A Young Man's Convergence
of Paint & Sound
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| OTHER CAMP WOODIE STORIES |
This marvelous duck is erect and confident amongst such a dreary haze that constitutes his winter mornings, but John knows this duck will not be confident and strong forever. His life is as quick and delicate as his flight. Like the chesty bluebill he painted yesterday, John will go home to a warm well-lighted room and try to immortalize this mallard’s regal nature with the dedication and precision of painting him as he is now swimming in and out of the brittle reeds. However, for John, a painting is only half of the interest he holds for the mallard. Like many other waterfowlers, mastering the art of the mallard call is very important to John. At fifteen, he is already successful at both art forms.
John Fath lives about 50 miles north of Greenville, N.C. in a little town called Bath. The oldest town in North Carolina, Bath was the home of Blackbeard the Pirate. In present day this coastal small town is an excellent place for a boy to hunt and fish when he gets too old to dream of looting Blackbeard’s buried treasure.
John began drawing when he was in preschool, which progressed into private art lessons since he was in the 5th grade. His mother soon saw a genuine talent and devotion in John and urged him to enter the SC Federal Jr. Duck Contest in 2002 at 14 years old. John placed 1st in his age group (6th-9th grade) and runner-up for “Best in Show.” Prior to the contest, John had never even painted a duck before. It wasn’t long after, that his focus narrowed to painting waterfowl almost full time.
With his interest in waterfowl on the rise and the need for field research (duck hunting) becoming a high priority, John began a new art interest, duck calling.
In February 2002 John attended the Wildlife Expo in Washington, N.C. There, he decided to enter the duck calling contest. “I really had practiced, but it was my first contest,” says John. He placed 1st for the state (N.C.) in the Jr. contest and he placed 5th overall.
I asked John how he got started on duck calling. He leans back in his chair smiling, delighted with the question while he rolls a Marc Ackerman call between his fingers, “I started learning to duck call last year (2002) and I immediately started collecting calls. We weren’t having a lot of success hunting “big ducks” without being able to call, so why not just learn to do it myself.”
I pointed to the green call in his hands, “Was it hard to learn?”
“I just started practicing the calls with videos, friends and other hunters. I would go and visit hunting stores to talk with the sales people. They gave me a lot of good tips.”
John gave a little feeding chuckle into Ackerman’s call and then looked at it appraisingly, “Through them I discovered these duck calls designed by Marc Ackerman…and loved them. During duck season I was constantly practicing them at home, much to my mother’s dismay. ”
He passed the call to me and I looked at it carefully hoping he didn’t expect me to give it a try, “So how was your 2003 season?”
“My dad, brother and I were able to hunt more this year. We live on the water here so it’s easy to find the ducks. Knowing how to call made a huge difference in our season. We had a great season! We shot greenwings, mallards, widgeon, bufflehead, and a swan.”
I knew I was outmatched with the duck call and quickly passed it back with my eyes also following it with an appraising look, “Do you feel that by becoming a better duck hunter you will also become a better sporting artist?”
“Yes. Because of my closer interactions with ducks this year, I became a better painter of waterfowl. It is important for me to know my subject, so the research helps before I begin painting.”
“What is the process/ritual you go through after the research is done and you sit down to paint?”
“For the contest I decided to paint a Northern Pintail. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a mounted pintail that was positioned to land. I take private art lessons from Pat Boyd who owns her own studio. I worked there almost non-stop for about a month and a half. I really had to pull it together in the last few days before it had to be sent to South Carolina. I was up until 3:30 am on the morning it was to be sent off. I guess it is a process that takes time and I’m just learning how to gauge that time.”
John Fath’s painting will now go to the national Federal Jr. Duck Stamp Contest in Washington, D.C. In the meantime it has been hanging in the SC State Museum. This summer, John will accompany his former art teacher Barbara Crosley to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he will assist her in teaching a class how to paint waterfowl.
“Entering the contest and going to the expos in the last two years has taught me a lot about conservation. Wildlife is very abundant in North and South Carolina and needs to be appreciated and protected.” - John Fath
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