A music and arts event with door prizes, raffles and a silent auction with all proceeds benefiting the victims of the recent earthquake that devastated Haiti.

The event kicks off with a mini-shredder battle of the bands contest at 4 p.m. featuring Dirt Fish, Pull the Plug, Identity Crisis and Stealth. Prizes given with the groms with the most fans in attendance.

Following the contest, there will lots of great music featuring Chroma, Klob, Sentropolis, Three and many more. All donations and proceeds go directly to The ACTS for World Relief organization. Auction items include Surf Art by Jay Alders.

For more information on the ACTS go to www.actswr.com Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 day of show. The tickets are available at Freebirdlive.com as well as the Freebird box office.

For more info, go on our facebook page.

Swim 4 Humanity is a fundraising event benefiting SurfAid International. Hosted in eight cities on the west and east coasts from March to May 2010, monies raised will go towards SurfAid’s humanitarian programs.

Prior to the event, participating teams and individuals get sponsored by friends and family for a 30-minute swim at one of the swimming pool venues. Competitive freestyle swims will be held each day, and fun team relay races will take place in the afternoon.

Awards and prizes are presented to participants based on their fundraising totals. Top fundraisers, top fundraising teams, relay race winners, and top competitive freestyle swimmers recieve premium prizes. This year’s top fundraiser will receive a surf trip to Indonesia including round-trip airfare, courtesy of World Surfaris and Joyo’s Camp!

The top 3 fundraisers will recieve:
1.    Round trip Indo surf trip courtesy World Surfaris and Joyo’s Camp
2.    Fire Wire surfboard
3. Jay Alders twin fin board by 9:fish

All fundraisers will accumulate prizes as they pass higher donation levels:

$5000 – Go Pro digital camera
$4000 – Sector Nine skateboard
$3000 – Dragon sunglasses
$2000 – Fox backpack
$1000 – Reef shoes/sandals
$500 – SurfAid Towel

All participants get a Swim4Humanity tee shirt, SurfAid stickers and goodies

•    Swim fun relay and competitive freestyle race prizes from Electric Sunglasses and Santa Cruz
•    Top fundraising team prizes to be announced

San Diego
March 13, 2010 at 12:30 pm:
Coggan Family Aquatic Complex in La Jolla (La Jolla H.S.)
800 Nautilus Street, La Jolla, CA 92037

Santa Barbara
March 20, 2010 at 2:00 pm:
Los Banos pool
401 Shoreline Dr. Santa Barbara, CA 93109

Los Angeles
March 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm:
Pepperdine University in Malibu 24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263

San Francisco
March 27, 2010:
Golden Gateway Tennis & Swim Club in San Francisco
370 Drumm St
San Francisco, CA 94111

Santa Cruz
March 28, 2010 at 1:00 pm:
Simpkins Family Swim Center
978 17th Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Florida
April 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm:
Daytona State College Aquatic Center
1200 W International speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114

New Jersey
May 15, 2010 at 12:00 pm:
Sonny Werblin Recreation Center
Rutgers University       
656 Bartholomew Rd.
Piscataway, NJ 08854

New York
May 16, 2010 at 12:00 pm:
Long Beach Senior High School
322 Lagoon Dr.
West ?Long Beach, NY 11561

Jay Alders is an Official Ambassador to Surf Aid International and proud to support Surf Aid’s humanitarian efforts.

On Friday March 5th, come and join some of Hawaii’s best musicians and special guests at one of Honolulu’s coolest venues, the Hard Rock Cafe, as they come together to support the Friends of Kehau Sullivan for the inaugural ‘Friends of Kehau ALOHA JAM Benefit’.

First musician on stage at 4.00pm.

