Big Wave Surfboards

Big Wave Surfboards

original oil painting, 12x12  SOLD

Elliott Fouts Gallery

Big wave surfboards in Paia, Maui, part of a colorful surfboard fence along the Hana Highway. The tow-in surfboards are used in conditions when it's too big to paddle or when a wave breaks in an area that is remote or difficult to access. Think "Jaws" near Paia or "Mavericks" in Half Moon Bay.

The tow-in board is basically a surfer's version of a snow board, complete with foot straps that enable the surfer to stay connected to the board. The boards are short, 5'5" to 6'2" relatively thin, with wider tails and noses. The features of the tow-in boards are more consistent with shortboards, rather than traditional big wave surfboards.

Anyway, it's a colorful surfboard fence that really catches your eye.  See the painting in a show titled Hello Summer! at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento.

Beach Cruiser and Surfboard

Beach Cruiser and Surfboard

original oil painting, 12x12 SOLD

Viewpoints Gallery

You won't see this anywhere, except at the beach - a surfboard strapped to a bicycle. An orange beach cruiser bicycle, a board with a little wax on it, and ready to surf. 

I'm finishing up paintings for my show at Viewpoints Gallery, titled "Santa Cruz to San Francisco." This painting and many more will be in the show December 1 - January 2, with a reception on Saturday, December 5, from 2-5 pm.  Come by and say hi!  

Longboard Line Up

Longboard Line Up

original oil painting, 12x12, SOLD

Elliott Fouts Gallery

A group of vintage longboards, lined up on the sand, before a surf competition in Santa Cruz. A classic longboard is the most traditional surfboard shape. Surfers originally rode longboards in the 1950s and 1960s in Malibu and Waikiki. They typically range from 8 feet to 12 feet in length. 

Painting surf boards is a challenge, similar to painting a portrait of a face. Everything is symmetrical and every surfboard is different.  There's a stringer, a thin strip of wood that runs down the middle of the surfboard and increases the strength and rigidity of the board. The front of the board is called the nose and the back section is the tail.. The fins are positioned inside a fin box in the tail and come in many different shapes and sizes.  The sides of the surfboard are called rails and vary in thickness according to the design.

The most complicated variable of the surfboard is the rocker. The rocker is the curvature of the surfboard in profile. It has been labeled as the single most important design element in a surfboard. It is a complex combination of compound curves. The rocker certainly complicates a painting of a surfboard!

Surfboards for Sale, Santa Cruz

Surfboards for Sale, Santa Cruz

original oil painting, 11x14

Viewpoints Gallery
SOLD

I was walking along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz and noticed this little beach cottage with surfboards for sale in front of the house. I liked the color and composition of the surfboards in contrast with the small house.

The painting is in a show at Viewpoints Gallery called "Hello Summer" through the end of May.