Surfboard Painting

The Surfboard Painting blog has moved...

2011-12-26T06:28:00.000-08:00

http://gallerysurfboards.blogspot.com/

How to pay for a surf trip

2010-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

11-15-09 Nor'easter

2009-11-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Snapped a few quick shots of Sak, Jon, and Beck out after the semi-clean-up.

Canvas Surfboards Round Tail Quad

2009-09-21T23:21:00.001-07:00

Sak doing some "validation" of my roundtail quad template

Canvas Surfboards Summer Fun

2009-09-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

I will have several new shapes at the AB3 East on Sept 26 in Harvey Cedars, NJ

Fish for Anthony

2009-09-21T22:56:00.000-07:00

Anthony is a lifeguard in Belmar. He wanted a fish for mushy summer surf. Shaped him up a Canvas Surfboards Stubby Fish with thruster/quad convertible fin set-up.

Classic Twin Keel

2009-08-31T05:05:00.000-07:00

Canvas Surfboards Classic Twin Keel... everyone should have one of these in their quiver

More stubby pics

2009-08-31T05:02:00.001-07:00

Canvas Surfboards Roundtail Quad... this one is a screamer! Perfect for semi-clean to mushy surf in the waist to head range. A great template as a daily driver in NJ.

Stubby

2009-08-28T06:17:00.001-07:00

Just in time for Danny...

5'11" x 20" x 2 1/8"

Coil-Con 2009

2009-07-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

Wake up

2009-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

She's not a morning dog...

Skimboard for Sue & Charlie

2009-07-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

06/26/09

2009-07-07T07:23:00.000-07:00

Crawled out of bed for a DP last Friday to find this waiting for me. Called Sak and gave him the report... Waist to chest high and peeling. Brought the waterproof camera, but I was more concerned with getting a good ride than a good picture. Managed to snap a few off in between rides. It was kind of a hazy morning as the sun woke up.

Round Tail Quad

2009-06-23T04:42:00.001-07:00

Shape Responsibly

2009-06-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

Epoxy Resin Swirl

2009-06-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

The Mask

2009-06-12T04:48:00.000-07:00

Alexis and I found this hand carved and painted mask in Arenal, Costa Rica.

Taste Test

2009-06-11T04:53:00.001-07:00

Happiness is a clean shaping bay

2009-06-11T04:41:00.000-07:00

After some reorganization and cleaning I'm ready to start an egg for Laura. She had so much fun learning to surf in Costa Rica she wants a board of her own to surf on the Cape.

Mmmmm Surf Taco. Hyperflex will keep you toasty through the cold northeast winters.

Trestles was saved! I miss Playa Grande and our friends at Frijoles Locos.

R.I.P. Pine Surf Shop

The egg waiting to hatch.

Time to make it messy again...

Fish Eggs

2009-06-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

These fish eggs are waiting to hatch!

Fully stocked pond.

2009 NY Fish Fry

2009-05-17T06:21:00.001-07:00

Took a drive out to Long Beach, NY yesterday to the NY Fish Fry. There were some really impressive boards there. Check out the two Skip Frye and the two Steve Lis boards. Also, some nice boards from Josh Hall and Faktion Surfboards. There was a decent wave and everyone seemed to having fun in the water trying out the different boards. I brought my two MC Bonzers, Octafish and shortboard, and an Ian Zamora HP fish.

AB3 Octafish

2009-04-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Last fall I met Malcolm Campbell at the NY Surf Film Festival. We got to talking and decided to collaborate on a board for the Anything But 3, Anything But 3 East, and NY Fish Fry. Malcolm would shape the board and send it down to Moonlight Glassing in San Marcos. I would fly out to San Diego and paint the board at Moonlight. Then I would bring it to the AB3 in Oceanside, bring it back to Jersey with me and bring it to the AB3 East and NY Fish Fry. We decided on an Octafish. Here are some pics of me working at Moonlight Glassing before the event and the finished board. I have to thank the Moonlight family, Peter, Sally, and JP for their hospitality. They are incredibly nice people and produce what it probably the best glassed boards of any shop in the world. It was an incredible experience to work with them. Peter did his trademarked Falsa Balsa airbrush spray on the bottom and rails that was so good when I first saw the board I thought it was a Firewire. We went with Marlin Bacon's bamboo 101 Fins for the side runners and center fin. They are super light with an incredible flex pattern and when you have a board with as many fins as a bonzer it pays to have light fins. The board looked amazing even before I laid my posca pens on it. I was painting so frantically to get the board done that I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here's what I got.

