| By
Linda Fudala-Tucker
The
Silver King has done more than impassion anglers. The
mighty fish is also the inspiration for artistic
interpretation.
Stuart Hoeckel, an island artist for
30 years, uses copper and brass for his tarpon
interpretations. He was a judge for the Ladies Day
Tarpon Tournament this year, as he has been from the
start of the tournament.
" I
was on the committee from the start of the tournament,"
said Hoeckel. "At
that time, we'd
sit on the porch of the lighthouse and the captains
would call in the hook-ups. We never doubted their
word."
Hoeckel 's
work of a tarpon straining to catch a crab was
photographed during a Boca Grande Art Alliance art
show as was his "Sermon
on the Mount"
work of copper
crabs and brass urchins on a "mount"
of white coral
stone. Hoeckel shows his work at his brother, Murph's
Paradise Gallery in downtown Boca Grande.
Artists in all media seem drawn to the
power and beauty of the fish, whose air bladder system
compels it to "roll"
and "leap."
Its power and
endurance lead to long-fought battles once the King
takes the bait making it one of the most popular game
fish in the world.
|
|
Stuart Hoeckel's rendition of
a tarpon going for a crab in copper. |
|
A leaping tarpon in bronze
by Jim Sears. |
|
The 2005 WRTT logo by Boca
Grande artist, Larry Anderson. |
Another
long-time Boca Grande artist, Larry Anderson, inspired
by the tarpon produced this year's
WRTT logo: a tarpon that is bursting with energy. The
original, mixed media work will be auctioned at the
final party of the WRTT in July.
"The
involvement of artists in designing the logo is a
long-time tradition,"
said Craig Lutz,
chamber director. "On
our website, you'll
find all the logo designs from years back."
|
|
Stuart
Hoeckel's "Sermon on the Mount"
has sea urchins in brass and copper crabs. |
|
Artist Patti Middleton
contributed this tarpon beauty in mixed media to
the Boca Grande Fishing Guide Tournament. |
|
A
tarpon woodcarving by an unknown artist.
|
Area sculptor, Jim
Sears, known for his works in bronze, created the
World's
Richest tarpon trophy which also features a tarpon
after a crab. A lesser photographed trophy, a bronze
of a tarpon leaping out of water, also belongs to Boca
Grande Chamber of Commerce where even a tarpon floor
mat welcomes visitors and where a primitive tarpon
woodcarving by an unknown artist resides near a
bookcase. |
