Kyle Rowe

Kyle Rowe was born in Alaska but grew up in rural Spokane, Washington, where he lived until moving to Maine, where he attended the University of Portland. Upon graduation in 1975, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Kyle Rowe went to work as a supervisor for a scrap metal and dismantling firm in Portland. His love of the Pacific Northwest led Kyle Rowe to leave Maine and return to Washington in 1982, where he worked at various non-art-related jobs and continued to pursue his lifelong hobby of painting fish.

An avid angler since his childhood, Kyle Rowe began working at a fish hatchery, eventually becoming the hatchery supervisor. Closer to his inspiration, Kyle Rowe entered the 1986 Washington State amateur painting contest and thereafter decided to concentrate on art professionally. Since then, he has specialized in painting underwater depictions of freshwater and saltwater game fish and in scenes of fly fishermen pursuing their obsession. Along the way, Kyle Rowe has added twenty more fishing paintings to his list of credits. His published work includes state fishing stamps and a series of limited edition prints.

Kyle Rowe is proudest of his painting, "Quiet Morning on Lake Spokane." As a child, Kyle Rowe lived not too far from Lake Spokane, and spent much of his time visiting the lake, viewing it in different seasons and from different perspectives. Inspired by the lake's solitude and serenity, he created an image depicting a sole angler on the banks of the lake, creel at his side, shortly after sunrise. "You could look at the lake every single day and never see the same thing," says Kyle Rowe.

Another one of Kyle Rowe's favorite paintings, "Quillayute River at Dusk," is his favorite for personal, and not artistic, reasons. Kyle Rowe painted this scene of the river shortly after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which left him depressed and pessimistic. Kyle Rowe recovered and considers the painting a reminder not only of one of his favorite rivers, but of what he learned about himself and the power of hope during what he considers the "darkest time" in his life.

Kyle Rowe is also an avid family man, with four children and 16 grandchildren.
"Having a family has been the greatest joy of my life" says Mr. Rowe. He made a point of sharing his two passions with his children, teaching them all to fish as well as to paint.

"I never imagined I'd be a painter," says Mr. Rowe. "You never know what people will remember from their childhood and return to when they're grown."

His lifelong experience as a fisherman defines Kyle Rowe's approach to painting game fish, he says. Mornings spent on the water allow him to study the interplay of light and space in an aquatic environment, which he tries to replicate in his work. The other challenge he faces in his paintings is making sure the fish are recognizable out of water - the way most anglers see them, he says.

Kyle Rowe doesn't expect to put away his brushes any time soon.
"It took a long time to get here but I have enjoyed every second of the journey," Mr. Rowe says. %u2028

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