ICAST 2026 Supports Veterans Through Knot Lucky Foundation
Some traditions are worth looking forward to every year.
For the past four years, if you’ve walked through the Star brite, Star Tron, and Project SeaSafe booth at ICAST, you’ve probably noticed a crowd gathered around one giant canvas. That’s where marine artists Derek Redwine and Dennis Friel turn a blank piece of canvas into a work of art right in front of thousands of anglers. What started as a way to draw people into the booth has grown into one of the show’s coolest traditions.
But this isn’t just about painting fish.
Every year, the artwork tells a different story and raises money for a cause that makes a real difference. Previous paintings have helped support marine conservation, habitat restoration, and Project SeaSafe initiatives. This year, however, the tradition takes on an entirely new meaning.
The 2026 live painting will benefit the Knot Lucky Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping veterans and active-duty military members reconnect through fishing, the outdoors, and the healing power of being on the water.
At the heart of this year’s project is retired 1st Ranger Battalion Sergeant Jimmy Armel.
After surviving six combat deployments and suffering a career-ending traumatic brain injury, Jimmy found a new purpose through fishing. Rather than keeping that experience to himself, he created the Knot Lucky Foundation to give other veterans the same opportunity to heal, reconnect, and build lifelong friendships on the water.
If you haven’t heard Jimmy’s story yet, it’s worth your time. His conversation with Dennis Friel on the Project SeaSafe Podcast is one of those interviews that sticks with you long after it’s over.
Like every painting Derek and Dennis have created together, this one starts long before the doors open at ICAST.
For weeks leading up to the show, ideas are traded back and forth until the vision comes together. Derek develops the original artwork while Dennis uses virtual reality technology to project the design onto the oversized canvas with incredible precision. By the time ICAST begins, the foundation is in place and the live painting can begin.
This year’s subject is one of the ocean’s most iconic predators—a powerful Great White Shark.
But before a single brushstroke touches the canvas, Jimmy will do something that gives the artwork a meaning few people will ever see.
Hidden beneath the paint, he will write the names of Great White sharks he has tagged in honor of fallen service members. Those names will remain forever sealed beneath the finished painting, becoming a permanent tribute woven into the artwork itself.
It’s a powerful reminder that some stories don’t need to be visible to be felt.
Throughout the week at ICAST, visitors are encouraged to stop by Booth #2220 to watch the painting evolve in real time, meet Derek Redwine, Dennis Friel, and Jimmy Armel, and learn more about both Project SeaSafe and the Knot Lucky Foundation.
When the painting is complete, it won’t simply become another piece of marine art hanging on someone’s wall.
It will be auctioned, with proceeds going directly to the Knot Lucky Foundation. Every dollar raised helps provide fishing trips, outdoor experiences, and opportunities for veterans and active-duty service members to reconnect with one another, find purpose beyond military service, and discover that they don’t have to navigate life alone.
That’s what makes this project special.
Sure, you’ll see an incredible Great White Shark take shape over the course of the show. But the real masterpiece isn’t the paint on the canvas—it’s the impact the finished piece will have long after ICAST ends.
If you’re walking the show floor this week, make it a point to stop by Booth #2220. Watch the painting come alive. Meet the people behind it. Learn Jimmy’s story. Maybe even place a bid when the auction begins.
Because sometimes the biggest catch isn’t a fish at all—it’s the chance to help someone find their way back to the water.
If you’re attending ICAST 2026, stop by the Star brite, Star Tron, and Project SeaSafe Booth (#2220) to watch the artwork come to life, meet Jimmy Armel, Derek Redwine, and Dennis Friel, and learn how the Knot Lucky Foundation is changing lives through fishing. Can’t make the show? Follow the project, share its mission, and help support the veterans who continue serving long after their military careers have ended.
Learn more at Project SeaSafe https://www.projectseasafe.
and
Knot Lucky – Healing and empowering veterans in their fight against PTSD through fishing and fellowship https://knotlucky.org/