Friends of Kehau Sullivan are delighted to collaborate with Jake Shimabukuro’s non profit organisation ‘Music is Good Medicine’ (MIGM) with it’s mission to use the power of music to heal, influence and inspire people to improve our community, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and pursue their dreams with a positive attitude. 

http://musicisgoodmedicine.org

A Message From Jake Shimabukuro
My belief that Music is Good Medicine (MIGM) goes all the way back to my childhood. Ever since my mother first put a ukulele in my hands at the age of 4, this magical instrument has been a positive force in my life – helping to steer me away from drugs, violence and other negative influences. It fueled my passion for music, which has helped me to develop in mind, body and spirit…

MIGM will also give away their much anticipated MIGM ukulele (not due for release until June).http://musicisgoodmedicine.org/?t=4s4k

Our line-up of Musicians

Tavana http://myspace.com/tavanamusic
Lopaka Colon http://waitiki7.com/band-members/lopaka-colon/
Keith Batlin http://freesoundspace.com/bio.php
Dion “Boogie” Scott http://reverbnation.com/boogie
Brother Noland http://myspace.com/brothernoland
Jake Shimabukuro http://jakeshimabukuro.com
Starr Kalahiki http://myspace.com/starrkalahiki
anjj lee http://anjjlee.com
Mike Love http://myspace.com/mikelovehawaii
Johnny Helm http://johnnyhelm.com
Guy Cruz http://guycruz.com
John Cruz http://johncruz.com
Micah Wolf (from Maui) http://micahwolf.com
Pat ‘the Hat’ http://myspace.com/patthemfnhat

There will also be an Art showing by Jay Alders and Sean Davey.
http://jayalders.com
http://seandavey.com

The night aims to raise money for Pancho and Haunani Sullivans baby girl, Kehau’s Medical Fund and the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) who provide a home-away-from-home for children and their families while the child is treated for serious, often life-threatening illnesses at hospitals.

100% of the proceeds raised on the night will go directly to Kehau’s Medical Fund with a donation made on behalf of the Sullivan family to the Ronald McDonald House Charity.

A suggested donation of $15 will be collected at the door.

Come out and show some aloha for Kehau and enjoy the array of incredible musicians and artists who have so graciously offered their support.

More details will be available and this event will be updated daily to include our sponsors, donated items (which include surfboards from pro surfers) for auction and raffle and to confirm the start time for each of our musicians.

If you can’t join us this time and you would like to make a personal donation, you can by visiting Kehau’s website http://friendsofkehausullivan.com

If you have any questions or would like to donate items for auction and raffle or if you would like to distribute some posters and flyers please contact Joni at jonijames@hotmail.com.

The Friends of Kehau Sullivan facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Kehau-Sullivan/182872574919?ref=ts

Sean Davey’s article http://seandavey.com/wordpress/featured/big-music-jam-shaping-on-mar-5th-for-kehau-sullivan-9978

Jake Shimbukuro’s website http://www.jakeshimabukuro.com/?t=news_details&nid=478

Music is Good Medicine (MIGM) http://www.musicisgoodmedicine.org/?t=migmevents2010

Thanks to Resin Magazine for the three page interview in their recent issue.

Read the full interview here >>>

A very close friend was arrested for possessing a small twig today. Umm..yes, you read correctly, a twig. Her car was impounded, she was frisked, brought in for questioning, embarrassed, fined thousands of dollars, detained for hours, her vehicle was illegally searched for 20 minutes and nothing found. She was fingerprinted twice and called derogatory names all because she had a non-smokeable twig from a naturally occurring plant, called Marijuana.

Clearly our tax dollars were hard at work for this huge bust. Quite worth paying three police offers and tying up the court system.  After all, there’s quotas to meet and money to be made.  Just think….Had that stem gotten into the wrong hands, someone might have made a cup of tea with it and written a poem or even more horrific, order Chinese food and giggled.

Oh and let’s not forget her additional charge for paraphernalia. A Pipe? Rolling papers? A bong you may ask?   Nope, a small cardboard box that her earrings came in. Yes, a cardboard jewelry box. Now I have seen a lot of cool MacGyver-like contraptions at parties but not an earring box.  Their decisive powers are baffling.

