The Alaskan Palette

Fishing is an integral inspiration to my work. My first piece that caused me to become passionate about painting, was a salmon with one of my Dad’s flies attached to the canvas. I grew up fishing with my Dad from a young age, and he taught me the art of fly fishing, how to tie flies and how to have a deep appreciation for salmon and fishing. Every summer we visit Yakutat, Alaska to fly fish a thriving and abundantley populated river for sockeye. The entire river is a little less than twenty miles long and has an access point near where the river meets the sea. Groups of sockeye mixed with small trickle of dolly varden and king salmon move up the river, hiding in deep spots covered by tree leaves offering protection and shade. The area is full of brown bears, black bears and moose with an abundance of salmonberries and blueberries. The beaches of Yakutat stretch long across the coast and are covered in soft sand. Sometimes, when it is warm enough, it is comparable to a California beach — minus the people. The open ocean sends forth surf-worthy waves and allowing for optimal surfing. Fly fishing days consist of fishing early morning to noon, taking a lunch and nap break and then fishing until dusk.

Sockeye are no easy feat. As a result of heading up the river to spawn, they are not adamant about eating and are quite ignorant of anything that resembles food. It can be difficult to catch them without snagging, however, sometimes one will crush your fly — and then it is game on. Sometimes it can be the switch of a fly from red to green or the turn of the tide with a fresh sweep of active and agressive sockeye from the salt that will result in a battle between river and land.

Nothing tastes better than a hard earned salmon. Rod time is about 3-4 hours, the weather can be dreary causing fingers and toes to become weathered. However, when the bite is on and the fight begins, the rush of adrenaline makes it all worth it. On the river, time passes as swiftly as the river flows by. There is no hunger or thirst. There is only the following mantra that runs through your head — strip the line in, press the index finger, tilt the rod back and repeat— it is meditative. Each splash, each churn, each green dash below the surface causes a re-direction of the fly tip. Once it hits the water, lying in a straight line across the surface, it begans to move with the current and sink below the surface. There is a sweet spot in the amount of time to let it sink, before you ever so slowly begin to strip the line in. But when the day is over, and your soggy wool socks are drying and fresh fleece clothes are put on, the thought of a freshly smoked or grilled salmon fillet is mouthwatering.

Fishing has continued to inspire most of my painting, as the colors, landscape and sense of tranquility are ever present. Salmon are some of the most beautiful creatures on earth, sporting an aqua-marine green beneath the surface and a flashing brilliant silver once landed. The rivers and surrounding scenery has also served as a present inspiration for my work.

Fly fishing has taught me patience, gratitude and appreciation towards salmon and Alaska’s pristine rivers. Each river hosts a densly populated and well-preserved ecosystem. Unfortunately, Alaska is a sanctuary to some of the last pristine salmon runs, fisheries and clean rivers. I would urge everyone to fight to protect these precious eco-systems before they become overfished, polluted and destroyed.