In March, we partnered with Casey Underwood, an innovative artist from Seattle, WA, to bring you his creative perspective on an "otherwise familiar subject matter."
I moved around a lot between California and Colorado when I was a kid, but for the most part, I did most of my growing up in Santa Barbara, CA. These days, my wife and I live in Seattle, WA although we are relocating to Montana this summer.
My dad taught me to fly fish when I was in Elementary School. He taught me on the rivers of the Eastern Sierra Nevadas, which is a place I returned to often as I got older. I remember it took me a really long time to actually connect with a fish on a fly rod, but I absolutely fell in love with every aspect of it. As I got older, I began to tie flies and become more and more engulfed in every aspect of what fly fishing has to offer.
When I first started fly fishing, I would exclusively fish dry flies. That's what I learned and it was the only thing I knew. One day, I tied on a big streamer before I ever even knew what a streamer was or knew how to fish sub-surface flies in general. Almost as soon as that streamer hit the water a trout exploded on it. I can remember being very confused as to what happened and how it happened, and honestly, it probably gave me a very unrealistic idea of how to fish sub-surface patterns.
For the past three years, I have been focusing all of my art making efforts towards fly fishing and the fly fishing industry overall. So, with that being said, my favorite thing to draw as of late would definitely have to be fish or rivers. My work is constantly progressing and evolving, and it is extremely fascinating as the artist to take a step back and look at work you did three years ago in comparison to what you are doing now. There is always a common thread running through it, and it is almost always moving in a more mature, and intricate direction.
“My work is constantly progressing and evolving, and it is extremely fascinating as the artist to take a step back and look at work you did three years ago in comparison to what you are doing now.”
Not only does Casey offer decals of his artwork, he often has limited edition illustrations that are handdrawn pieces, which are "scanned and then digitally painted with layers of line and color."
There are a number of historical artists who have greatly inspired my artwork over time. Some of those names include Mark Rothko, Donald Judd, and Rene Magritte. Overall though, I would say its the unique and subtle characteristics of forms and perspectives I encounter in nature that are the main source of inspiration for my work; such as the proportions of a particularly noteworthy trout, the shape of a river or the vast depth of a sky.
It usually takes about 12 hours to finish a piece, but I am usually working on many pieces at one time. Those hours get divided amongst many different artworks. When I finish a piece, I usually am very close to finishing multiple pieces, which I enjoy because then I am able to release multiple artworks to the public, rather than just one.
Each of Casey's artwork is hand drawn with various shades and layers of a pen then finished off with a hand title and signature.
My only plans as of now are to continue to pour everything I have into art making for this industry. This year, I am hoping to ramp up my production of original artworks. Originals are really the heart and soul of what I love to do as an artist and it's important to me that I always have originals to offer.
I'm also hoping to design and relate some apparel thought my website in the coming months as well! Between art making, packaging, shipping and all that comes with running a business, I am very, very busy. However, I love every minute of it and I'm just so thankful that its what I currently get to do for a living.