If you ever met my friend, you’d immediately sense that she’s one of the kindest, warmest hearted people around and the furthest thing from a danger to society. With her soft vocal tones, her passion for art and music, her love of the ocean and nature it would be easy to confuse her with a cast member for “That 70’s Show” but not a violent criminal.  I had to raise an eyebrow in disbelief and puzzlement when I heard that the Police Officer said they needed to search her for weapons, specifically knives and razors.  He justified his actions with the statement, “I have a wife and kid at home”.

Our sweet friend is at risk of losing her school funding & her job. She can be fined thousands of dollars, have a criminal arrest on her record and be embarrassed in her community.  I have no doubt that these egregious charges will be dropped or lowered for this bogus case.  But what is tragic is that millions of otherwise responsible, law abiding citizens are having their lives ruined or at risk of such. Not because they are “drug addicts” or  a “danger to society” as some would have you believe, but because we are living under prohibition….again.

70+ years ago if you tried cracking open a beer for the Superbowl or poured a glass of wine at dinner, you too would have been a “criminal”, shunned and arrested. Alcohol prohibition which lasted from 1920-1933 is now viewed in history as a huge failure which was the breeding ground for the organized crime. What did Prohibition bring us? Mass murders, political and police corruption, a black market economy. Yet today we can’t drive up the street or turn on the TV without being exposed to the glorified drug, yes drug, of Alcohol. The U.S. spends more than $100 Billion on booze annually.

Did you know that Marijuana was made illegal, thanks in part to “intelligent men” (insert tongue in cheek) like Harry J. Anslinger, who was given control of the new Federal Bureau of Narcotics and remained in the position until 1962.

A quote from Mr. Anslinger’s Gore Files explains one reason that Marijuana is “bad”:

Remarkable idealogy huh?  This is what our laws are still based on.

According to various sources, an estimated 87-92% of Americans at some point in their lives have experimented with Marijuana. This includes but not limited to: President George Washington, President Thomas Jefferson, President James Monroe,President Andrew Jackson, President Abraham Lincoln, President Bill Clinton, President Barrack Obama, President George W Bush, Miles Davis, John Lennon and countless other politicians, celebrities, artists, musicians, authors and news reporters whom have not only contributed to society but who have shaped our culture.

"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." -Thomas Jefferson

George Washington grew hemp on his farm. He also supposedly preferred his hemp pipe over alcohol and loved how it smelled.

Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.

I am not promoting irresponsible abuse of any substance illegal or legal. I do believe though that if an adult wishes to partake responsibly in this otherwise harmless plant, I believe it should be their right to do so.  Enough people have been wrongfully arrested, lost their jobs, incarcerated and had their lives destroyed.   I am declaring that the hypocritical, outdated and uneffective laws and stereotypes need to be reanalyzed by today’s standards of intelligence.

Furthermore, let me point out that this is not a bashing of law enforcement as a whole.  The Police , ideologically at least, uphold the law and are a vital part of our society’s orderly existence and safety.  That said, we need to address the laws and policies so as to prevent the misallocation of our resources, budget and personnel.

Warning…Warning…Taboo subject…

That’s the alert that inevitably will go off in your head when you even ponder bringing up this subject for debate with people. We are raised to have illogical negative connotations based on generations of propaganda.  I am not writing this to be a conspiracy theorist, just trying to open people’s eyes and a call for action.

We could save our government an estimated $7.7 Billion by repealing this 2nd coming of Prohibition. Furthermore we could raise an estimated $6.2 Billion if we taxed this plant in similar ways as tobacco and booze.  If ever our government needed an economy boost, the time is now.

"Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against possession of marihuana in private for personal use... Therefore, I support legislation amending Federal law to eliminate all Federal criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana." - Pres. Jimmy Carter

There are countless other environmental, legal, health related,financial and social reasons to debate and demand marijuana reform from your state, federal and local officials. Do your own research. Get on google and look up the effects, the origins of the laws, the costs to our government for this losing war on drugs.  Bring up conversations with friends. Our country was founded on questioning the government and protecting individual liberties & freedoms.

It is our duty to educate ourselves and be heard, no matter what your opinions and viewpoints are.

Sites to start reading the facts:

http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3418

As with anything in life, you either need to grow and move forward or remain stagnant.  So when I had an opportunity to have a booth at the recent January 2010 Surf Expo, I seized the opportunity.

We had just been in Orlando a week or so before, so not even being remotely caught up on life and work, we packed up a borrowed trailer from Echo Movement and my jeep and headed down to Florida with our nutty dog Piper for the 20ish hour drive. We decided to rent a house and may I add that VRBO.com is the sh*t.  It was a nice change not living out of a hotel.

The Expo

$22 to park.  Ouch. We unloaded and set up fairly painlessly and with a few trips to IKEA and Target, we were able to set up our booth with vibes of our living room at home: Cozy, artistic, warm and inviting. We had lots of my Giclée canvases on display along with many of the officially licensed products I have partnered with.

This being the first major trade show I have had a booth at, we didn’t know what to expect and ok, I admit it, we sorta’ jumped in blindly and just had faith it would work.  We knew we wanted to have a really good time and drum up some business.  I am stoked to report that all goals were met and them some.

The SurfExpo staff was so epic to work with, they were accommodating and kind and fun to hang with and really made us feel welcome and appreciated. One of the most special things about the boarding industries is the people involved. All ages, all locations, all religions beliefs, races & different political views.

In other industries where I’ve worked or been exposed to, there are cutthroat  competitors and oddball colleagues gathered around a water cooler whom have nothing between them significant except for the commonalities of TPS reports and Powerpoint Presentations.  However going to the Surf Expo or other such “work events” always reminds me of how cool it is to all have a common bond to share above and beyond the quarterly goals and marketing campaigns. We all share our love of board riding, adrenaline rushes and  see our daily surroundings as a playground.

With a little help from friends…

Such new friends who we’ve seen a few times recently are Georgette and Hunter from Indoboard. They’re eally wonderful people who brightened up our day with smiley conversation, hugs and a gift of supreme coolness…a new concave Indoboard!  This made our booth complete and became a fixture underneath my feet for the rest of the show.

Big thanks to my friends at Emergen-C Vitamin drink who supplied a ridiculously large amount of free give-aways for our booth.  I was honored to have done the artwork for their Emergen-C Blue product which is partnered with Surfrider Foundation and this seemed to be a great event to do some more cross promoting.

We were really happy to have Hitoshi, our new Account Executive for Japan with us. He was really valuable to our team and brings a whole new level of professionalism to our operation.  There was a moment at the expo where Chelsea and I were talking to some friends and I looked over to see Hitoshi speaking in Japanese to new prospective accounts to my left.  To my right was my friend Gabe speaking in Spanish to other customers from South America and another friend was conducting business in Portuguese to Brazilian shop owners.  I mentally took a step back and was completely blown away on how surreal this scene was.

Hunter, Jay and Chelsea

Gabe Gomez rocking out at my booth

During the show I did some live painting.  People always seem to dig getting a glimpse into the creative process and I was happy to share.  To add some extra groove to the demonstration, our talented friend Gabe Gomez sang and played some epic original acoustic tunes on uke and guitar.  Gabe is one of the most generous and warm hearted people I know and his talent is just as stellar. I know once his album comes out that it will be a hit.

Another day at the office. Getting interviewed by a chick in her skimpies.

This expo presented some fantastic opportunities to catch up with cherished friends.  My good friend Bob Mignogna is the epitome of success in the business side of the Surfing industry (google his name and you’ll see why). He invited us for drinks one of the nights at Expo and whether he knows it or not I can’t help but think what an important mentor he is to me as well as a “bro”.  Being able to connect your passion to your business part of your brain is a unique gift which I try and nourish often and he’s one of the best at that.

