Fd: How did Art and Fly Fishing get together in your life? How were your beginnings in these two different fields?
MS: All my life I have fished from a boat because my father loved fishing and always owned a boat. I moved to California in 1968 and started stream fishing with a spinning rod & reel and loved it. In the 1970's I was a full time artist on my own and doing art shows all across the country. On one trip I was the guest of honor at the Steamboat Inn restaurant and fly fishing store along the Umpqua outside of Roseburg, Oregon. The owner was interested in trading Fly Fishing equipment for some of my artwork, and I became hooked on fly fishing. All the time I have painted I have studied how to paint water and I felt that I could use the fly fishing theme to achieve my goal of painting the different looks and types of water.
Fd: What kind of techniques do you apply? How is your process?MS: I normally start with small value sketches and sometimes a color sketch. I work a lot with Photographs, especially when doing a Fly fishing piece. The first thing is getting a feeling for the time of day and the weather, and the last thing is to put in the fisherman or woman.
Fd: Is there a particular message or feeling you want to convey through your works?
MS: What it feels like to be there, normally alone with nature.
MS: In the past few years, my knees have given out so I can only fish where I can feel safe and not afraid of falling. High altitudes are out and I have to be very careful and have someone with me all the time if I am fishing.
Fd: What advice would you give to the starting artists that want to get into the fly-fishing world?
MS: First of all, get into Fly Fishing only because you love it, learn what to do; then if you find a way to express the feelings you have as you fish, paint those feelings.
You can find more about Morten’s great artwork at www.mortenesolberg.com
