Utah Guide Tim Johnson is No Slouch with a Paintbrush

“CR Cutt Reflections,” an oil painting of a Colorado River cutty from a local stillwater.
All paintings by Tim Johnson

Utah-based angler and artist, Tim Johnson is also an Orvis-endorsed fly fishing guide at Utah’s Falcon’s Ledge. But wait! There’s more: he’s a fly designer, a fly fishing instructor/adjunct professor at BYU, and a Recreation Therapist who uses fly fishing to help adolescents on the autism spectrum, veterans with PTSD, and others improve their mental health and overall quality of life. Dude should get a hobby, huh?

“Jason’s Wetness,” a watercolor based on a photo by Jason Morrison.

​When he’s not in the studio, classroom, or doing clinical work, Tim is likely to be found on the river either with clients, with his beautiful family, or alone doing “field research”: getting up-close and personal with his subject matter. He revels in both the similarities and unique differences among fish of even he same species: An orange tip on a Madison River rainbow’s dorsal fin, a particularly vibrant blue spot behind a brown’s eye, the blood-red belly and dark mustache of a spawning Colorado River cutthroat. These are things that make a fish personal to him, so that a Tim Johnson painting is not just of “a fish”… it’s a painting of “his fish.”

Click here to see more works at Tim Johnson’s website or go like his Facebook page.

“Overbrookie,” a dorsal view of Salvelinus fontinalis in watercolor.