Blacks Beach 3-30-09

2009-04-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

While I was out in San Diego for the Anything But 3 / Fish Fry I got a chance to hit a few of my favorite surf spots. I mostly surfed up in the Leucadia and Cardiff area by Beacons and Swamis because it was close to Moonlight Glassing and I could hit it after painting all day. But I also managed to catch one head high day at Blacks Beach. Watch out for those canyon sets.

Tillie Eats Kooks

2009-03-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

My fascination with kelp has intersected with my abstract wave. I test drove this design a few days ago and it needs some modifications, but overall it turns really smooth, glides through the sections, and slides across waves with powerful momentum. Single fins are stylin' fun.

Snow Surfing

2009-03-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

So we took our annual trip up to Vermont to slide on a different state of water. Solid water surfing is good for the soul too. The view from the top inspired me to snap off a few pictures before continuing to slide down the mountain.

Mad Skilz!

2009-03-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

In the surfboard shaping industry no tool is held in higher regard than the Skil 100 electric planer. I finally got the opportunity to pick one up for myself and couldn't pass up the deal. After spending some time giving it a thorough examination, cleaning it up, and making a few minor modifications I'll be ready to put it to good use shaping a twin keel for the summer.

Hard to believe that a tool manufactured from 1930 - 1988 would still have such a significant impact 20 years after they were discontinued by Skil. Not even the Hitachi Clark Modified planer designed specifically for surfboard construction has been able to unseed this champ.

There's some kelp caught in my fin

2009-02-01T17:32:00.001-08:00

Superbowl Nachos

2009-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

Work In-Progress

2009-01-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this board for a while now. It was put on hold in order to shape the Bonzer pod . This mini log was designed for making the most of tiny summer waves, but with the way this January is going I should have shaped it for tiny winter waves.

Costa Rican Guaro

2009-01-22T08:34:00.001-08:00

Here's what it looks like to be drunk on Guaro and Imperial in Costa Rica!

Sneaker Swell???

2009-01-22T08:18:00.001-08:00

Getting desperate for waves. Some hope for a waist high sneaker swell on Saturday. 48 hr WW3 model. Cross your fingers. Strong west winds could ruin it's chances.

Zamora HP Fish with Jet Tail

2009-01-20T11:47:00.001-08:00

I just realized that I never posted this up here. When I was in San Diego in December I drove up to Malibu to meet with Ian Zamora and pick up this beauty. I was unhappy with the board I kept at my cousin's house to use when I visited and I had been wanting one a Zamora Surfboards HP Fish with Jet Tail ever since I demo'ed it at the AB3 East. Ian offered a killer deal for the holidays, so I took full advantage and decided to replace my San Diego board with this beauty. At 5'11" x 19 1/4" x 2 1/2" this board is pure magic. Ordered a little thick to be my all-around waist to head high California killer this board should suit me in just about any swell I'll be lucky enough to surf out there. Honestly this board is so good that I could probably own an HP Fish and a Step-up bonzer and be perfectly happy for life. Of course variety IS the spice of life so that will never happen. But, this board has such incredible drive and hold, while still being completely loose and snappy. It is by far my favorite board for all-around surf that I have ever ridden. Ian really hit it outta the park with this design. Not only is he a great shaper/designer, but really cool cat and nice guy too. I'm planning to get another one of these at 2 3/8" in EPS/Resin-X for Jersey in the spring. For now I'm left counting the months, weeks, and days until we will be re-united in the golden state. See you again in March my dearest...

Griffin Koa

2009-01-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

Is this not one of the most beautiful airbrushes you've ever seen??? Shaped by Greg Griffin of Griffin Surfboards: http://www.griffinsurfboards.com/ and airbrushed by Ralph of Airworks Hawaii... speachless...

