Fishing Gear

Item Description

Decorated by noted painter and artist Carolyn Hall Young expressly for Casting for Recovery's fundraising auction.

You will never find another brilliantly creative and exuberant vest like this one handpainted by Carolyn Hall Young, a recent alumni of CFR-New Mexico and a noted painter, artist, illustrator, designer, and, now, fashion model and fly fisher.

Ready to make quite a splash, this unique and very beautiful vest is an original piece of art (museum-quality) which you can wear or display in your collection. There is a full-color embroidery of a trout and “Philmont Fly Fishing Invitational” on the upper right shoulder, giving the vest an extra bit of New Mexican color. (See the photograph of Carolyn’s Large/Extra Large husband filling it more fully.)*

Carolyn’s work vibrates with her zest for life. See her website for a glimpse into her way of being.

*Note: Neither the husband, the painter, nor their porch, will included in this auction, however, eternal gratitude for your support of Casting for Recovery is indelibly woven into the heart and soul of this item.

Item Special Note

Young has been called a "painter's painter." Her small, potent works resonate with a vivid awareness of color and beauty, revealing surprising emotional content. Her carefully rendered images offer a glimpse into the inexhaustible resilience of an inspired world. Warm and welcoming, her work calls for the viewer to linger a little longer, to savor the lusciousness, and to be "present."

Her art is rooted in Carolyn's time in El Rancho, New Mexico: a rural, traditional community north of Santa Fe, where she has lived with her husband, horses, and good dogs, since 1990.

Carolyn is passionate about art, horses, her garden, her family, and her friends. She lives with an intensive appreciation of life everyday, wherever she may be, whatever she is doing. Her way of being is best described by a Jane Goodall quote: “Live in joy, even though you have all the facts.”

Young was graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design. She spent a year painting in RISD’s distinguished European Honors Program, in a Renaissance palace in Rome. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute in New York City. She has traveled extensively, and absorbed art and culture around the world, and around the neighborhood. Young has received national and international recognition for her accomplishments in the visual arts, and has exhibited in group and solo shows across the country. What is most evident, and most important, is that she loves to paint.

The trout on front vest pocket is Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout and on the top/back of the vest is salmo gairdneri irideus. Bottom trout is salmo gairdneri carolynicus (Carolyn’s own personal Golden Spotted Rio Grande Trout).

Painted with metallic and colored acrylic on nylon.

Any handmade item requires care to preserve, but, heck, it’s a fishing vest — go fish, use it for photographing on location, or when you need something to wear for accepting your next Nobel Peace Prize.

Pacific Fly vest, size men's Large, nylon.

Shipping additional, $7.

You can view Carolyn's website here.