Fishy art: Thomas Weiergang

Beautiful watercolored pen drawings

By Martin Joergensen

I know Thomas from my work at the Danish magazine Sportsfiskeren, which Thomas also refers to. At a recent meeting, Thomas brought a bunch of framed reproductions of his drawings, and I immediately grabbed him and lured him into participating in our Fishy Art series.

He was taken through the usual questionnaire:
How did you start working with art and with fishing related art in particular? Thomas replied:

- As a teenager I had my first article published in the Danish magazine “Sportsfiskeren”. The subject was carp fishing, and I had a watercolor published. That ignited something within me.

Thomas had been fishing for as long as he remembered, and the urge to draw pictures of fish was always there. He thinks back:
- That first article helped me in the right direction. Drawing and painting has always been a hobby of mine, and since then I have worked with different magazines as an illustrator, and I have submitted many articles since that first one on carp fishing! The illustrations have developed along the way, but now, I am just as interested in photography. I am still trying to capture the perfect image, and the search is always on, whenever I’m at the water.



So why fish and fishing, we want to know. Thomas explains:
- When I pick up the pen, I am not interested in doing a super-realistic image. I strive to make a graphic image and not a photographic reproduction of the subject I draw. That is why I like to do photography besides paintings, because when I pick up the camera, I can capture the image in another way.
He continues:
- The two genres go hand in hand for me, and the pen and camera gives me the possibility to catch every aspect of the lifestyle I love. I have always been really interested in what goes on just beneath the surface, and I find myself repeatedly rehearsing or developing the same kind of motifs. I like that process. I cannot do that with my camera – yet, but I might take up underwater photography as well! Until then, I use my pen.

Thomas works with different media and methods. He runs us through the process:
- You could say that all my works start with a black and white pen drawing, but then I like to add some colour to the image by using color pencils and watercolor. I used to make my pictures with watercolour only, but nowadays, I like mixed media.

Thomas doesn't make a living from his art and his photography, but has come to terms with that. As he says:
- I work as teacher, which is fine, because it gives me a certain degree of flexibility, so that I can get out there, when the light is right, and the fish are biting.

If you want to get your hands on Thomas' beautiful art, you may want to look at his recent prints:
- I have just made a series of exclusive prints. Actually two series; a series of four drawings and two larger ones. It’s a very limited edition, they are only made in 20 copies. I am sorry to say that people have to contact me personally, because I haven’t had the energy to set up a homepage, I guess I have been too busy fishing.

If you do contact Thomas, he can send you some material on his art. Thomas also does commissioned work.
- A lot of the work I have been doing up till now has been on the request from anglers who contact me, and ask me to do a picture about a specific fish or situation. I like that, because I can help people capture a special moment in their fishing “career”.

Thomas will also be at the Fly Festival in Kolding in Denmark in the spring of 2009, and will bring some samples of his art.

Thomas currently lives in Silkeborg, in Jutland, Denmark, which he calls the perfect spot for an angler. There are lots of different fishing opportunities within a short driving range.
- That really suits me, he says.
- Because I like many different kinds of fishing, not just fly fishing. I fish for all kinds of species, but I must admit, that fly fishing is a big favorite. The coastal fly fishing is unique, and so is the opportunities for sea trout fishing in many of our streams. A big dry fly brownie is at the top of my list as well. Either here in Denmark or abroad. These last two winters, I have spent a month in Chile, fishing for trout and salmon.

Articles by Thomas Weiergang

Take me back (Dec 2008)

All Fishy Art artists