Fishing is a bonding train—it will get us open air and forges connections with our family members and the atmosphere. Matt Doyle felt that connection growing as early as age 10, when he joined his father and grandfather on bass-fishing journeys within the rivers and ponds of south-central Pennsylvania. The surging headshakes of smallmouth bass have been sufficient to maintain him returning to the water’s edge for years to come back and, finally, it led him to a profession in advantageous artwork.
Doyle has been drawing since he was sufficiently old to select up a pencil. His early illustrations have been primarily sketches of his favourite comic-book characters and superheroes, however that started to vary as his ardour for the outside, shared by his father and grandfather, continued to develop. Fishing and searching have been engrained of their way of life, so Doyle’s early publicity to the woods and water drastically influenced his work on paper. He continuously accompanied them on fishing journeys to the Raystown Department of the Juniata River—a 123-mile stretch of winding water that connects Raystown Lake with the higher Juniata River. There, he was first launched to smallmouth bass, his all-time favourite fish to focus on.

As he waded additional into the world of fishing and, extra particularly, bass fishing, Doyle’s creative expertise naturally merged along with his rising curiosity within the sport. “I used to chop photographs out of bass-fishing magazines and recreate them myself,” stated Doyle. “At the moment, drawing with coloured pencils was the extent of my work.” Nonetheless, he discovered his approach into portray in 2005 when he selected to review advantageous arts on the Pennsylvania School of Artwork and Design.
“I attempted to color in highschool, and I simply didn’t perceive or grasp it,” stated Doyle. “In school, although, I used to be required to take a course that taught me its fundamentals. Studying to color was my dream and I began to get the hold of it, in order that was a really comfortable time for me.” The method started with initiatives that centered on nonetheless imagery utilizing acrylic paint, however as soon as Doyle obtained to dabble in oil portray, he caught with it and by no means appeared again. “Acrylic paint dries in a short time whereas oil-based paint takes a while to dry, so with oil portray, I can extra simply mix colours collectively to realize the specified impact,” stated Doyle. Whether or not it’s the water’s greenish-blue hue or the shadow of a lunging largemouth, oil portray supplied Doyle with artistic freedom and inspired him to get experimental.

Lighting is a crucial factor with regards to portray practical depictions of largemouth and smallmouth bass, particularly in underwater settings, so Doyle references his personal photographs to assist him breathe life into every bit. “I take photos of the whole lot I catch in order that I can revisit a photograph and see the place shadows fall or the place colours and patterns are extra pronounced,” he stated. “The enjoyable factor about portray underwater bass is that I might be imaginative in constructing my very own scene, which supplies me the possibility to make my work look completely different and stand out. I actually take pleasure in bringing these underwater landscapes to life.” His piece titled “Awaiting Ambush” is a spectacular instance of how he portrays a largemouth bass, warming itself beneath pure daylight from a subsurface perspective, with an imaginative but practical backdrop.

In 2009, Doyle graduated with a bachelor’s diploma in advantageous arts and began coming into bass-fishing tournaments. “I used to be in my 20s and had this previous 1987 Bayliner, so we’d mess around in it throughout tournaments and often wound up ending someplace within the center,” he stated. Round that point, he was additionally molding and promoting his personal customized soft-plastic baits utilizing Popsicle sticks and Sculpey—a polymer clay that led to the delivery of the 3-inch paddletail he deemed “The Zipper.”

“I’m a giant tender plastics man,” stated Doyle. “I like swimbaits as a result of they’re straightforward to make use of and I take pleasure in fishing open water the place they excel in catching smallmouth and largemouth bass.” Sadly, his bait-making didn’t final. Doyle married his spouse, Janna, in 2013 and moved to North Dakota for seven years, and whereas he got here to like smallmouth bass fishing on the market, his bait-making resulted in 2016 when it got here time to resolve on a profession path. “It was very rewarding to see the photographs of massive fish that individuals have been catching on my lures,” Doyle stated. However, finally, his ardour for creating lifelike renderings of bass, walleye, pike, and wildlife outweighed his knack for making high quality bass baits.
After seven years in North Dakota, Doyle and his spouse returned to south-central Pennsylvania to be nearer to his household. Doyle had already achieved his objective of turning into an esteemed fish and wildlife artist, however his subsequent objective was to have his paintings featured in an outside journal like those he used to chop photos from for reference in his childhood illustrations. In 2024, that dream got here true two instances over when his work have been revealed on the January and Could covers of Fur-Fish-Sport journal. “My profession objective up till final yr was to get into {a magazine}. Now I’ve had two covers and I’m being featured in yours,” Doyle chuckled. In March 2024, he was even awarded “Wildlife Artist of the 12 months” by the Pennsylvania Taxidermy Affiliation.

When requested what’s subsequent or the place he’d like his profession to go from right here, Doyle stated, “My desires have already come to fruition. It’s liberating to work for myself, make my very own schedule, and be acknowledged by outside publications.” He at present works out of his residence studio and travels to craft and commerce reveals to exhibit his artwork, all whereas elevating two children and discovering sufficient time to return to the water along with his 4-year-old, introducing him to fishing, identical to his father and grandfather did for him.
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