It’s my great pleasure to present today the first of a two-part interview with up and coming artist and longtime family friend, Ethan Markie, of Bozeman, Montana. Ethan has been one of Jake’s particularly close friends for years; they worked together for several years at the famous Bozeman Angler, have driven and fished many a mile together, and Ethan was in J&K’s wedding a few years back now.
I’ve been itching to talk to Ethan about his art work in particular; you can see more of his work on his gallery site E Markie Art here.
Before we delve into your art, please tell us a bit about yourself, your earlier life, and how you ended up in Southwest Montana.
Fishing and art make up my earliest memories in life. I was fortunate enough to have supporting parents who encouraged both time outside and creativity. Being one of three brothers all close in age, you always had a partner in crime to go exploring with. We grew up in a “rural” part of Connecticut (if there is such a thing) in a small house surrounded by state forest and trout streams. This early childhood setting definitely laid the foundation for a life full of creativity and time spent outside.
It was Spring semester as a sophomore in college when I knew I needed a change. I was craving adventure hard and Connecticut just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Fly fishing was already my biggest passion in life, skipping class often to go match the hatch on the Farmington River, or explore the tiny flows of some hidden wild trout creek. I had never been to Montana before, and thought of it as some far away paradise for a trout angler through reading about it and seeing it in the magazines. I decided right then and there that it was time to go find out for myself. That winter I drove my dad and I drove my old jeep cherokee out cross-country to get me set up in my new home – Bozeman, Montana. The plan was to finish up college and make my way back to New England. Almost ten years later, I guess you could say there was a change of plans.
Please share a bit about your art journey; when did you first feel the tug to create and how’d you get started?
I always enjoyed art studies in grade school, and continued to create both in and out of class. My brothers and I were always drawing, painting, building things out of wood, and were fortunate enough to have a lot of resources to explore creatively. The older I got, the more I started focusing in on painting. I would always have a desk set up somewhere, or an easel with a piece I was working on while in high school. Art was a neat way just to let your mind drift off and focus in on one thing. I loved to (and still do) re-create scenes inspired by recent time spent outside. Be it hunting, fishing, or just hiking around, I loved how painting a memory temporarily placed you back in that scene.
That feeling has always stuck with me through the ups and downs of my focus on art. After I moved to Montana there was a temporary gap in my passion for art. Although it still existed, there was so much more to explore and see, new rivers to fish and mountains drainages to discover that this distracted me from sitting down and painting. While finishing up college I spent my summers working what I thought were my “dream jobs”. These included a brief stint as a wilderness ranger in Colorado, a fisheries tech serving on a backcountry snorkel crew in Idaho, and a season guided anglers in Alaska.
Later on I realized these years spent living nomadically across the Rocky Mountains would serve as the new spark to light up my desire to paint again. I started painting scenes and memories from my new life away from home. It was a perfect way to help recreate these images in my head and share these moments with others. I love how painting can lead to a finished physical piece of art that can serve as a polaroid of a few seconds of memory that is burned into your mind. It is nice to sit back and stare at that finished piece and instantly be taken back to those memories and share them with others who see your work.
What inspired / prompted you to focus in on your painting work and begin to develop as a professional artist?
As I continued to rediscover my desire to paint, I just kept painting more and more. Eventually I had to figure out what to do with all the new canvases laying around a tiny apartment, so I decided to start sharing my work more publicly. About 2 years ago I started sharing a few photos of my work on private social media platforms. Sharing your art is a vulnerable feeling and quite honestly was intimidating to me. It opens you up to critique and honest public feedback. Ultimately though I believe this leads to even better work and more inspiring pieces. My goal is to get people inspired or feel a certain way similar to how that memory made me feel, and try to portray that feeling with paint and canvas. Easier said than done!
What are you most intrigued with right now in the fly fishing art world? What plans do you have on the horizon for your art?
I love exaggerated and bold colors, high contrast and saturation. To me this just makes the final piece pop. It is not meant to be accurately realistic but to me that is how I interpret the memory and focus in on what made that fish special or unique. Fish are fun to paint because each one has such unique markings and coloration. There can be so much variety even within one species.
I go in phases of what gets me jazzed to spend hours at a desk or easel and create something. Landscapes are something I hope to get better at. I mess around with other wildlife on occasion. I really like painting birds and hope to get better at that too. Time and time again though I keep coming back to fish, and more specifically trout. I like having a niche to focus on, but also don’t want to get burnt out on one species or style of painting. Currently I am really into close up interpretations of fish skin. I like working large enough to be able to use a sizable brush and show texture in the brush strokes and contrasting colors.
As for the future of E Markie Art, I am not exactly sure! But that’s ok. My hope would be that I can somehow use art to inspire others to be more connected to the outdoors in some way. I would also like to use art to give back in some way, maybe working more with local conservation groups to preserve what we have left of our outdoor environments. Recently I was fortunate enough to work with the Bitterroot Chapter of Trout Unlimited to create a unique piece used to raise money for protecting and enhancing the wild trout. I hope to form more partnerships like this in the future.
I guess if I had to sum up the future of E Markie Art I just hope I can continue to create some badass paintings that people actually want to hang up in their homes! It is neat to think about your art being displayed in a stranger’s house or in some far away place.
You’ve been working in the fly fishing industry for years, please share a little about your “day job”.
Guiding in Alaska was a turning point for me as far as “day jobs” go. My Dad always said, “Whatever you do, do something you enjoy doing for work”. This was a big part of why I moved to Montana in the first place and after experiencing the guiding world I was hooked. I love the challenge of getting someone else to catch a fish. I love showing people the river through my eyes. Sharing these amazing places trout live is a cool feeling.
In between guiding and painting I have been able to work in a few great fly shops around Bozeman. Years spent with the Bozeman Angler really built on my passion for sharing fly fishing with others. I started to grow particularly fond of introducing new anglers to the sport. Leading fly fishing 101 classes, kids’ fly fishing day camps, and getting newcomers into their first fish on a fly rod really stoked that fire within me. Fly fishing just gives us a good excuse to be outside. I hope that introducing new people into not only fly fishing, but just the outdoors in general, will hopefully lead to a stronger voice when it comes to protecting these areas in the future.
Currently I work for an amazing company called Montana Angler. We specialize in high quality fly fishing experiences both in Montana and abroad. This particular position has expanded my experiences on the water on an international scale and really helps keep the inspiration alive for my artwork. We also have a program specific to our fly shop called “30-Back” where 30% of our year end retail profits go directly back to local education and local conservation. We are currently involved with several of the grade schools in the Bozeman area, helping purchase fly fishing equipment and educational tools that will lead to a better appreciation of the outdoor world in the next generation. These morals match closely with what I hope to do with E Markie Art in the long run.
We’ll have the second part of Ethan’s interview up tomorrow.
