Sportsman’s Palette Interviews Sebastián Letelier

Over the past few months, we’ve been catching up with a handful of our artists as the majority of us have been spending our days at home. We caught up with Sebastián Letelier, and were inspired to ask him a few of these questions after watching Brickhouse Media’s beautiful film on the angler and painter.

SP: I understand your father was a painter – was he also a sporting artist?

SL: Yes – my father did not have a lifetime career, but he did paint for about 15+ years I believe. He was self-taught, and for several reasons which are long to explain here he did stop.

I would describe what he created as figurative painting with a certain surrealist flair, and with some glimpses of abstraction. The artwork was pretty resourceful in terms of use of techniques… his compositions have areas drawn with ink or graphite, and others were done with oil paint over paper. He had a taste for muted colors, which was elegant, I will say. Also, he did some type of collage – he would cut some off his image and apply over another artwork. This was about the early ’70s.

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SP: You were exposed to both painting and fly fishing early in life, and both require different sets of artistic talents. Would you say one of those artistic endeavors came before the other, or did they evolve simultaneously for you?

SL: The painting was present first in my life. I recall visiting my father’s studio and seeing his artwork, reading books, and certainly visiting art galleries. In my early years I did create masks and painted them, I also did some drawing. Fishing came just a bit later when I was 8. And then I was firmly fly fishing and tying flies when I was about 12.

I certainly think to observe & appreciate both activities is crucial – they put you very close around beauty. I also believe fly fishing is one of the most aesthetic sports, and it also puts you in Nature, which we all know means you develop a sensibility, which is essential. And I don’t just mean in emotional terms, but I mean from the point of view of being awake so you are sharp. This will lead you to the possibility to be amazed by things that sometimes are easy to skip.

I can tell now as years go by, all has blended and come together to the inner self.

Certainly, as you know, besides being a Painter, I have also developed my skills as a fly tier, dedicated to tying full dressed classic salmon flies, which is another expression of the high aesthetics in fly fishing.

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SP: You’ve mentioned that you had a mentor growing up who introduced you to fly fishing, and in Ben Pierce’s video you say you ‘found your serendipity’ then – what was that like for you? Was there a specific moment or event that was particularly serendipitous?

SL: Well I had already started to fly fish and tie flies when I met him. A few events led me to knock on a door, which was opened by this older man, who turned out to be a pioneer in fly fishing in Chile. His name is Adrian Dufflocq. When I met him I didn’t know who he was and what I was getting myself into – certainly a world with a different horizon for a teenager. We kept in contact through letters, due to the fact that he lived in the Lake District in the South of Chile. Later on that same year, I paid him a visit in the Springtime (this was 1993), to fish and tie flies, etcetera, and got to meet his sons.

A few years passed and in Winter of 1996 I got a phone call from one of his sons to offer me a job as a fly fishing guide in Patagonia. Being only 16 years old, that was probably the most decisive moment… since then, I’ve dedicated myself to fly fishing full-time. Since then, one thing has led to another, giving a unique lifestyle quite filled by great experiences. I have no regrets. It certainly is not all sweet, but that’s life. Feels like it’s worth the try.

These two things that happened are probably the most decisive moments related to serendipity, that I’m sharing in a very abridged way… because the story is long and goes on and on!

I should also add a third – That is the first visit to Norway in 2007 – it was full of serendipity, from how I got there, where I went, and who I met. I should say that it was remarkable to meet Odd Nerdrum as a painter. Later in 2008, I was back in Norway to live on his farm outside of Oslo and experience the opportunity to be one of his apprentices, which was very good for my painting.

To be honest, I have a feeling of constant serendipity. It never stops to amaze me. I guess as one gets so involved with what I’m doing & seeking that happens, it’s just like this exchange…. Of course, one contributes by making decisions, acting, and reacting.

Life provides uncertain, unexpected events, some called accidents. And things that also go wrong, that is her nature, and you have to learn to make the best out of it, which at the beginning of our lives, we all don’t get.

SP: In Ben Pierce’s video, you also say that you’ve found ‘your space’ in the world with fly fishing. What would you say to other people, young or old, who might be struggling to find ‘their space’ like you have done so well?

SL: First of all, finding the space is a metaphor… It is not just a physical situation, it’s in relation to the sense of belonging, daily existence, it’s a constant quest that I believe never ceases until you die.

Certainly, activities like fly fishing and painting can allow you to gain some understanding because of their nature. And lead to some contentment and balance… enable you to have a lifestyle that brings a pace less frantic so you can perceive… So far it has worked for me.

