Washington Department of Licensing has embraced a stylistic work of art in its new steelhead license plate, which became available for purchase last week.
The new license plate, which focuses on the eye and head of a steelhead trout, is an obvious departure from previous wildlife license plates that feature realistic images of animals. Derek DeYoung, the artist who created the new plate, specializes in what he calls abstract paintings of fish faces and flanks, as well as whole fish. The original steelhead painting is called “Abstract Steelhead — Horizon Eye.”
Derek, based in Livingston, Mont., is a rare combination of expressive artist and skilled angler.