More pics here:

http://forum.surfermag.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=1521825&an=0&page=0&gonew=1#UNREAD

HISTORY and HOPE

2009-01-20T11:28:00.000-08:00

Bloombust

2009-01-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

Feeling a bit political this morning due to the historic inauguration and I heard this song on the way to work this morning. It struck a chord with me. It's surf related because Brooklyn gets good surf and LCD Soundsystem are from Brooklyn

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

Like a rat in a cage
Pulling minimum wage

New York, you're perfect
Please don't change a thing

Your mild billionare mayor's
Now convinced he's a king

So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect

New York, I Love You
But you're bringing me down

WWW - Warm Weather Waves

2009-01-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

As much as I enjoy having miles of empty beach all to me and a few friends in the winter here in Jersey... I'm missing the boardshorts and sun of Costa Rica already.

01-19-09 Harvey Cedars

2009-01-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Woke up to some snow this morning and the potential for some ground swell to fill in later in the day. Got the late day call from Sak and drove to the beach to meet up with him and Chris and trade some waves. Air temp about 32, water temp about 38, and ice cream headache in full effect. Good times.

Playa Grande

2009-01-13T09:45:00.001-08:00

Playa Grande Costa Rica

2009-01-13T04:46:00.000-08:00

Just returned from 10 days in Costa Rica. I have a few water shots of Mike and I surfing taken with the Pentax Optio W60. I haven't quite figured out how to get the best shots from it yet, but I have a few good ones. I'll be throwing up a bunch of pics today and eventually some video. Here's a hint of things to come.

11-25-08

2008-11-26T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yep, Jersey gets real good sometimes. And luckily, most of the time it gets good, it's during the winter when no one else is out and you can have a macking break all to yourself. Tom had this wave to himself for an entire afternoon. Tom works with Essence surf and if you're at all interested in learning to shape, these are the guys to call.

Foam Dust

2008-11-26T13:45:00.001-08:00

Grey hair is one of the many known side effects of sanding without using the Shop Vac

Mikes Walker Twinzer Fish

2008-10-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

This is a board I painted for Mike probably more than 2 years ago. The pictures have been floating around and I just never got it up on the site so, I'm posting it here to give it the fame it deserves. Mike doodled me a little sketch on a scrap piece of note paper and I translated it into the painting below for his Walker Twinzer Fish. Recognize the outline? I traced it for my Yellow fish, but set the fins up ala speed dialer style. The beach is 83rd St in Cedars. I surfed on LBI for the first time in over a year in Surf City on Tuesday night with Sak. Chest high lefts. It was fun. So these pics are before Mike snapped the nose. About a year ago he snapped a Mayo fish in half and then managed to crack the nose on his Walker in a period of about 2 months. Luckily the foam survived intact on the Walker and just the glass on the deck snapped. We patched it up and I repainted over the repair. Good as new. Hopefully I'll get down there to surf Cedars again soon. I think one of the last times I surfed there we came up with this genius idea to paddle across the cove to his house. In our 4/3s, hoods, boots, gloves in what was probably mid December, there we were paddling in brackish water on shortboards across the cove. About half way across I decided I didn't feel like paddling anymore so I grabbed Mikes leash without him knowing and let him pull me along. Eventually he figured it out when we were moving half speed. Anyway, LBI is always good times.

Mike Daniel Coil Step-Up Custom

2008-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

I just picked up a new custom shaped by Mike Daniel and glassed with Coil vacuum bag technology. The board looks sick! He designed a step-up shape for me for head plus steep pitching barrels. This should be a fun winter board. The Coil process creates a more durable board which has a better flex response pattern and is lighter than anything on the market and they stay bright white over time.
Check out Sak's review
http://www.eastcoastsurfer.com/reviews/coil/index.html
Check out the Coil website
http://www.coilsurf.com/
Check some pics of my new ride

Mike 09-21-08

2008-10-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Surfing a board you shaped yourself is always more fun. Go Mike Go!

Josh 09-21-08

2008-10-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

Josh making the most of this dribbler.

Mike 09-21-08

2008-10-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

This starts out as such a good sequence with what looks like a really strong bottom turn, but the wave decides it has a different idea.

Mike 09-21-08

2008-10-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

Mike hates lefts...

Mike 09-21-08 beating the section

2008-10-20T06:40:00.000-07:00

More bonzerific shots of Mike drinking the Kool-aid!

