Paul Vecsei: Artistic Skills Down to a Science

Paul Vecsei - Artistic Skills Down to a Science

Paul Vecsei is a Canadian fisheries biologist and fly fisherman, who has turned his passion for wild fish species into a way of life – both as a professional in the field and as an avid artist. Having specialized in scientific illustrations of fish species, Paul has documented fish in painstaking detail for more than two decades, and over the years he’s illustrated hundreds of different endemic fish species, sub-species and variations. To put things in perspective, Paul has done more than 100 illustrations of brown trout alone.

Full Name: Paul Vecsei Born: 1966 Home Turf: Northern Canada and coastal British Columbia Occupation: Fisheries biologist, scientific Illustrator, underwater photographer Website: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fishasart/albums Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/fish_as_art/

Paul does illustrations for science projects, but it is a relatively recent development that he has started doing commissioned work for fellow fly fishermen and fish enthusiasts. And to this date, Paul is mainly preoccupied with fish illustrations in order to raise awareness of the miraculous species diversity out there and the acute need for us to conserve and protect the habitats that sustain this diversity.

Being an artist what is it about fishing and fish in general that intrigues you?

It’s simple, shape and pattern. This could be applied, just the same, to when I was a child drawing WWII aircraft, I always loved doing side views, showing the different versions of the same aircraft and how the shape and camouflage changed over the years.

It’s the same with fish. That’s why I have done over 100 Illustrations of just brown trout. Brown trout are so interesting since they can evolve into unique and bizarre creatures when allowed to evolve in isolated habitats.

Fishing has always served merely as a means to connect with these fish, to hold and photograph them, to record their appearance. And fishing is important for me because I eat fish regularly.

Can you tell us a little bit about your art, what it means to you and how it ties up with your passion for fly fishing?

My limited fly fishing ability (only use two-handed rod), does not tie in with my art. I have real pro fly fisherman who factor in more because they land some amazing fish and often send me photos that I can use for creating upcoming Illustrations.

You do extremely meticulous scientific illustrations of fish. How much time does it take you to finish, say, a life size brown trout?

People are ALWAYS asking me that question. Irrelevant. What you need to know is that I spend more time sitting, pacing around the room and just thinking about the next steps as an Illustration takes shape. So, for every 5 minutes of actual drawing, there is maybe 20 minutes or half hour of hesitation and thinking.

How do you find the peace and quiet needed to sit down and go into such incredible depth, as you do, with your artwork?

It’s not as Zen as people might think. I need background sound like radio of tv while I draw, otherwise It becomes too lonely of an experience.

You replicate the beauty in nature with a stunning degree of detail. Have you ever done more expressionist works of fish art? (Why/why not?)

No, never, remember, this is not art, It’s scientific Illustration, with a rigorous set of rules. I’m not much of an artist but I am certainly one of the best scientific fish illustrators of our time. I stick with what I’m good at.

Are there certain fish you find more interesting than others to illustrate? And are they the same fish that you like to fly fish for?

Up where I live, we are able to fly fish for inconnu, as called sheefish in Alaska and nelma in Russia. These fish make great drawing subjects. At the same time, any of the salmonids are appealing. I especially love the grotesque shapes taken on by spawning Pacific salmon. If you like dinosaurs and monsters, spawning salmon is definitely for you.

Do you see any commonalities between fly fishing and doing art?

None, I am an amateur at one and a master at the other. But the commonality, I guess, can be that it is all part of the fish world. Angling puts us on the water, right in fish habitat, and the drawings are a means of recording and describing our fish biodiversity.

Has fly fishing helped you become a better artist or vice versa?

Absolutely not.

How do you split your time between fly fishing and artwork?

I would say 99.999% drawing and 0.001% fly fishing. But I do lots of netting as a fisheries biologist so I’m always handling fish.

What are your dreams and aspirations as an artist – and as a fly fisherman?

As a scientific Illustrator, I would love to participate as a by-standard at a lodge where fly fisherman land prespawn Atlantic salmon. I want to spend a year drawing these fish and I need good photo source material. I use a fish cradle to make distortion-free photos. As a fly fisherman, anything to do with enormous brook trout in Quebec or Labrador.

If any of our readers would like to get their hands on some of your art, where do they start?

Facebook me, call me, I’m easy to reach.