"In terms of fish portraits, Nick Mayer is among the top two or three practioners in the world."  - Fred Polhemus

This is high praise from humble beginnings. From a young age Nick Mayer has always been fascinated by the natural world and especially the sea. He would beg his Mom to take him to the Natural History Museum, where a diorama of an underwater prehistoric sea scene had a lifelong impact

Growing up in Riverside Rhode Island, he caught his first Striped Bass on a fly he tied at age 14. He went on to receive a Bachelor's and Master's degree in marine biology from Brown University. While also taking some artr courses at the renowned RI School of Design. His “on-the-water” research filled his notebooks with observations and sketches.

This led to various fisheries research jobs in Alaska, Oregon, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, and ultimately the Florida Keys. All the while he filled his sketchbooks. 

While in the Florida Keys he made paintings after work in the back of a converted school bus and in 1997 he walked into The Gamefish Gallery in Key West and was shocked that they wanted to hang and sell his painting. This was a turning point in his life.

Here are the best ways to contact Nick.