Since I can remember, my fixation with water has been the foundation upon which I have based my lifestyle. Growing up on the North coast of South Africa, we are truly blessed with opportunities to dive, surf and fish in the Indian Ocean as well as some awesome freshwater fishing.
The creation of art has followed me through my early development which has progressed and improved simultaneously with the fishing knowledge. Mentored and molded into the guide/captain I am today by friends and family who have supported my ocean-bound career path, I used my art to record catches, places and memories both for myself and guests from my home town of Ballito (Durban) through Mozambique and now Dubai (UAE) which has linked to anglers and locations around the world.
The transition from conventional tackle to fly-fishing has also been a pivotal point in my attention to detail in the art. The finesse and detail associated with fly-fishing, coupled with the typical anglers’ mentality and appreciation for their target species influenced my take on recreating the beautiful creatures that drive us crazy!
The reach and network of the fly-family and social media has helped me immensely in growing the talent to a professional level. Following the fly-fishing conservation motion with heavy focus on catch and release makes it fitting (in my opinion) to provide an alternative to the traditional taxidermy of trophy fish and replace it with anatomically accurate recreations of their trophy on paper to be framed instead. Taking a keen interest in high quality photography on the boats and everyday life has given new perspective to the attention to detail in anatomy of the fish and perspectives. The interest in photography often opens the conversation to the painting as a further foundation to build the relationship with guests and highlight the passion for every aspect of the sport and lifestyle.
My choice of using watercolour paints almost exclusively, happened by default, whereby we were asked to do a school project years back and it was the only medium I could borrow from a mate without causing any drama! Coupled with the connection of being heavily dependent on the water to achieve the affects in my paintings, it seemed fitting that fish be painted in water too.
With the international network of courier services and stores, it makes it easy to create art for people in pretty much any location from my studio in Dubai and have it safely contained before being sent to them via door-to-door or post.
Thank you for your support and tight lines!
