Nick Mayer decided to pursue his dream of making art after one too many close calls. He works out of his home in Lincoln, Vt., where he is known for his scientifically accurate drawings of aquatic life. In his spare time he’s on the water casting for toothy-giants like this Northern Pike.
NICK MAYER’S
ARTFUL ANGLING
T
BY ELSIE LYNN PARINI
here’s something fishy about a scientist who’s also an artist, isn’t there? Especially when he’s a marine biologist. Well, that’s exactly what Nick Mayer is. He’s a bona fide science guy, with undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology from Brown University to prove it. And two Vermont studios, one in Bristol and the other in his Lincoln home, where he creates
his pencil and watercolor, lifelike illustrations of aquatic life. So which is he? Scientist or artist? The short answer is both. “I use my biology background to inform my artwork, for sure,” he said during a recent interview. “Ever since I was a kid growing up in Rhode Island, I’ve been interested in all things aquatic… I started off catching turtles — the kids would call me the ‘turtle man’
— then I got into fishing, then fly fishing, scuba diving and pretty much anything to do with the water.”
Choosing to study biology seemed natural to Mayer, who would rather wear hip boots than a suit any day. His biology track took him to a transfer program at Duke University that really sparked his interest in marine biology. And from there his career as a marine biologist took off. Mayer’s worked for the fish and game departments in Alaska
(doing research on how the Exxon Valdez oil spill affected the sockeye salmon on Kodiak Island) and Oregon (where he did radio tracking of steelhead to learn more about their habitat restoration.) He’s also worked for the Caribbean Conservation Corporation in Costa Rica, and did marine biology education in the Florida Keys. After his research concluded in Alaska, he got a job on a commercial fishing boat. Now, Mayer had worked on a couple commercial boats in Rhode Island
(See Mayer, Page 16) 2020 LCI LCI Fishing Fishing Derby Derby — — 15 15 2020