Jay,Chelsea and Bob

Our friends Mark and Brian also came out to help us big time.  Having these two musclebound surfing chiropractors around not only added to the comic relief at the booth but really made the breakdown of the booth possible.  Without them, I might still be in Orlando with a handcart. Not to mention the free adjustments afterwards.  Epic friends!

Mark,Mike and Jay at SurfExpo After-Party

Way too cool

The SurfExpo crowds were in for some major coolness at this event.  I just had to escape my booth for a bit when the iconic surf legend Shaun Thomson did a presentation on the history of surfboard shaping.  In the audience was legendary surfer, Pete Townend.  Just to be in the same room with them hearing Shaun’s firsthand experiences of his the early days at North Shore was enough to make me stoked for the rest of the show.

Another great presentation was the2010 East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame Awards which our friend Hunter Joslin MC’ed.  It included some historical photos and stories from the inductees which included: Bob Rohmann, Bud Gardner, Doug Waters, George Miller, Jeff Klugel,Ross Houston, Scott McCranels, Sharon Wolfe & Sue Lloyd Hogan

I had done a couple TV interviews while there which was fun. But I never know where to look when I do those...I am probably cross eyed which should prove to be funny if I ever catch a glimpse of it.

The last hours of SurfExpo became more similar to a shopping spree.  Handwritten signs got taped to surfboards and goods around the floor.  No one wants to package and ship stuff back if they can help it and after some negotiations, I ended up leaving with a new Stand Up Paddleboard from my friends at Pau Hana Surf Co. Getting it home easily?.. Well…that’s a different story but nevertheless I have a new excuse not to work.

Looking back at what was the January Surf Expo 2010 I can say that I am really amped.  This seems to have been the decisive event which was needed to push my career into high gear. We took orders from literally around the World and based on the energy and momentum of this trip, we came home and got a new office and studio space and are really excited for a fun and successful season ahead of us

My friend Jim Kempton, Media Director for Billabong and I at SurfExpo

Hanging in Jacksonville on the drive home with our friends Cat & Eric Brigmond

My friend, ESPN and Transworld Staff writer Jon Coen and I

Huge thanks go out to our friends, customers and fans who made our first booth experience at Surf Expo one of the most fun career related events ever!

“Dude, I think we got the gig!”, Dave told me and it felt like we gave high fives over the phone.  I was so proud and happy to have helped initiate the first gig together with these two groups of amazing musicians and friends. Then and there I knew that our New Year’s Eve plans were set.

I was talking with one of my best friends Dave Fowler who is the principle song writer & keyboardist for Echo Movement discussing the New Year’s Eve show in Jacksonville,Florida with Donavon Frankenreiter & band.

The day we arrived in Florida, my buddy Eric Brigmond (Donavon’s keyboardist and Trumpet player) extended the invitation for dinner and brewskies at a local pizza joint called Cabo’s. We got there to a warm welcome from the guys. It was so nice to all have time to catch up outside of the stress and commotion of the normal backstage and show chaos.

We ended up at another great hang in Jax, called ‘The Mellow Mushroom’ where Pete Winders (Donavon’s lead guitarist) was playing a side gig. With it’s groovy hippie inspired decor and chill vibes, it was an ideal setting to have the drinks stacking up. The voices got louder, the smiles widened and soon Donavon and the fella’s decided to get up for an impromptu set. The locals that were there picked the right place to go randomly go out to that night.

The next day was New Year’s eve, the day of the big show, we met up with our good friends Kevin & Yvette for some sushi and drinks and then made our way to the venue.  It was a massive, green field reminiscent of Woodstock, right on the water and we got there to meet up with Echo Movement who was just about to go on as one of the opening acts. Our good buddies Mark Longnecker and Jimmy South, both epic Tattoo artists from Endless Summer Tattoo in Cocoa Beach came up to celebrate with us and our friend Jess from Jersey drove down as well. It was a surreal moment, celebrating multiple circles of friends overlapping as the last moments of 2009 were brought to an end.

