MARTIN SIMPSON
Fine Art Prints
“Truly second to none.” Joe Daniel, Wild on the Fly magazine
About Martin
Martin always had an artistic gift, and when he was a teenager he discovered Trout Fishing!
It was inevitable that he would combine his love of Trout with his art, and in his early twenties he began to paint portraits of Trout on commission.
Martin's work hangs in some of New Zealand's best Fishing Lodges, and in private collections around the world.
Martin was a contributing artist and a regular writer for New Zealand's "Fish & Game" magazine. He also contributed some illustrations for "Fly Fisherman" magazine in the United States.
This is one of Martin's paintings on the cover of "Fish & Game."
Martin wrote "Everything about fishing is beautiful - the places fish live are beautiful, the equipment is beautiful, the unfurling of a good cast is beautiful, and the fish themselves are beautiful."
Martin endeavoured to capture some of this beauty in his paintings.
See the Gallery page for some examples of his magnificent work. And the Prints page to buy copies.
Beauty...
...and the Beast.
This was Martin's fish of a lifetime -
a 16 pound wild New Zealand Brown Trout, caught and released in January 2015.
Martin affectionately named him 'Brutus.'
Martin Simpson, artist, illustrator, and mad keen trout fisherman, lived with his wife Penny and children Katy and Matthew near New Zealand’s Tararua Forest Park, with its bush-clad mountains, crystal clear waters, and beautiful Brown Trout.
Until cancer took his life.
In Memory of Martin
I must go out to the hills again,
to the beautiful rivers and sky,
And all I ask is a gin-clear pool
and a fly rod with a fly;
And a spotted trout, and a gentle sip,
and the jewel in my hands gasping,
And a gentle release to its watery home,
and the summer cicadas rasping.
I must go out to the hills again,
to seek for treasures unseen,
With each bend in the river revealing
places no one has been;
And all I ask is a clear cold stream,
and free access to the wild,
To pursue my dreams,
which have been with me
since I was a child.
I must go out to the hills again,
where the water runs fast and cold,
Over rocks of varying colours,
past trees majestic, and old.
And all I ask is a friend to come,
and share with me pleasures anew,
As we walk, and talk, and experience moments
that will be, one day, too few.
By Penny Simpson
Inspired by “Sea Fever” by John Masefield
