• Open House and Art Show 2009!
• Sneak peak of Dream Bucks III
• Release of new elk painting, Evening Solitude
• New line of sepia artwork

Open House and Art Show 2009

Stoney Creek Inn is a nature-themed lodge right off I-80, close to malls and theaters. Also, our 2009 Open House presents a great opportunity to visit the new Bass Pro Shops in Altoona. Larry has been painting once a month at the store since they opened. Make the 2009 Zach Open House part of a perfect weekend getaway of Christmas shopping!

Highlights

• Release of Dream Bucks III – Midwest Monster
• Release of new elk painting, Evening Solitude – Rocky Mountain Elk
• $25 off framing on any limited edition art purchase
• RSVP online for a free gift or discount coupon!
• Forward this email to a friend. When your friend RSVPs and attends the open house, you’ll receive an extra gift!
• Daily drawings for artwork prizes

Sneak Peak of Dream Bucks III

Dream Bucks III — Midwest Monster is the third image in the Dream Bucks series, which features some of the world’s
most impressive whitetails.

It follows Dream Bucks I — Hole in the Horn Buck and Dream Bucks II — The Missing Trophy. Featured in Dream Bucks III is the huge, non-typical buck taken by Kyle Simmons on October 16, 2008 in Eastern Iowa. This buck was Kyle’s first deer with a bow and was featured on the January 2009 cover of North American Whitetail magazine.

Scoring 275 5/8, it is our new Iowa state record archery nontypical, and the third largest nontypical whitetail in the
world ever taken by bow and arrow.

New elk painting, Evening Solitude released

“The original inspiration for this painting occurred on a February reference trip in the Rockies. It was very cold and we’d been exploring the high country, looking for painting ideas and gathering reference material all day. As dusk
approached it started snowing again. I don’t recall being able to hear any sound. The landscape was hauntingly
beautiful. I captured as much as I could until it finally got too dark. On their way down I pondered what I’d
experienced. There seemed to be many different ways to try to capture the scene in a painting. The three bulls moving silently through the landscape seemed to enhance the feeling of tranquility, leading to the piece you see here.” – Larry Zach

New line of sepia artwork

Larry has begun painting a new line of sepia paintings with a variety of subjects. These paintings will be available as originals and open edition canvases. See them first-hand at our 2009 Open House. The canvases will be available to take with you, framed and ready for Christmas gifts.	Moose
Just Bluffing?	Best Friend — Kitten
Best Friend — Brittany	Mountain Man

Even prior to finishing Dream Bucks II – The Missing Trophy, I was already searching for a subject for its sequel, Dream Bucks III. Living in Iowa and knowing many serious deer hunters, coming up with a list of potential candidates was not difficult. However, with the multitude of great bucks this state produces, deciding which particular trophy to paint can be a challenge.

Things got a little easier by late October 2008. Photos of a tremendous buck started appearing on the internet. At least a dozen friends forwarded the photos to me to ensure I knew about the buck taken by a bowhunter in eastern Iowa.

After a couple phone calls, I found myself talking to Kyle Simmons, a pleasant young man from Jackson County, Iowa. You can read the story of Kyle’s hunt in an article from North American Whitetail here.

After discussing the concept for the Dream Bucks series, Kyle was interested in the possibility of having his buck featured in the upcoming painting. We agreed on a time and place where I could see the buck in person and take photographs.

Once I arrived and Kyle pulled out the rack, it didn’t take long to realize I was looking at a remarkable set of antlers. The rack was not only going to score well, but more importantly, it was very impressive visually. It was everything an artist wanted!

Unfortunately, it had taken me longer than I anticipated to get to Kyle’s place, so I had to work fast to get photos before the sun hid behind a cloud bank moving in from the west.

The initial visit and photo-shoot was followed by numerous phone conversations, but it was challenging to arrange for a follow-up photo session while the rack was being cast for reproductions and being mounted by Joe Meder of Solon.

During this period, I considered, literally, dozens of compositions. I found a number of combinations I liked initially, but that would not work for this painting. I needed a strong composition, but the background had certain requirements beyond those of an artistic nature.

Over the years, I’ve partnered with many conservation groups. Since I now do my own color work and printing in-house, we’ve developed some creative ways to help conservation groups maximize their fundraising efforts.

Starting with Dream Bucks II, I have been customizing the painting and creating a unique image and edition for each of several conservation groups. For example, the prints in the Iowa Pheasants Forever edition have several added rooster pheasants, unique to this edition. The Iowa Ducks Unlimited edition has a number of wood ducks included, inconspicuously. Some editions include wild turkey. By offering a unique design, conservation group chapters have been able to raise increased funds for great causes.

That brings me to the complications introduced for me, as the artist designing each painting. It needs to be a composition that not only works well for the main focal point, the buck, but also one that provides a natural setting for turkey, pheasants, and waterfowl to share the scene, as well.

After many trials and much evaluation, I finally settled on one painting design. Also, I was able to see both Kyle and the trophy again at the Iowa Deer Classic recently, and I used this opportunity to take more photos of the rack in better lighting conditions.

[I will add some photos here as soon as they’re copied off my camera.]

I am currently in the process of painting the original, and I hope to have it done soon. After all, spring is coming soon, which means habitat management and prepping for this year’s food plots!

In my next post, I’ll show you the design for Dream Bucks III and explain how the particular composition was developed.

Kyle will be splitting time between our Zach Wildlife Art booth, where a trophy replica will be displayed, and the Hunter’s Specialties booth, where the original rack will be shown.

Make sure you stop by our booth so I can tell you about the upcoming Dream Bucks III painting featuring the Kyle Simmons buck!

Customized version of the North American Whitetail magazine cover

(And, just for fun, see if you can tell the difference between the real rack and the replica.)

Good news! The third and final painting in the Dream Bucks series is on the easel and in progress.

I am hearing from many of you how excited you are to see this latest deer painting, so I will be working to post regular updates on the progress of the piece as it evolves. I will also share “behind the scenes” details on the inspiration for the painting and on the famous buck that is now the subject of aspiring hunters’ dreams.

The Kyle Simmons Buck

The featured buck for Dream Bucks III is a deer taken with a bow by Kyle Simmons in Jackson County, Iowa on Oct. 16, 2008.

This world-class buck is truly special and, I believe, a perfect subject for my Dream Bucks painting series.

Kyle Simmons’s hunting season was certainly a dream come true, as this was his first buck taken with a bow!

Dream Bucks II – The Missing Trophy featured the monster buck taken by Brian Andrews in 2003. At 253 1/8 inches, that deer was the state record non-typical archery buck for five years – until Kyle Simmons’s buck , scoring 270 6/8 (green), entered the scene and knocked the previous title winner off the podium.

You may have already read the story published in North American Whitetail magazine about Kyle Simmons’s trophy and the hunt that lead to success. If you haven’t, don’t worry, because I’ve embedded the story below for your reading pleasure!

I recommend reading the article in full-screen mode. Just click the square icon in the top right corner to expand the article.