Marine on St. Croix painter and fishing guide Bob White spent much of his life traveling between Alaska and Argentina, but he calls the St. Croix River home now.

Fishing guide, artist — which is his day job?

For a minute, Bob White looked just like a kid, completely immersed in his boyish project.

White, a professional fishing guide and artist, was facing a wooden easel he had perched above the bow of his cream-colored drift boat that was anchored about 20 feet offshore. There were about two hours of daylight left, and, as if tired, the St. Croix River lapped lazily around the craft, the limp oars dimpling the gentle currents.

In fact, White’s hand was the only thing moving quickly — sweeping and dabbing his brush as his eyes fluttered from the bouldered banks to the silver maples above. Sky, water and splashes of green filled the canvas.

“You’ve got to make a connection with the painting,” said the man who claims he “never grew up,” paying his bills, now aptly, by means of his childhood passions: fishing and painting.

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