I caught my first trout at the age of seven. It was a native brook trout out of a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Northeast PA. I would spend a week or two at my aunt and uncle’s and, after the chores were done, I was free to do as I pleased and that usually meant fishing.
My first fishing partner was a small Terrier Spaniel mix named Terry who somehow knew not to disturb the stream ahead of me. There was one pool in particular with a bluestone ledge a few feet above the water, and, if the light was right, I would crawl out on the ledge, carefully peek over the edge and get a clear look into the world of these beautiful wild fish.
Those were the happiest, most carefree days of my life and I have been an avid student of trout and their behavior ever since. I bought my first flyrod with paper route money at the age of eleven.
Fly fishing has been my passion and the one constant of my adult life. The big water, wild trout, and beautiful setting of the Upper Delaware are what appeal to me both as an artist and fly fisherman. I live a short distance from the river and fish it regularly.
Ed Parkinson resides in Browndale in Wayne County Pennsylvania.
He has been a full time watercolorist since 1981. As an avid fly fisherman and fly tier, the streams and rivers of northeast Pennsylvania are a frequent theme in his work. Ed won the 1998 Pennsylvania Trout Stamp competition with a watercolor of the West Branch of the Delaware River in Wayne County.
Ed studied at Seton Hall University in 1976 with Professor Edwinn Havas. He has had numerous one person exhibits including the University of Scranton in Scranton, PA; Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, PA; College Misericoridia, Dallas, PA; The Dorflinger Museum, White Mills, PA; and the Skytop Lodge in Skytop, PA.
His work hangs in many private and corporate collections.