Mike Stidham (b. 1954)
A Lone Single - Bonefish on a Fly, 2023
signed "M. Stidham" lower left
oil on linen on board, 24 by 36 in.

Mike Stidham spent his early years in Palm Desert, California, where he dreamed of becoming a desert painter. As a young teen, he began trout fishing in Colorado, selling his early watercolors through local fly shops, and he worked as a fishing guide in Idaho. Among his honors and accomplishments, in 1992 the artist produced the Saltwater Sportfishing Stamp for Texas and, for a time, held the IGFA record for a hammerhead shark taken on a fly rod. He says, “To me the painting is about the sense of place, the feeling of being there, the various colors of the rocks and rhythm and movement of the gravel bed.” Today, Stidham paints from his Sandy, Utah, studio as well as on the many fishing trips he takes to see, study, and pursue his subjects in their natural environment.

Literature: Norman Kolpas, “Artist Spotlight: Mike Stidham,” Western Art and Architecture, December 2022-January 2023.

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