After Echo’s set we went backstage which became party central.  Friends, friends of friends, musicians and significant others united with a feeling of oneness and love. Soon though it was almost showtime and the dressing room was cleared of everyone except the band, their wives and Chelsea and I.  Donny put his hand out in the center of us, as to prompt us all to overlap hands for a group moment before 2010 arrived.  Each person gathered in a circle placing a hand upon Donavon’s as he made a heartfelt speech directed at us which I will always cherish.

The show was insane, as always and we all gathered close by to watch them perform.  Towards the end of the show during the song “If It Don’t Matter” our friend Dave from Echo Movement went missing.  Or so we thought, until my arm got grabbed and I heard, “Dave is on keys with Donavon!”  I looked to my right to see my friend Dave, who often feels like a little brother to us, on keyboards for Donavon as per Eric’s invite as he trumpeted.  As we proudly smiled and sang along we looked towards center stage where Donavon was waving us on stage to come out and join him.

We all gathered on stage 10 feet or so behind the band and sand along. Apparently I was a bit more intoxicated that I thought because I ended up breakdancing on stage behind Donny which I am hoping to find on YouTube one of these days.   As the song’s solo was blazing, Donavon came back and gave me a big hug and we exchanged words of mutual brotherly love and respect.

After the show we met up at Echo Movement’s bus and all grabbed one of the their longboard skateboards and cruised around the parking lot.   It was a magical night and I couldn’t think of a better way to bring the New Year.

The next day we met up with the guys for bagels before heading out to the gulf coast for the next show.  On the way to St. Petersberg, Donavon stoked me out with a sneak preview to his unreleased Recycled Recipes 2 album and the upcoming rerelease of his first album in Hawaiian style.  Let me just tell you, that when these albums come out, GO GET THEM! They are so super sick that we listened to them on repeat for a couple of hours.

Thank goodness for Priceline, we scored a super sick hotel resort room and lived like royalty with sunset views on the gulf before meeting the crew at a fancy shmancy Italian restaurant up the street from the venue.  I am not even close to being a big drinker, but it’s hard to decline Margarita’s with Petrone.  The food was absolutely incredible too and as our blood alcohol content got higher, the silliness and goofball behavior amongst us started to increase as well.

To top it all off, at the end of our meal, I turned around to see a birthday candle on a platter of fresh fruit as everyone started to sing to me Happy Birthday.  Now, I should note that normally I am not too into that typical singing Happy Birthday in the middle of a restaurant thing that Applebees or Friday’s does, but umm..it was freaking Donavon and his band singing to me…like how many people get that sorta’ treatment ? I’m not going to try and hide it, I was stoked.

Annnnd…Off to the pub we go across the street.  Somehow our friend Cat got talked into eating this nasty ass liquor soaked egg from a jar. We all did jack and cokes for my almost-birthday and what was buzzed Jay, became drunken Jay rather quickly.  The next thing I know we made out way back across the street to the venue and the festivities continued.  It was another mind-blowing show and a fantastic sequel to the night before.

By the next day Chelsea completely surprised me and got us a suite at The Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. I still chuckle when I say the name of that place This resort was unreal and it was perfect time because we needed some R&R.  The hotel is totally huge built around a tropical atrium with Palm trees, stone castle walls, a giant boat restaurant floating on an indoor lake.  Each section had it’s own theme and there was even an indoor marsh with a boardwalk bridge. It was so nice to just relax.

I woke up on my birthday to an email from my brother.  He attached a video from my beautiful nieces singing me happy birthday and it was the cutest thing ever. We spent the evening of my birthday at Epcot and relived our childhoods a bit and found some great vegan restaurants in town to fill our bellies.  I don’t see how this week could have been any better!