Mike 09-21-05 fun little crumbler

2008-10-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

A fun little ride for Mike on his wMw hand shaped and epoxy glassed bonzer

Josh - Griffin 5 fin 09-21-08

2008-10-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard the buzz yet, check it out here http://www.griffinsurfboards.com/ Greg Grifin custom shapes and foils fins custom designed for his shapes. I haven't heard a single person disappointed in one of his custom shapes. I'm saving my pennies for an order next spring.

09-21-08 Mike on the Boner 5

2008-10-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

Mike on his Bonzer 5 (aka Boner 5) shaped by himself with some help from yours truely. He was smiling from ear to ear after catching his first wave on a board he shaped and glassed. And the board really worked well.

09-21-08

2008-10-13T02:44:00.000-07:00

Here's Josh on what was probably his wave of the afternoon. He got a barrel better than this during the morning sesh. Watching him surf that Griffin 5 fin basically convinced me to order one. He was going insane on it.

09-21-08

2008-10-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

(L to R) Josh, Mike, Me

Over a period of a few days a nice pressure gradient set up over the Atlantic just east of NJ. It built a nice head high east swell. Our beaches typically don't handle an east very well and there were plenty of close-outs, but the offshore wind in the morning made it worth giving it a try. Mike and Josh joined me in Lavallette for a birthday weekend surf and we traded a few fun waves. Here's a sequence of me on one of the few that stayed open for me.

Bonzer 5 and Yellow Fish

2008-10-13T02:26:00.000-07:00

Mikes 001 - High Performance Boner 5

2008-10-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I helped Mike shape and glass his first board. He copied a Campbell Brothers High Performance Bonzer 5, but stretched it out another inch to 6'4" and added a 1/4" of width. A few weeks ago he tried it out in 10 - 12 ft pitching waves and I'm glad to say the board went insane.

We used an Ice9 cane blank

Outline ready to be cut

Cutting the outline

Truing the rails

Gotta get those concaves just right!

Rails turned

This is what happen when you breath too much foam dust

Let's compare... Malcolm would be proud

Ready for glassing

Soak those laps with some Resin Research Epoxy

Bottom lam done

Laps cut

Top lam

Marlin Bacon's 101 bamboo fins tacked on

Fillcoat done

Fin box installed

Gloss coat and pinline

Resin dam for the hard edge

leash plug installed

Those fins look HOT

Drink the Kool-Aid

Ready for surf

Yellow Fish

2008-10-13T01:51:00.001-07:00

Some pics that Mike took of the glassing of my yellow fish

09-07-08 - Sak

2008-09-16T09:49:00.001-07:00

Here's Sak narrowly escaping a major beating early on Sunday morning. It was about 5-7 ft faces, hard offshores, and pitching barrells that day. Hannah really delivered after drenching us the night before. The drops were steep and the closeouts were plenty, but if you got a good one and made it you were smiling from ear to ear.

09-07-08 - Brock the Grom

2008-09-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Tom's son Brock is the local grom you know will just be tearing up the waves in a few years. But, until then, he'll have to pose with my 6'3" Campbell Brothers Bonzer to attract all the local Gromettes!

09-07-08 - Chris

2008-09-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Chris cutting a nice long line. Although it looks like he might have confused his hunched over triathelon biking position with his squating surfing stance, or he's trying to show off his ass to all the single chicks on the beach. Stud!

09-07-08 - John Paul Jones

2008-09-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

No not the guy from Led Zeppelin. Our very own Johnny Jones made the trek down from Brooklyn and braved the NJ transit railways to get in a surf session with us. Hope he can make it down for a few more this fall. Here he is getting wrecked on my Wynn Fish, but later he went out body surfing and really tore it up. Johnny is a DJ and electronica artist who is about to officially release his first song. He also has a few cousins who are pretty decent surfers.

09-07-08 Lavallette Kook

2008-09-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Image #1 - Sak getting dropped in on and snaked by an oblivious KOOK who should have looked to his left.

Image #2 - Sak getting dropped in on and snaked AGAIN by the same oblivious KOOK who should have learned his lesson the first time and looked to his left.

