Fly fishing and plein air painting are similar activities for me — both require particular gear, knowledge, patience, time, and most of, all a love of the outdoors. As a native Southern Californian, I have been lucky to be able to explore, discover, and spend time in just about every part of the Golden State.
My husband, Jon, spent his childhood summers at a cabin on a lake in the Sierra National Forest. He learned to fly fish as a boy and introduced me to the sport early in our relationship. I did a watercolor of the first rainbow trout I ever caught. He ties all his own flies and taught me this, as well, though I still rely on his generosity in giving me flies he’s made.
We spend much of our summer in the central Sierra, taking care of a 100-year-old cabin and fishing on the lake from our canoe or tin boat or hiking to fish local streams. There is a wonder in standing by (or in) a stream, casting a fly, watching, and waiting.
Art has always been a part of my life, and nature has always informed my work. I received my MFA from UC Santa Barbara and began a teaching career. Now retired after 25 years as a studio art professor, I have the luxury of time to paint outdoors. I carry my gear (portable easel, paint, brushes, panels, and more) in a backpack and set up wherever something catches my attention. Often, when we would hike out someplace to fish, I would wish I had my painting stuff with me, but it was impractical to drag along my oil painting gear along with fishing gear. I put together a small kit of gouache (opaque watercolor) to take along that didn’t require much space and allowed me to do small studies on-site. While my husband continued to fish, I could take a break to paint nearby.
There is a meditative aspect to fly fishing that duplicates that of the painting process: a focus, an attention to small things, such as light changes, movement on water, shadows. Just as in painting, one needs time to think and consider, get in the flow and keep trying to figure it out.
At home in Santa Barbara, I paint outside every Monday with friends. I also paint and show with SCAPE — Southern California Artists Painting for the Environment — a group that donates half the earnings from sales of paintings to various environmental groups, such as the Gaviota Coastal Conservancy, UCSB’s Natural Reserves, and the Surfrider Foundation. I show my work regularly throughout the region and am represented by the Easton Gallery in Santa Barbara. In 2015, I had a solo show of 73 paintings, Urban Space: The Parks of Santa Barbara. In March 2016, I had another solo show of 40 small gouaches. This exhibit included many of the paintings done in the high Sierra — some during fishing trips. You can also see my work online at Ninawarnerartwork.blogspot.com.
— Nina Warner