]]> http://jayalders.com/travels/new-years-eve-in-florida.html/feed 1 http://jayalders.com/press/mesurf-australia-on-the-fly-interview-with-mesurf-australia.html http://jayalders.com/press/mesurf-australia-on-the-fly-interview-with-mesurf-australia.html#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:01:27 +0000 Jay Alders http://jayalders.com/?p=1534

Thanks to my mates down under for this follow-up Interview I did with Australia’s MeSurf Magazine.

Check out the full Interview here

]]>

Thanks to my mates down under for this follow-up Interview I did with Australia’s MeSurf Magazine.

Check out the full Interview here

]]> http://jayalders.com/press/mesurf-australia-on-the-fly-interview-with-mesurf-australia.html/feed 0 http://jayalders.com/featured/new-surf-paintingpot-of-gold.html http://jayalders.com/featured/new-surf-paintingpot-of-gold.html#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:29:53 +0000 Jay Alders http://jayalders.com/?p=1503

During this past summer, I was doing some sketching after a recent surf session at Bradley Beach, NJ with my friend Mark and his buddy, Bryan from the Bouncing Souls. It was an epic day of…

During this past summer, I was doing some sketching after a recent surf session at Bradley Beach, NJ with my friend Mark and his buddy, Bryan from the Bouncing Souls. It was an epic day of warm water, beautiful lighting and super fun glassy conditions.

We were surfing just off the jetty and the wave had this sweet bowl to it. As I would take off on wave, I’d skim my hand across the quick moving wave’s surface and mentally record the images and sensations I felt as the sunlight punched through the water.  It’s a magical feeling that every surfer can relate to.

I decided that combining stylized exaggerated shapes and graphically inspired lines with traditionally rendered glazing and blending techniques would be a powerful way to portray this scene.

I also wanted to show some of my love for the surrealism, art deco and modern art movements. The warm oranges, reds and yellows, creates a very rich and warm feeling that reminds me of the sensation of oneness and harmony while out in the water for a surf.

The name, ‘Pot of Gold’ with it’s dual-meaning and reference to the ultimate treasure we all dream of seemed to fit perfectly.

I hope you find inspiration and exhilaration in this painting whether you surf or not.

Prints available here.

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Surf Artist friends: Peter Pierce,Robb Havassy,Jay Alders,Chris Pederson & Charlie Clingman

It’s been about 3 years since fellow surfer/artist and friend Robb Havassy first contacted me to be a part of a book, film and series of exhibits now known to the World as “Surf Story Project”.

Surf Story Project, the hard-cover book, was just finally released. It’s 440 pages of 88 of the most renown surf artists and pro-surfers on the planet.  So needless to say, it’s a huge honor to be included amongst such legends as Gerry Lopez, Phil Roberts, Joel Tudor, Art Brewer, Ken Auster,Rob Machado, Bill Ogden,Rick Rietveld, Drew Brophy, Rick Griffin and Aaron Chang to name just a few.

Charlie Clingman (foreverstoked.com),Rob Havassy,Chris Pederson and I chillin' at Robb's place with some brews before the art show

It takes a very spiritually grounded human being to consciously and diligently bring together a group of talent that many people outside of our circles might see as showcasing your biggest ‘industry competitors’. But that is not what Surf Story Project is about. As Robb told us, “..it’s a book of love stories”, referring to our common obsessive passion for surfing, the ocean and art.

This driving force inside  each of us is what we are paying homage to. It is bigger and more powerful than any individual involved. Only as a collective group can it’s historically significance begin to be realized.

So when Robb told me that the book release & group Art Exhibit was going off on Dec 18th 2009 in Costa Mesa, California at the Hurley HQ, I quickly booked my flight.  I would have been kicking myself in the ass for years if I missed such an opportunity to rejoice amongst some of my most respected & talented artistic peers and surfing icons.