One time is a mistake, but the second time shows you're either stupid or just don't care. It was obvious that this kook just didn't care when he made the same mistake for a second time. Hey, kook, find some other beach to snake people on. This beach usually has a very laid back, chill vibe of friendliness and respect. Acts like this ruin that vibe for others. Especially on a day like this when it's pitching real steep and more dangerous. We've got photographic evidence of your Kookiness!

09-07-08 Demolished

2008-09-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of this going on that day. Make the sketchy drop then try to escape the lip before it permenantly parts your hair.

09-07-08 Dude

2008-09-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I know this dude. He lives right across the street from Brent, but I can't remember his name. I'm horrible with names. But I've surfed with him a buncha times and he's a real chill and a good surfer.

Again all photography credits go to the gorgeous Alexis.

09-07-08 Walled Up

2008-09-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

I think this is Sak on a lined up wall that's about to close out. I know he and I were the only two out in shortsleeve fulls that day and it's not me. This shot really shows you what we had to contend with that day. Walled up close-outs without much of a line. Although the evening was more workable than the morning.

Malcolm Campbell - "Never For Money, Always For Love"

2008-09-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

"Cause shaping we consider it’s partly craft and partly art. It’s sculpture. Take a block… (of foam) and you look at it and the form that you want is already in there. So you just take off all the outside material that you don’t want and what’s left is the finished poduct so you need to be able to see it before you start.

The same philosophy goes into our surfboards as goes into our life. Never for money, always for love. That’s the way art is. People do art because they love it, basically because they have to do it.

We aren’t what we think we are as individuals, but what we do."

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California - July '08 trip

2008-09-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Not exactly surfing related, but here are a few pics of our trip to California this July. All pictures taken by Alexis. We flew into SFO and spent a few days exploring San Francisco. We even bicycled across the Golden Gate Bridge and visited Sausalito. On our way out of the city we stopped at Mollusk in OB. I met Manny Caro there and got to chat with him about shaping. Its a good thing I didn't have a way to get a board home because I could have spent a fortune there. We were traveling light so all I could buy was a fin for the mini-log I'm shaping. From there we stopped in Santa Cruz, Monterey (visiting the aquarium), Carmel (for dinner), then on to San Luis Obispo to crash for the night. The next morning we checked out Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and a quick stop in LA before hauling down to my cousin's house in San Diego. In SD I painted a board for Marlin Bacon of 101 fins. We paddled out for a surf and then he gave me a tour of Moonlight and introduced me to Peter and JP. Then we headed up to Seal Beach for my over cousins wedding. The morning after the wedding I gave my cousin from Michigan his first surfing lesson and he did amazingly well for someone who has barely ever seen an ocean. There's plenty more, but I wont bore you with the details.

Hanna

2008-09-04T07:52:00.001-07:00

GAME ON!!!

Dust off those step-up boards! This could be good!

Sandals

2008-09-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Custom painting for Patti and family on LBI.

Photography courtesy of Miguel Dirty Sanchez

09/01/08 - Sak

2008-09-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sak showing that the quadvertible can beat the section and still have enough juice left to tear up the shoulder.

09/02/08 - Doylestown Chris

2008-09-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

Chris is a triathlete who can paddle circles around the rest of us. These were the best shots of him from the day, but he was tearing up waves just as well as anyone out there. Spending enough time in Ventura and Hawaii will do that for you!

09/01/08

2008-09-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Me in the stinkbug stance trying to find a line!

09/01/08 - Coil Quadvertible

2008-09-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

More shots of Sak on the Coil Quadvertible

09/02/08

2008-09-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

I really need to start taking higher lines... I got pulverized by this wave when it closed out on me and if I had taken a higher line I might have cleared it. It was a super fun sesh. Sak and I were the only ones taking set waves off the south jetty. Brent was working the peak in the center of the beach with a few other guys. Chris made the trip from PA and switched it up between peaks. All-in-all a great sesh documented by the surf photography goddess, Alexis!

Be Mindful Bonzer 09/01/08

2008-09-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Nice sequence of me trying to beat the wash on my HP Bonzer 5 fin. That's the "Be Mindful" board from the gallery. It rides just as good as it looks! Smooth and buttery turns. I absolutely love this board. The bonzer just fits my style. Moves that I have to work for on a thruster just come with ease on the bonzer. Of course Alexis takes great pics and makes me look better than I really am!

