Its That Time of Year!!

Its Christmas time!! What is Christmas without pulling out all of your old Christmas sweaters, ties, etc from your closet for the one month that it is okay to where green and red together. Here is one more to add to the collection.

I recently designed this holiday shirt for Harbour Surfboards. You can buy it online atwww.shopharboursurf.com for only $24.95. This shirt is only available for the holiday season so get it before it is too late!

New Painting on Copper

Finished a new painting for my buddy's dad. He really likes copper and wanted me to paint a black and white underwater scene on a spare piece he had.

11.5''x17.5'' acrylic on copper-

Bowman Hats Now In Harbour Surfboards

Bowman hats are now available at Harbour Surfboards! They are a great gift idea for the holidays and only cost $29.95. A local surf shop helping out a local artist is a good thing. Cruise down to Harbour Surfboards on Main St. in Seal Beach, Ca and check out the hats along with all the other cool gear they have for the holidays.

Reopening of the WAMSEC at Long Beach's Colorado Lagoon

The WAMSEC is the Wetlands and Marine Science Education Center located at the Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach. For those of you that do not know this education center was closed for a year and a half due to construction. This construction was due to the redirection of drainage sewers so they do not let out into the lagoon. This is a small part of a larger restoration project occurring at the Colorado Lagoon to minimize the collection of pollution in the lagoon. The big plan is to eventually connect the lagoon to marine stadium through a small waterway. This would provide much more tidal flux and circulation to help keep the lagoon clean. For more info on this good cause go towww.coloradolagoon.org.

Last Saturday the Colorado Lagoon hosted the Grand Reopening of the WAMSEC building by having a small open house, speeches by Long Beach officials, and vegetation planting along Appian Way. I was fortunate enough to be a part of this event by showing my artwork alongside photographer Timothy Dunham. Here are some pictures to recap the day:

My Work on display:

Timothy Dunham Photography:

Planting some plants:
City Officials:

New Octopus Tee @ Harbour Surfboards

I recently designed this new t-shirt for Harbour Surfboards in Seal Beach, CA. We collaborated to put a fresh spin on the already traditional and iconic Harbour triangle. To buy the new Octopus Tee stop by the legendary shop at its original birthplace right there on Main St. where its been for over 50 years. Or you can go to www.shopharboursurf.com and buy it online for only $19.95.

New Hat!

Just finished a new custom hat for my friend Jeff. He came up with the concept of showing the underwater scene beneath the barreling wave.He also told me to throw in a sea turtle thrown . So this is what I came up with for him.

Recap: 2010 La Jolla Art & Wine Festival

Here is a few pictures from this past weekend at the 2010 La Jolla Art & Wine Festival. All the preparation and hard work paid off. Sold a few hats, passed out plenty of business cards, and got a good response from the La Jolla crowd. Just want to say thanks to everyone that came out to support the event and stop by my booth, especially my good friends Jeff and Cassy who came all the way from San Luis Obispo. A special thanks to all of my family who came out and helped me set up and break down. Without your help this wouldn't have been possible.

Keep on Keeping On

These coming weeks are crunch time. There is only a couple weeks left until the 2010 La Jolla Art & Wine Festival and a lot to take care of. The stress factor has increased noticeably however it is no time to throw in the towel, just use it to wipe off the sweat and keep on keeping on. Within these last three weeks I have painted a few new pieces that will be for sale at the show. Here is the most notable:

3 panels. 24''x15'', 24''x30'', 24''x15''. Acrylic on sheet metal-

UV and water resistant (Can be displayed outside)

This Fin Has Come a Long Way

I found this fin a couple years ago while I was camping at Trails in San-O State Park. It was shoved between a few rocks that had washed up on shore and covered with tar. I took it home, rubbed it down with some baby oil, sanded it a bit, and here it is today.

The stand is a scrap piece of curly redwood from the dumpster of a local surf shop and the dried seaweed that is glued into the redwood is also from Trails at San-O.

