When it comes to his artwork, Mike Sudal ’02, Illustration, literally draws from his own experience. Raised in northeast Pennsylvania, Sudal has been fishing his whole life and often logs his angling adventures in personal sketchbooks. He then channels that knowledge into his professional work, which has been featured in the likes of Field & Stream, Saltwater Sportsman, and The Wall Street Journal.
Now a Data Visualization Lead for Meta based in New York City, Sudal continues to pursue his wilderness passion. His painting, The Land of Rivers Blue & Gold (36 x 24, ink and watercolor on paper), was recently accepted into the permanent collection of the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. The piece features more than 2,600 flies, each correlating to a high-quality accessible trout stream in the lower 48 states.
A secondary version of the painting was auctioned off at this year’s Jackson Hole One Fly Tournament in Wyoming; Sudal regularly donates artwork to the event and has competed, too, for the last five years. Founded in 1986, the One Fly Tournament requires participants to fish with just one single fly throughout the entire day-long competition. “If you lose [your fly], you are out,” said Sudal. All of the One Fly proceeds go to wild trout and river conservation.