Brent 09/01/08

2008-09-02T11:32:00.001-07:00

More great shots of the Labor Day evening session by Alexis!

Sak 09/01/08

2008-09-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

The theme of the day was Jelly Fish! Alexis took this shot of one of many dead jellies that washed up on the beach after we all kept getting out of the water and complaining about how we couldn't escape the swarm of jellies in the water. Seriously, there were tons of them. I got stung on every inch of exposed skin. I even got stung on both my eyes.

Here's a short sequence of Sak beating the section and avoiding the jellies by sliding on his Coil Quadvertible

Brent 09-01-08

2008-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Brent knuckle dragging on a nice long line

Brent 09-01-08

2008-09-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

A couple shots of Brent on the Hobie Peter Pan Slug. We're currently shaping him a cross between the CI Red Beauty and Flyer 2. We just have to glass it and he'll be ready to hit the next round of tropical swells.

09/01/08 Greg Sakowicz

2008-09-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

Alexis was out with her camera in Lavallette last evening snapping shots of the swell from Hurricane Hanna. Here's a great sequence of Greg Sakowicz (aka Sak) of http://www.eastcoastsurfer.com/ destroying the lip. More pics to come of the Lava crew

Whale Speak

2008-08-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/26/eawhale126.xml

Just goes to show that animals are smarter than you think. And I believe it's our duty to protect them.

Check it out:

http://www.surfersforcetaceans.com/

Mahady / Essence Surf BBQ

2008-07-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Alexis and me

Tom Jamming out with the band

Surfboard Cake

Boardshorts Brownies

Octopus with an Attitude

Tyler with his surfboard and skateboard both made by him

The Bleach Boys

Not only does Tom shape sick longboards, but he also brews a mean beer

Skate more Drive less

Artwork by Tyler

Gunner the wonder mutt chillin' aloha style

The band played a sick acoustic jam

Our Host

The Mahady Crayola Board

The Asbury Shred Stick keeping it real with the Bloods, Crips and Latin Kings

The surf mobile

I'm gonna steal this awesome fish one day when Tom's not looking

This board survived 10 - 15ft faces in Hawaii only to come home and get snapped by 8ft Jersey Juice. Who says we don't get real surf?

The green board has camera mounts for filming in the barrel.

Love the color scheme on this one.

Sick wooden board

Nice color work

Drinks in the back of the surf mobile

If I'm lucky maybe I'll get to try this fish one day

This weekend Alexis and I went to a BBQ thrown by Tom Mahady and family for all the Essence Surf Shaping school students. It was a great time, great vibe, and a great chance to chill out and talk about shaping and surfing. The band was awesome, the weather was great, the beer was tasty, and there were plenty of cool boards to look at. Tom and Gene are looking to make this an annual thing and there were talks of a big surf sesh in late September. Sort of a board swap to try out each others shapes. Good times and great people showing the stoke is alive and well in Jersey.

001

2008-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I found some old pics from shaping my first board and figured I'd throw them up here and give some credit to Tom Mahady for teaching me to shape. Tom was nice enough to invite me into his home and teach me how to mow foam and he's been a good friend ever since. If you live in Jersey and you're in the market for a killer longboard definitely give Tom a shout or drop me a line and I'll put you in touch with him. Tom shapes for the stoke and love of surfing, not for profit. So, you know he pours his soul into ever board he makes. Tom also helps out his good friend Gene Wahl of Essence Surf. If you're in North Jersey and in the market for a shortboard, give Gene a shout. Gene is actually in the process of shaping and painting boards for the upcoming G-Love tour.

California Quad

2008-07-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

I've been a slacker and haven't been posting. But I'm going to make an effort to update regularly again. I was good for a while.