4"x9", acrylic on fiberglass

The Other Door

This is the other door to the pair of cabinet doors I found rummaging through a neighbors trash. The painting is an embellished view of a spot I surfed while visiting Morocco in the beginning of 2009. I was with 4 other surfers, 2 guys from Brazil, a girl from Ireland, and our local Moroccan guide. We pulled over on the side of the road, peaked over the edge of this cliff, and this is what we saw. I would suggest anyone to go there, tons of right point breaks and a great culture. For more info check out Surf Moroc. I stayed there and it was a trip of a lifetime.

- 24"x18", wood panel, acrylic

The second one finished for the La Jolla Art & Wine Festival coming up on Oct. 9th-10th 2010. So far I am on track. My goal is to paint at least one painting a week before the show. As of now I am keeping up but I know once the deadline gets near it is going to get a little intense trying to get as many things done as possible. So stay posted weekly as I will be posting all of my finished work on here. Look for some larger pieces to come soon.

-24"x18"- Acrylic on wood.

This here was actually another found object from the trash that makes for a great canvas. It was an old cabinet door I found, notice the hole in the bottom where the handle used to be. This one caught my eye because I thought the raised wood around the edges would make for a great built in frame.

Rock Lobster

The first new finished piece that will be on display at the La Jolla Art and Wine Festival Oct. 9th & 10th.

- 9''x15''. Acrylic on wood. (This piece of wood was found rummaging through someone's trash!) I also glued a piece of washed up sea vegetation to the wood, which I found while beach combing trail #4 at San Onofre State Beach. This just adds another dimension to the painting making it a little more dynamic.

2010 La Jolla Art and Wine Festival

I have recently been accepted for the LJAWF Emerging Artist Scholarship. There are only 14 scholarships awarded and I was fortunate enough to receive one. The scholarship entails that I get a 10'x10' booth free of charge at the upcoming La Jolla Art and Wine Festival, October 9th and 10th. Also I get to keep 100% of the profit for any artwork I sell. This is going to be a fun weekend event to help support the funding of key programs at three area public schools: La Jolla, Torrey Pines, and Bird Rock Elementary. So if you are in the area or want to plan a weekend getaway come down to La Jolla, have a little wine and food, and check out some cool art! For more info go to www.lajollaartandwinefestival.com/index.html

Coolest 8 year old!

My Cousin Erin and her son Ian are in town this week from Indiana. I don't get to see them very often anymore so to stoke out my little cousin Ian I painted this new Octopus hat for him. He can be the coolest 8 year old back home with some California style!

Success!!!!

Quick wrap up of the 2010 Colorado Lagoon Acoustic Tidal Artwalk. It was a success!

I showed up friday morning to help set up for the event not knowing I was going to be there for 6 hours to help dig 2ft. fence post holes for the 8ft. 2x4's that were used to hang the art. But the hard work paid off because I was privileged enough to witness the empty sands of the Colorado Lagoon transform into a functioning art gallery, concert venue, and tea lounge. Both Friday and Saturday night were great. There was lots of foot traffic and interest in my pieces. I ended up selling two hats! and even traded another hat with a wood piece for a photograph from Timothy Dunham. His photos were set behind old window panes which made for a great frame and made the entire piece more dynamic. Check out all of his photography at www.timothydunhamphotography.com.

Thanks to Eric for telling Tim about my art and thanks to Tim for contacting me to be a part of this event. Also Thanks to Taylor and all of the other volunteers that helped to make this event happen. I got to meet a lot of new people including local photographer Danny Zapalac and his wife Lindsey. Super nice people and he does great work as well, see for yourself at www.dannyzapalac.com.

It was a great local gathering that I was happy to be a part of and thanks to everyone that attended to help support the artists and the Colorado Lagoon.

Colorado Lagoon Acoustic Tidal Artwalk 2010

I am going to be part of a fun event this weekend. I will be showing artwork in the Acoustic Tidal Artwalk at Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach, Friday July 9th and Saturday July 10th. To go along with showing my work I will also be selling some of my hand painted hats. There is going to be a stage with live music, a couple live painters, and a live grafitti artist. This is all to bring awareness to and support the ongoing restoration project at the lagoon. Should be a fun night and the best part is that it is all FREE. Come on down to listen to some good music and check out some local art!

