Ryan Smith is an attorney by day, and artist by night. Ryan creates beautiful bronze fish and wildlife sculptures. Ryan grew up in the deserts of Arizona, and that’s like where his love of bronze art began. He now resides in Maryland with his wife and two children.
Ryan is an avid fly angler, first picking up a rod and reel at the age of ten. He can be found fishing out West or the Chesapeake Bay whenever possible.
Where are you from and how does that affect your work, or when did you first become interested in art?
I grew up in Arizona and have been drawing for as long as I can remember. Several years ago, I started sculpting wood and bronze sculptures.
I think my Arizona roots give my art a western feel, even though I currently live in Maryland.
What about fishing inspires you as an artist? / Why fish? What inspired your work within the fishing industry?
I think trout are one of the prettiest creatures out there, whether it is a brown, a rainbow, a cutthroat, or a brook trout. If you can capture some of that beauty, you are half-way there.
Do you have an art ritual of sorts? And,are there any art trends currently inspire your work?
No ritual per se, other than letting my family know that I will be disappearing for a few hours at a time to work on a sculpture.
I am really intrigued with the idea of negative space in my sculptures and am working to incorporate that more into my pieces. The negative space makes the sculpture more interesting to look at and lets others fill in some of the details with their imagination.
What type of art/medium do you create?
I began creating wood carvings of trout and salmon, but now work exclusively in bronze.
How long have you been practicing in this medium?
I have only been doing the bronzes for a couple of years.
How has your style changed over time?
When I first began creating art, I was solely creating wood carvings. I felt that only creating wood carvings limited my creativity a bit, so I have now opted to switch to bronze sculptures. Within the medium of bronze, I have also moved from making relatively realistic sculptures to exercising some artistic freedom to incorporate negative space.
How do you manage your work-life balance as an artist? / Is your artwork a full-time job, or do you have a daily gig too?
For now, it is part-time. I do have a daily gig. I am an attorney, and work with Indian tribes to secure their water rights and put those water rights to use. I find that sculpting is a great way for me to relax and use different parts of my brain than I do in my other profession.
Favorite fish to paint/draw/create?
It is probably a tie between a brown trout and a brook trout.
Most artfully inspiring place you have fished?
I would probably have say, the Flathead River in Montana. It was definitely not the best fishing, but it was by far one of the most beautiful rivers I have fished.
What was your first fishing experience?
From what I can remember, it is all a blur at this point, but I believe it was fishing with my dad in Northern Arizona outside of Flagstaff, Arizona at Mormon Lake.
When did you begin fishing?
Sometime before I was 10 years old.
What is it that draws you to fishing and creating art around the sport?
I am drawn to flyfishing for a number of reasons, namely the places it takes you. It is also one of the few opportunities to be completely immersed in what you are doing with little to no distractions – other than hopefully catching a fish.
Ultimately, I love to fly fish, but cannot get out as much as I would like. The sculpting allows me to think about fishing when I am not able to actually get out fishing.
Who is your biggest inspiration/mentor both in art and personally? How did they impact your life?
My biggest mentor from an art perspective is Tom Dean, a Montana based artist who does incredible wildlife sculptures. Tom has guided me every step of the way, from technical advice to how to market my own work.
My biggest inspiration in life is my wife and our two children.
Do you listen to anything when you are creating art? If so, what?
Sometimes nothing, which is interesting now that I think about it, because you can literally be sitting in silence for several hours at a time. It is one of the few times in my life where I get to do that.
Where can people find your artwork? (Retail store, online store, social media handles, etc)
Webpage: www.ryansmithsculptures.com
Instagram: @reel_carvings