Anyway, my trip to California with Alexis for my cousin's wedding was a blast. We met Manny Caro at Mollusk in San Francisco. I got to go for a surf with Marlin Bacon of 101 fins http://www.101fins.com/ where we said wassup to DJ Kane of DK Surfboards http://www.dksurfboards.com/ who was out ripping on one of his quad fish. Afterwards Marlin gave me a tour of Moonlight glassing http://moonlightglassing.blogspot.com/ where he installs fins. I met Peter (the owner) and his son JP who runs Surf Surfy http://www.surfysurfy.net/ It was probably the most insane non-surfing surf experience ever to get to see the inside of that place. Afterwards, Marlin gave me one of his California Quads and asked me to paint the California Flag on the bottom. He was so stoked on the results he brought it by Moonlight the next day and showed it to JP who put it up on Surfy Surfy. Click this link to see the post: http://www.surfysurfy.net/2008/07/california-quad.html Then the board showed up again on Surfy Surfy this weekend. Check it here: http://www.surfysurfy.net/2008/07/bro-of-month-rob.html Really I have to say that all the people I met were really just incredibly nice and very chill. JP is super cool, Peter is awesome and very helpful. He was giving me advice on board art and showing me his work. His pinline and airbrush work is amazing. If he's Major League then I'm single A.

And I can't say enough nice things about Marlin. Not only was he cool enough to take me and Chris out surfing at his favorite spot, but he then gave us the tour of Moonlight and took all that time out of his day when he could have been foiling those amazing bamboo fins he makes. Which I need to add, are really sick. The center fin on my Bozer is a 101 Fin and it feels like butter. I've ordered some other fins from him and can't wait to get them on a board. Taylor Knox scored the highest heat score ever at J-bay on a set of lokbox 101 Fins. So that says alot about the quality of his foil and bamboo. And don't think you can go out and buy the Greenlight bamboo panel and foil a set of your own that will perform as well as his. This is a guy who has been working for BIG names in the industry for his entire life. A master shaper and fin foiler. They are worth the dough. Pick up a set, now!

Hipped Quad

2008-06-23T07:08:00.001-07:00

As you can probably tell by the lack of posts... I've been shaping a lot. I've spent every bit of free time shaping or preparing to shape. I'm surprised Alexis hasn't disowned me yet. Here are some pics of a hipped quad fish in progress.

Anything But 3 East

2008-05-07T06:18:00.000-07:00

Pictures from AB3 East can be found here:
http://www.surfboardpainting.com/AB3E/surflist.html

Sak's Board

2008-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

After all the preparation for AB3 East I finally have a moment to breath so I wanted to update and post a pic of the board I painted for Greg (Sak) of Eastcoastsurfer.com. This is a Spindrift Surfboards Twin Keel Fish. This was proped up in the sand next to all my boards at the AB3. He was so stoked when he saw the new paint job that he didn't even want to wax it up. With small summer waves right around the corner I'm thinking he'll change his mind pretty quick. It's always great to see someone stoked on a new painting. I'll be throwing some pics up soon from the AB3 East and the new paint job on my Malcolm Campbell High Performance Bonzer. Also, coming soon, some pics of the prototype bamboo bonzer fin from 101 fins that Marlin hooked me up with. Totally stoked on that and can't wait to surf it.

Magic Board

2008-05-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

If I could only ride one board, this would be it. I custom ordered this last year and picked it up in October just in time for a trip down to Outer Banks. My Wynn quad retro fish with speed dialer lokbox fins and green resin swirl. The swirl makes it go faster. Actually, this thing does fly. It's a bit oversized for me and that helps in a 6/4 in the middle of February. I'd love to have the same board about 4 - 6 inches shorter for the sumer and fall. It paddles like butter, is super stable on the drop and bottom turn, and ultra fast down the line. I asked for an oversized fish to serve two purposes; Replace my longboard in the summer when we have small clean waves and make my life easier in the winter. The result was a chunky, oversized, quad, with pulled in nose and tab more nose rocker that just plain works perfect for me. So if you're headed to the AB3 this weekend make sure you find Brian Wynn and check out a few of his designs. If you're in the market for a custom board in Jersey, he's your guy. This lean mean green machine will be available for a test drive as well.

http://www.wynnsurfboards.com/

2008-04-30T10:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a portrait I rendered in pencil of Eddie Veder several years ago (before he cut his hair and started surfing with Kelly Slater). I figure I might make a page for the website to display some of my work outside of painting surfboards, but for now maybe I'll throw a few things up here in the blog. And hey, Eddie surfs, so why not post his mug up here!

