My boss recently said to me, “You really are a simple man, aren’t you?”. I took it as a compliment.
My simplicity is a result of deliberation, not the absence of complexity. I try to act, behave and carry myself in a way that I know. I’m an artist, I’m a fly-fisherman and I’m a dude who values family, friends, and good beer. A sweet life of slow, careful movement and thought. By all means call me a simple man, especially if you sign my paycheck.
My drawing instructor from undergrad left this indelible lesson brandished into my creative process: Draw what you know. Growing up in a rural environment, a life full of cleaning fish and game, being part of nature; this became the fodder for creative output, both content and form. I draw the things I know, the things I love, the things that make me, me.
Like drawing, I’ve been fishing since I was 5. The familiar “started with a Zebco, moved onto spinning gear, then found fly fishing” holds true here, but throughout, the reasons for fishing remained the same. I love the pursuit, I like the time on the water, I like focusing on getting to know a particular river. I like the throb of a smallie on a tight line. It makes me feel connected to the world.