Please join us Wednesday., May 15th at 7:00 PM for our monthly meeting.
Our Speaker this month is Matt Patterson, author and wildlife artist.
Matt will be speaking on his book, FRESHWATER FISH OF THE NORTHEAST. This is the first book Matt illustrated and is a project he did with his father David Patterson. The two traveled all over NH and neighboring states to find fish and research this book. One of the things they did while researching this book was a species competition. The rules for this were simple, catch a fish by any method, photograph it and release it. They both kept a journal with a photo and recorded the date and location of where the fish was found. From banded sunfish to slimy sculpins, they learned about new species, new habitats and behaviors they didn't previously know about. FRESHWATER FISH OF THE NORTHEAST highlights 61 different species of fish.
There's almost no distance Matt won't go, almost nothing he won't do, to learn all he can about his subjects to make his paintings of wild animals as accurate and lifelike as possible. He’s caught alligators with his bare hands from a kayak. He has pulled giant snapping turtles out of Boston’s muddy river, worked with the Turtle Survival Alliance experts to survey radiated tortoises in Madagascar’s Spiny Forest and trapped and tagged turtles in the rainforest of Belize. Matt is a member of Artists For Conservation and is a Fellow in The Explorer’s Club. He is the illustrator of the award winning book, THE BOOK OF TURTLES and the NY Times Bestselling book OF TIME AND TURTLES. His work has been featured in Yankee Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur and has won numerous awards including twice winning the Roger Tory Peterson Wild American Art award.
Some of Matt's earliest memories are of fish and fishing with his father David Patterson. In 2010 they teamed up to create the book Freshwater Fish of the Northeast which won a National Outdoor Book Award. This book celebrates not only the gamefish that people most often fish for, but also all the other unique and fascinating species they come across along the way.
Matt's books are available at most places where books are sold.
Matt also has prints for sale on his web site: https://www.mpattersonart.com/
We also have our usual meeting activities. You may bring any fish or plants you are submitting for the BAP or HAP for auction. You may also bring up to 3 lots for a Buck-a-Bag auction. We plan to have refreshments, a raffle and a short business meeting.
The address of our Wednesday meeting is 19 Mohawk Drive, Riverside, Rhode Island. Mohawk Drive is directly off of Rt 114, the Wampanoag Trail in Riverside. Route 114 is a divided road at the entrance to Mohawk Road. If you are coming from the North you need to go past it to the next turnaround, which is on the left just past the "Welcome to Barrington" Sign. After you turn around, Mohawk Road will be on your right a short distance past the "Anchor Bay Assisted Living" sign. There is a Blue and White sign at the entry of Mohawk Road for the Riverside Sportsmans Association. The building is at the end of the road.