So, my boy was violated by a high school girl last night. Well, my Jeep that is. She somehow managed to just hit just the wheel so there no body damage, but the steering linkage is definitely bent and I'm having Belle Mead Jeep inspect for any other damage. Looks like he wont make it to AB3 this weekend. If I'm lucky Alexis will let me load some boards in her shiney new Acura RDX if I promise not to get any wax on the leather seats.

Gaston Locklear

2008-04-30T10:06:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for some surf related fine art to decorate your beach house, look no further than the man, Gaston Locklear. I have been admiring his work for several years now and watched his portfolio grow into what is a quite impressive range of work executed with masterful skill. I wish I could manipulate oils as well as he does. Check out his work here:

http://www.gastonlocklear.com

2008-04-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

We have some decent swell out there in the water today. The professor, Beck, and I hit it this morning for the DP. It was about chest to shoulder high and semi clean. There were some nice peaks, but more closeouts and you had to pick and choose. It didn't have enough time to clean up and it will probably be better mid-day. The tide was on it's way out, waves were getting steep and I kept blowing my drops. I was wishing I had one of these:

Don't forget to check out the professors forcast here: http://www.eastcoastsurfer.com

Don't forget about AB3 East this Sunday in Harvey Cedars! Crossing my fingers, but it looks like we might get some small but fun surf to test out all those fishies!

John Severson

2008-04-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

No surf art discusion is complete without a reference to the man who created the genre, John Severson. For those of you groms who have never heard the name before and think that surf art started on ...Lost boards, take a moment to become educated on the subject and visit this site:

http://www.surferart.com/

Michael Roberts - Board Art

2008-04-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is quite possibly the coolest way ever to recycle a surfboard! Michael Roberts takes broken surfboards and carves life out of the foam emerging from the surfboard carcass. The detail and accuracy is so intricate it's amazing. One day I'd like the opportunity to see his work in person and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a piece for myself. Check out his website:

http://www.boardart.com/

Bruno Barreto

2008-04-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

I first saw Bruno Barreto's art at Art Walk in San Diego about 2 years ago. He was one of only a few artists who really stood out to me and had some very original and memorable pieces. It amazed me how he was able to mix sculpture and painting so seamlessly. When viewing his work you forget that the piece is mixture of 2 and 3 dimensions and it all sort of bleeds together to come to life. A lot of his work focuses on surfing and ocean related themes, but he also ventures outside the realm of surf art. If you are in San Diego this weekend I highly recommend visiting Art Walk, April 26 - 27th 12 - 6pm in Little Italy.

http://www.brunobarretoart.com/

http://www.artwalksandiego.org/

The Great Wave of Kanagawa

2008-04-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

Probably the single most influential piece of art in the development of surf art as a genre is "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/The_Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa.jpg

The piece is so influential that a print of it hangs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I will certainly admit that you can see how I have copied the style in the way I compose and draw my waves and it is also evident in many other artists work. There are few good write-ups on the internet that discuss the piece and the artist better than I can. Here are some links:

http://www.ee.umanitoba.ca/~kinsner/about/gwave.html

http://www.andreas.com/hokusai.html

Site Under Construction

2008-04-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

As you can see my website and the blog are still under construction. However, the Gallery section is fully functional and expertly designed by my father. I'll be posting some random stuff related to my art and surfing here.

We have a decent swell out there right now. The winds and the swell angle aren't going to cooperate. Thursday morning looks like the best bet, but unfortunately an early meeting prevents me from a DP. I will however be checking it this evening to see if the south winds let up and will probably try to catch a few small waves tomorrow evening. The water is warming up and I can't wait to ditch the 4/3 for the 3/2. I saw this Junod board (image above) on the Thalia Street Surf Shop website. Incredible art by Thomas Campbell. I'd love to know how he does this. Actually I'd love to own it and ride it. Check it out.

http://www.thaliasurf.com/

AB3 East

2008-04-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Anything But 3 East is being held on May 4th in Harvey Cedars. A great list of shapers have already signed up including Brian Wynn, Shawn Ambrose, DJ Kane, and Josh Hall. I'll be there with some of my painted boards on display. Come on out and try some great boards by incredible shapers. AB3 East