Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Goione. Them and their team share their story with us below:
If you’ve fished more than one billfish tournament in your life chances are you’ve seen our featured artist and his work. Dare we say that Steve Goione has become a fixture on the billfish circuit not only as an artist of note but as an accomplished angler and tournament team member. Over the years, his work has appeared in every fishing magazine worth its salt, has been featured at tournaments literally all over the world and his personalized boat commissions are cherished by owners and boat builders alike. He has a way of capturing boats that never leaves you wondering who built it.
Sport fishermen—especially pelagic warriors who favor billfish, tuna, and wahoo—have a distinct preference in things artistic. It tends to center on their favorite creatures of the deep and the boats they use to pursue them, and Steve is a master at capturing both in his own inimitable style. Their special tastes spawned a school loosely defined as “marine art” and a small stable of artist who share their passion depict scenes that catch their eye. Steve is at the top of this field not only because of his unique perspective on the scenes that bluewater anglers relish, but because he shares their passion for the sport and the pageantry that surrounds it.
Steve has a unique talent for capturing pelagic game fish in inspiring ways using techniques he has honed through years of practice and the vision he has acquired after hundreds of days on the water in tournament situations. But fish are only part of the equation; there is the other critical component that is a source of pride to most competitors, the chariots they ride into battle. The lines of each tournament fishing boat are unique. The soft curve of the sheer, sleek and sensual, the blending of graceful form with purposeful function. And while there are many highly accomplished marine artists providing images of the fish we catch no one captures the essence of the boats more accurately or in such painstakingly evident detail than Steve! His commissioned boat artworks are prized by those lucky enough to have one and viewed with awe by those who see them.
The realism in each image is uncanny and the pen and ink technique he uses brings out the fine detail in each image. As his technique evolved Steve started combining the sharp detail of stippling with watercolors into a signature style that is uniquely his own. His eye for detail, his innate understanding of boats and fish, and his flare for composition give each boat commission an individuality others simply cannot achieve.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Good question… early struggles are the same as may creative business, establishing business relationships as a new illustrator on the seen (which is key), establishing quality vendor relationships that you can trust and rely on, finding enough time in the day to illustrate, promote and market. Developing a “thicker skin” when you run across the people with negative feedback to your work… which is very valuable as you tend to learn more from your mistakes then your successes!
It’s certainly been a journey with more ups than downs, but it’s the journey that shapes you and makes you better!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Commissioned Yacht Illustration
Steve is an amazing talent capable of capturing pelagic game fish in inspiring ways… Tournament boats are every bit as beautiful as the fish they pursue and no one renders images of boats more accurately, more tastefully, and with more excitement than Steve! Every boat is unique. The soft curve of the sheer sleek and sensual, the blending of graceful form with purposeful function, the technical wizardry of towers and electronics arrays require the steady hand of a highly accomplished marine artists and Steve is, quite simply, the best. His commissioned boat artworks are prized by those lucky enough to have them and viewed with awe by those who see them.
Billfish Tournaments
If you’ve fished more than one billfish tournament in your life chances are you’ve seen Steve and his work. Dare we say that Steve Goione has become a fixture on the billfish circuit not only as an artist of note but as an accomplished angler and tournament team member. Over the years, his work has appeared in every fishing magazine worth its salt, has been featured at tournaments literally all over the world. Steve works months in advance with tournament directors and marketing vice presidents from resorts to develop illustrations that will promote and market the billfish event and then also be used for awards, apparel, social media promotions, etc. Steve has worked and displayed in Kona, Hawaii, Catalina Island, Cabo San Lucas, the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Bahamas, and up and down the East Coast from Maine to Key West.
Sets Steve Apart
His unique style of pen & ink and watercolor allows him to create the finest of details in his work that has a unique “look” that is identifiable even without his signature on his illustration work. Although very time-consuming it sets Steve apart from other illustrators. Also a 6 year career in the advertising world as a graphic designer showed Steve the business side of being a marine wildlife artist and allows him to work with corporations and charities in a more corporate setting and atmosphere and understanding the pressures of deadlines, working with a team and not only representing himself but the business’s that commission him
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Hard to say things change so quickly these days. The fishing industry is a luxury industry and is one of the first affected by economic downturns, rising oil and fuel prices, and the world becoming more unstable as we do travel the world to fish.
Technology is also a major factor in our industry, bigger, faster boats allow you to travel further. Electronics on boats that allow you to see more with sonar changes the playing field in tournaments. Who can afford the $150,000 system on their boat and who cannot.
The there’s the state of the oceans, warming and pollution, and over-fishing by commercial fleets depleting the fish stocks…!!
The only guarantee is that there will be big shifts, there will be changes that your going t have to adapt and shift with!
Contact Info:
- Email: stevegoione@ec.rr.com
- Website: stevetgoioneprints.com
- Instagram: stevetgoione
- Facebook: Steve Goione Marine Artist
Image Credits
Los Suenos Resort & Marina