I have never felt like I fit in, and it is not good to try to fit in. I recall from very early years, it was a strange feeling, that still remains but I got used to it, while people look after belonging to some group I go the other way, my sense of individuality is strong and I protect that. I feel like having no ties is a way you can grow and I also don’t like titles – I think they are dangerous, I like to exercise free-thinking – but this certainly should not be confused with no sense of commitment and being a loose bullet.

Traveling and meeting all sorts of people is always appreciated – you can learn so much.

Well a few thoughts on the advice question, I believe that you can’t give so much advice, there is no formula, due to the fact that every reality is unique and you have to make your own mistakes. But I believe the key to surviving in anything is to never give up, life was never meant to be nice and easy! If you understand this, it would allow you to get through the hardships better. The modern concept of a high, nice, and easy life I feel is not true and is a slim favor, that creates weakness.

In terms of pursuing something in life or life itself… Experience, wit, hard work, persistence are all important but not enough – you need a driving force, a purpose that is important to identify, to find the direction, and then apply all the energy to it. Pick whatever you like, because even if you don’t achieve all and you die trying, it is way better than to have somebody picking for you and live under remorse because you didn’t try.

I would not say “done so well”, nothing is perfect, but because I started very early (Oh yes… a curious mind is good too,) I was already working in a fly shop when I was 14 years old, so it has been something of a long term… you have to put coins in the time machine!

SP: Do you have a favorite subject to paint? You have a diverse body of work, and I would like to know if there is one thing in particular (or a few things in particular) that inspire you the most to paint – for example, do you prefer to paint human figures, or a particular species of fish, or a particular body of water in Chile or elsewhere in the world? (Or none or all of the above…?)

SL: Yes, I do have a broad body of work if you consider that besides sporting paintings, I do non-sporting ones as well, there are a few things for sure!

What I paint depends on where I find myself in life – one goes through periods where life experiences inspire you to paint things that captivate my interests or the need to communicate a specific idea. Also, time dictates what to do in terms of a priority since I can’t do it all, also some paintings are laborious so I give a pause, so that when I go back to them I can see what they need and what to do with them.

Human figures and nature are great. I spend between 3 to 5 months every season in Patagonia. Spending such amount of time on the river certainly has an impact.

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So, the angling paintings have to do with a catch, a moment, or the sensation of space, or just the light and colors of specific surroundings that are so pleasant! They usually are places I visited, that bring back good memories, and I will place an angler to give an idea of a relationship between man and nature… of how small we are in this beautiful planet, which is humbling.

In the non-angling paintings, you will easily appreciate the elements that are personal – in my compositions, I use the human figure, landscapes, or animals, in a symbolic way; sometimes one element works better than the other for the purpose of communicating or in terms of pure visual aspects for a composition that pleases my view.

A human figure can be powerful when you seek psychological aspects because facial expressions and hands can say so much, but it is not an easy task. The themes of my interest are in the relation between time, mortality… fragility certainly has some burden… things that are common to human existence.

SP: If you could travel anywhere in the world to fly fish and paint, where would you choose?

SL: Well I have a few places in mind… But it’s easy for me to pick one! It would be like a dream come true actually – it is located in the land of the midnight sun… Northern Norway. I would choose Alta river, and I would paint the upper reaches where lies one of the most majestic steep canyons… Sautso, the holy grail of Atlantic salmon fishing. Every pool is named embracing amazing stories of epic battles of big fish, some lost and some landed!

It is very difficult to get there; I have tried but no luck yet, as I said, it would be a dream come true.

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SP: Who is your favorite artist (other than yourself,) dead or alive, sporting subjects or non-sporting subjects?

SL: Although I don’t have one favorite painter, I do have favorite paintings usually because they grip me, in several ways…

I will answer your question with the recognition of lifetime achievement, in this painter I see he left a great heritage to all the painters that came after him, is an Italian master Tiziano Vecellio, recognized as the painter that did contribute to oil painting – he was way ahead of his time, and certainly on the way he left some great masterpieces that I enjoy a lot, mainly his late oil paintings!

He is probably one of the best colorists because he used an extremely limited palette and achieved so much harmony, and subtle color shades. It’s patchier in many areas, without outlines, and quite ghostly or ephemeral likenesses. He was flexible, at the service of creation…. he would correct postures etcetera, with no hesitation – this was very different from the rest of his peers, who would stick to the preparative drawing/study. His paintings became very painterly, and all the baroque painters and so on did study him… that tells a lot. Two other painters have similar characteristics – Rembrandt, who made some amazing oil paintings even in his troubled life, and Odd Nerdrum, who also has made a few of my favorite pieces – I’ve studied with him. They all belong to the same lineage.

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