Martie vanden Brand - fly-tyer and artist!

I came across Martie van den Brand purely by accident... I was looking at some realistic shrimps that he had made and I then found out that he had been using Bug-Bond in the construction of the shrimps and also his other realistic works of art... and yes, without a doubt these are works of art! Martie like many other top realistic fly tiers are in a league of their own, not only creating museum quality exhibits but also fishable realistics. Some realistics are even used as Hollywood extras!


Some try and create debate through forums over the validity of realistics as to whether it is fly tying or not and unfairly call it model making... my personal view is that by having an appreciation of realistic tying and entomology or perhaps ichthyology, should help us to tie better (even if you don't personally practice realistic tying - and I don't) and it should also lead to better and more enjoyable fishing. 

For those who don't have an eye on Facebook and wonder who Martie is and what he creates I have pleasure in being able to show you, with Martie's permission, a few photos of his creations and a translation of his own bio... enjoy! 

"Hi, I create for several years various insects, sea horses, grasshoppers, beetles, shrimp, stick insects... This hobby started because I'm quite fond of detail. The very rare seahorse, the leafy and the weedy sea dragons are reproduced full size. To do this you often have travel to far away zoos to witness them in aquariums. I also made ​​several grasshoppers, but 10 or 20 times larger than lifesize. Complete with all hair and legs like a real live creature in nature. I also make under water insects - stone fly nymphs... these are often up to 40 times magnification. You see for fun or interested enough for these exhibits, or possibly to buy for education please let me know. Thanks in advance for taking the trouble. Martie van den Brand"

Thank you for sharing your talent Martie and also for choosing to use Bug-Bond...