See you this weekend!

Recycled Art

Making something out of nothing. This wood sculpture was a product of some scrap pieces of pine wood left over from cutting the outline for a couple hand planes. Once the outline is cut many people would think just to throw away the rest. I first see opportunity to try and make something unique. It is like a form of recycling. Instead of just putting this wood into the trash it can be recycled into a nice piece of art.

Good Gift Idea

- Forest view

My newest hat was a present to my dad for Father's Day. This is his new golf hat because the white mesh will keep his head cool in the sun and with the UV protective coat on the hat the paint will never fade.

Yet Another

Yet another handplane. This time I made it a little longer than the first pintail and added a wing in the tail, with the channels on the bottom flushing out at the wings. Hopefully to gain more hold in the barrel. This one is for another guy from Hinano Tahiti Clothing. He saw the other two I made for some guys there and wanted to give one a try for himself. So here it is, stay tuned for some feedback on how it works.

Night Dive Acceptance!

After submitting 10 pieces to the Night Dive Juried Art Show at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and waiting 2 weeks in anticipation to hear back from them, I finally received the response I was hoping for. They accepted 4 pieces of my work to be displayed in the art show!

These art the four pieces they accepted:

-Fort Point, 16x20 water based acrylic paint on canvas
- 36x45 water based acrylic paint on sheet metal
- 5'9''x20'' water based acrylic paint on fiberglass
- 5'6''x21 1/2'' oil paint on fiberglass

The Night Dive Event at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific will be on June 25th from 7pm-10pm. Besides my art being displayed it sounds like a cool event. There is full access to the entire aquarium, live music and a cash bar. It is 18 and over and only $11.95 for admission. To buy tickets and for more info go to http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/newsevents/eventsdetail/night_dive/.

Thanks for the support!

Off To Mexico

Board #8 is now in the books.

Its been a long time coming but I finally finished up this 5'9'' Single Fin. So now its off to Mainland Mex with my friend to be put to the test. A week in Mexico with nothing but empty left hand point breaks gives me hope that the board will do just fine. I can't wait for my friend to get back to here some feedback on the board. Its funny you can try to design the board by concept and think it will work well but, at least for me, I never really know til I put it in the water. As long as it makes it the whole trip without any structural malfunctions I will be satisfied.

The final dimensions were, H5'9'' x N14 3/4" x W19 7/8" x T15 1/2" x 2 1/2"

- Bottom Close Up (Acrylic paint under the gloss coat)

- Bottom
- Deck

The Final Touches

Just finishing up the 5'9" Single Fin.

Here's one picture from the sanding coat. This was my first time using UV catalyzing resin and it works great. It allows for plenty of time during lamination which is great because i need as much time as i can get for wrapping the rails. I got all my materials from the guys at FOAM-EZ in westminister. Brad and the guys are super helpful and got plenty of tips for people new to glassing like me.



Here's another picture of the gloss coat. I am pretty please with how the board is turning out. Of course there is plenty of room for improvements but hey at least it will float.

As requested by Mckinney I painted a giant squid eating a ship on the bottom. Stay tuned for pictures of that soon.

Last one

Here is last one for the Night Dive at the Aquarium of the Pacific submission. 12"x16", acrylic on canvas

I submitted all my pieces today so now I just wait to here back to see if I made it.

Stay tuned...

Cliff

Product of a sunday afternoon and night.

16"x20" acrylic on canvas

New Hand Plane

Still smelling like resin, I just finished this hand plane for the Goozer. This one was constructed just like the previous ones. Made of pine with a single coat of polyester resin. There are a couple new modifications from the previous hand planes. I have added a small piece of neoprene to the nylon strap and beveled the back edge of the diamond tail for added comfort on your hand and forearm. This is the design I rode all winter. With the narrow point of the diamond tail it seems to work well in the barrel and its overall size (15"x7.5") makes it an easy entry into waves.

-Side view: showing the slight rocker in the nose making an easy entry for water to flow.
- Back view: shows the spooned out deck and channels on the bottom for extra hold.
-Bottom view:
-Top view: