which only seemed to make the problem worse.  I then switched to a chiropractic office and received Active Release Treatment (A.R.T.) and Gastron Techinque which at least relieved some of the literal pain in my ass.   After resting for 8 weeks I was given the OK to start light running again since it was assumed that this was a minor tear which usually needs 6-8 weeks of rest.   I ramped up to about 15 miles a week and even managed to do a 5-mile event but it hurt every time I ran more than 3-4 miles.   That is when we decided to do the MRI and found the severity of the problem and I was back off running.    So in the last nearly half year I have run only 6 weeks.

Continue reading →

Iwana Rod Series Review

Posted on by

The Iwana rods from TenkaraUSA are named after the Iwana, or White Spotted Char, found in Japan.   These small char are probably the perfect target for the Iwana series of tenkara rods which are made for small to medium streams with smaller average sized fish.

Iwana Rod Handles - 12', 11' and 9'3" from top to bottom

Iwana Rod Handles – 12′, 11′ and 9’3″ from top to bottom

TenkaraUSA sells two versions of the Iwana rod – an 11′ and 12′ model and also a conversion handle that will turn either rod into a 9’3″ rod.  The rods share most of the segments and just use different handle sections and a reduced number of sections as they are made shorter.   This is a nice feature, especially if you own several Iwana rods and break a section on one.  I recently broke the tip on my 11′ rod and when I was heading to very small water just turned the 12′ rod into an 11′ rod and went fishing.

Continue reading →

Fishing in Bathtubs

Posted on by

OK, not really fishing in a bathtub but fishing bathtub sized pools in rivers.  After taking up Tenkara this year I began searching out smaller waters and smaller sections of bigger waters looking for trout and have been pleasantly surprised by what I have found.

Today was a great example.  I was on the Middle Fork and the really nice corner run I wanted to fish was just so windy that I couldn’t control my line well with the wind blowing straight upstream on me.  I managed a few fish but was getting frustrated so I moved downstream to check out the next spot where a long riffle ended and dropped into a pool.  What I found was that the riffle did drop well but on my side the current was pushing into the bank and got deep fast so I really needed to fish from the other side to fish it well but didn’t want to cross into someones back yard to fish.  Looking at the shore from where I was in the riffle I found a spot about the size of a bathtub that had some good rocks and depth, I figured there was probably one fish there.  A few casts and I had a grab but missed.  Next cast another grab and I was into what turned out to be my biggest Middle Fork cutthroat of the year so far, a nice 14″ fish.  I sort of figured he was king of the little pool but made a few more casts.  Wham, another grab and another nice 11-12″ cutt to hand.   A few more casts, wham, another fish.  What the heck.  By the time I was done I had landed four, lost two and missed another two in this little run.

Continue reading →

Becoming a Tenkara Bum

Posted on by

tenkara-meEarly this year I decided to buy a Tenkara rod and try this very minimal form of fly fishing.   I was pretty much hooked after my first few outings, it made me feel like a kid fishing for the first time.   A few months later and I haven’t even picked up a standard fly rod and somehow ended up with a small collection of tenkara rods.   Find out all about the gear and flies I use at my new Northwest Tenkara page.

Like a kid with a cane pole

Posted on by

tenkara_troutA few months ago I purchased a tenkara rod and decided to take up this Japanese style of very minimalist fly fishing.   This month the small streams in the area finally opened up and I’ve felt like a little kid with a cane pole going out fishing.   I’ve been out a half dozen times on streams in western and eastern Washington and have caught easily over a hundred trout now on my 11′ Iwana rod and a single kebari that I tied.   This is the most fun I’ve had fly fishing in a long time and I’m only catching 6-10″ fish for the most part.    Recently I began exploring a small stream only 15 minutes from the house and am having a blast catching dozens of small trout on each outing with a few big-uns up to 9-11″.    It brings back memories of being 10 years old and first learning to fly fish when an 8′ rod seemed way too long and I couldn’t really cast but could lay out 10′ of line and pull a bluegill out of a farm pond.   I’m totally hooked now and plan on spending the rest of the summer wading small streams and working on becoming a tenkara bum.

Dealing with Upper Hamstring Tear

Posted on by
Where my tear is

Where my tear is located

Three months ago I was out on a light morning run in St. Edwards Park with some other local runners, doing a few laps of a 5-mile course.   Somewhere after the big uphill I felt a bit of a pull in my right hamstring.  We finished the lap and stopped to meet up with some other runners and I could barely walk.  I bagged on the rest of the day and went home to ice the leg.   I rested it most of the week, iced and took ibuprofen.  Five days later I tried to do a light 2 mile run and couldn’t do it.

Off I went to the doctor to get this checked out.  Grade Two hamstring strain was the diagnosis and I was told 4-8 weeks of recovery and sent off to physical therapy.  The PT consisted of a lot of balance and squats along with stretching, electro-stim and ultrasound.  About two weeks in the pain moved from my hammy up into my butt and hips to the point where I could no longer even sit let alone run.    A friend recommended a different sports clinic so I decided to give them a try.  At Elite Sports & Spine I started getting A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques) and Graston treatment and within three weeks was actually feeling a bit better to the point where I was told to try some light running.   Running didn’t really seem to make things worse and I slowly built up a bit of mileage, I even did an event.  Once I got to the 5-mile mark though I just could not seem to go any further and the pain started up again.

Continue reading →

Becoming a trail running photographer

Posted on by

photographerThis past year I have spent more and more time behind the camera at events and for the rest of this season it appears it is going to be my primary way of participating in runs.   How did this happen?

Way back in high school I was introduced into the world of photography by a friend who I met in my summer driver’s ed class.  He happened to be in the journalism class and worked as a photographer. I got interested and soon joined the darkroom gang and learned the basics of photography on an old Pentax camera using B&W 35mm film.   I shot sporting events, yearbook groups, activities in the school, etc… and was soon in charge of the darkroom and photographers for my senior year.

Continue reading →