fred and surf stories

the surf story project, 444 pages of tales and images from 88 "of the most influential and creative surfers" from around the globe and described as "the motherload of a collective surf memory" is finally ready to roll. check out the site here or have a look at the facebook fan page to read the stories and get a sense of the scope of the project. by the way, book sales benefit surfrider, so there's further inspiration for you to support the project, if your curiosity and generosity weren't sufficiently piqued. a labor of love for artist/surfer robb havassy, i think it turned out awesome.

in other decidedly less literary news, as chance would have it, we've taken on a rescue pup within the last month, making the human-to-animal ratio at the studio space two to five. but with another rescue dog in our midst, a gentlemanly elder jack russell, and a couple of black cats (property of the girlfriend), the four-month-old rescue pup, now named fred, seemed to complete the furry brood. as evinced by these photos, fred is a popular scamp around these parts, and was equally popular at eric johnson's opening last night at will turner's.

msa party

we're heading to this party tomorrow night. you should go, too. sure to be a blast and all for fun and philanthropy, of course.

this weekend also marks the annual MSA Classic, held up at Malibu. I'll be surfing in the early evening heat, so check it out if you're around Malibu! From the site:

"The MSA Classic is the premier competition in the Coalition of Surfing Clubs annual series. This club-level, invitational contest will be held at Surfrider Beach, Malibu from September 12-13, 2009. More than 275 invited athletes representing elite surfing clubs from California, Hawaii, the East Coast, Japan, and Australia will come together to compete at First Point, Malibu, one of surfing’s legendary waves."

One more thing: this is the BIG opening weekend at Bergamot. Art, art lovers, and lookieloos abound.

see you there.

william turner + epic wave renderings

It’s been an incredibly prolific and busy summer in the studio – new paintings, new dogs, new sources of inspiration. And it all happens right here in the ivy-covered sanctuary:












For the last year and a half, I’ve been assembling my solo show for the William Turner Gallery at Bergamot Station, where I've been represented since 2004. The work hits the walls on November 7th, but for sneak peeks, stay tuned. For now, check out Rita (36" x 30"):


















Also, Surfrider is celebrating their 25th anniversary on October 9th at the California Science Center. Surfrider asked 25 artists to create their own rendering of one of 25 infamous waves from around the globe. I was fortunate enough to be among the chosen ones (Alex Weinstein, David Lloyd, etc.); the paintings are slotted to be auctioned off at the October 9th event. Not only is this going to be an awesome party with live tunes from Camp Freddy, among others, all proceeds go to the foundation to help fund all of the amazing things that they do. Buy your ticket here. And here's a preview of my version of Queensland, Australia's notorious Superbank: