His Gaudy Vest

"Fish fine, and far off." --Charles Cotton

 (From John Gay, an English poet)

When if an insect fall (his certain guide)

He gently takes him from the whirling tide:

Examines well his form with curious eyes,

His gaudy vest, his wings, his horns and size,

Then round his hook the chosen fur he winds,

And on the back a speckled feather binds,

So just the colours shine thro' ev'ry part,

That nature seems to live again in art.

Although the possessive pronoun "His" in the above  poem refers to the "Gaudy Vest" of the insect, I thought that theme might be what directed my decoration of the fishing vest for Casting for Recovery.  I got a little carried away with the decoration of the fishing vest.  But it was fun, if perhaps a tad too time consuming.  And there won't be another one of my oil pastels being had for a song at an auction.  Instead, hopefully someone will get to bid on the fishing vest.  Now, I did paint all of the flies, river and fish on canvas rather than directly on the vest (how does one hang a vest on an easel to paint it?) and instead of gluing the pieces on the vest, I used velcro so all the decoration could be removed.  So, in theory, a person could buy the vest and remove the canvas pieces and frame them. Or they could buy the crazy vest and keep it just the way it is.  What would you do with it?