Member Spotlight Monday: Sam Caldwell

As OWAA celebrates its 90th birthday in 2017, we’re featuring one OWAA member per week in our “Member Spotlight Monday.” Today, we put the spotlight on Sam Caldwell!

1. Where were you born?
   Oklahoma City. My mother was young and frightened, and I wanted to be with her and my twin brother.
2. Where do you call home now?
   Texas, in general. Houston, mostly.
3. What’s your nickname?
   Sam.
4. What’s your favorite outdoor activity?
   Fishing anywhere.
5. What is your profession/connection with outdoors communication?
   Artist, writer, editor.
6. Why did you choose to become an outdoor communicator?
   Writing stories brought my art along as illustrations.
7. What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
   Being named Texas State Artist by the Texas Legislature.
8. What three words would your friends use to describe you?
   Lazy, humorous, generous.
9. What is the best piece of advice you have received as an outdoor communicator?
   Learn the basics of design, then enjoy working every day.
10. When you head for the Great Outdoors, what is the one thing you do not leave home without?
    My four-piece 8-weight fly rod.
11. What would you do if you won the lottery?
    Take my Spey rod (14-weight) to the River Dee in Scotland for a month and perfect my D-stroke, while catching maybe one salmon, just after I return from Alaska, where I will have got tired of taking 10 salmon in a morning. Then, do a two-week mule packing trip in Wyoming with Hermann Brune.
12. Who do you most admire in your life and why?
    Norman Rockwell, because he forced the so-called ‘fine art’ critics to understand the difference between fine art and illustration. And, was a superb human being.
13. What was the last movie you saw?
    No Country For Old Men.
14. What are your top three favorite books?
    John Grave’s “Goodbye To A River,”Cormac McCarthy’s  “The Crossing,” and McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian.”
15. Can you juggle?
    Only deadlines for promised paintings.
16. What is your favorite dessert?
    Chocolate pie with chocolate ice cream, covered with chocolate syrup.
17. If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be?
    Realizing my errors almost as soon as  I made them.
18. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
    Answering a questionnaire from Colleen Miniuk-Sperry about my secret to being a great fisherman and fairly good artist at 90 years of age.
19. What is your favorite inspirational quote?
    “Don’t whine.”
20. What do you like best about OWAA?
    Sharing knowledge and experiences from folks of all walks of life, especially people like Paul “Sidecast” Vang, Jim Foster, Marty Malin, Lefty Kreh and Guy Coheleach. Plus, bragging about being a 33-year member of OWAA.

Thank you, Sam, for not only your answers to our questions, but also for being valued part of “The Voice of the Outdoors” for 33 years!

If you are an OWAA member and wish to be featured in a future Member Spotlight Monday, send your answers to the above questions and a photograph of yourself enjoying the outdoors (in JPG format sized for the web) to Colleen Miniuk-Sperry at cms@owaa-oldsite.birchbarkmedia.com.

Not a member? Check us out at http://www.owaa-oldsite.birchbarkmedia.com.