Robb and his wonderful wife Patrice and their 8 month old gorgeous daughter Marin were my gracious hosts for the first few days of my trip, unselfishly opening their doors to me. Their Aloha spirit overwhelmed me with warm-hearted brotherly love from the first moments I walked in the door and was greeted with hugs and smiles.

LA LA LA LA

Cassie and I at Veggie Grill in Manhattan Beach, CA (Check out my rad "OBX Pit Surfshop" shirt drawn by our friend Drew Brophy.)

I had a couple days before the big event and used every available moment to catch up with buddies in LA. I had a chance to meet up with our friend Cassie Hero in Manhattan Beach who’s one of our favorite adrenaline junkies and used to work for FuelTV. I convinced her to eat vegan food with me at Veggie Grill after we ‘attempted’ to surf 10-12ft closeouts in Manhattan Beach.

Sunny and I after surfing Sunset in LA

Another highlight of the trip was meeting up  for a surf with my friend Sunny, co-owner of 9:Fish Surfboards.  We had much cleaner conditions on Friday at Sunset in LA. It was a fun point break with a super nice local crew.  I’d say it was worth the 2+ hours of traffic on the 405 I had to deal with going back to Orange County.

SURF STORY PROJECT: THE OPENING

The event was held at Hurley HQ in Costa Mesa and when I arrived, I was in awe of how this exhibit had come together.  Most of us there said how this event was history in the making and we couldn’t believe what Robb was able to accomplish. Reminiscent of the last day of senior year, we all had our books under our arms swapping signatures and well wishes in ink on our respective pages.

When I was a teenage grom doodling in class and frothing over surf magazines, I remember gazing in awe at the old Maui & Son’s Surfing ads which Rick Rietveld painted. Close to 20 years later and thousands of miles from home, I was drinking brewskies and acting like a goofball with that same guy, my buddy, Rick.  He signed my book, “To my new best surf bro artist friend! Thank you for your inspirational, distorted creativity”.

And thus, the mood of the night was set. That of accomplishment,humility, sharing,amazement and camaraderie . This was a selfless & beautiful celebration of love for our oceanic muse that we have in common. Because as the night proved, we who contributed to the pages in this book and the walls in the exhibit are all both fans,creators & friends.

Bill Ogden is quite a character and his work is purely breathtaking. He is commonly referred to as one of the founding fathers of ‘Surf Art’ and from what I hear, is rather reclusive normally so getting to share wall space with Bill at this event meant a lot to all of us.  We chatted for a little bit and he told me how ‘he dug how tripped out my art is’.  I couldn’t ask for a bigger compliment!

THE SURFING HERITAGE GALLERY:PAINTING DEMO

When my friends from The Surfing Heritage Museum found out I was coming into town, they graciously asked me to be a featured artist for a live painting demo. They opened a new gallery location just minutes from where I was staying in Costa Mesa,CA.  I was stoked and of course agreed happily!

To my complete delight and honor my friend Phil Roberts (who is one of my favorite illustrators and surf artists) came in to hang out with me with his adorable daughter Portia.  He is responsible for sculpting the epic Pipeline Masters Trophy as well as painting this years Pipeline Master’s Surfbord Trophy.

Portia is such a character just like her Daddy.  She sat down and painted alongside of me and told me jokes while Phil and I talked about art techniques and laughed about some funny stories from the exhibit.

SOME TIME WITH FRIENDS

Skateboarding has been a part of my life since I was about three years old. So about a decade ago now, I chased a dream and I co-founded a skateboarding company called Seed Skateboards. The company didn’t last, but my friendship with one of our pro team riders, Joey Pulsifer did.

Joey used to be one of the most technical street skaters I’d seen and I bet if he stopped drinking so many peppermint mocha lattes and watching MTV’s “Jersey Shore” that he would still kick some butt in a game of “skate”.  Regardless, whenever we have the opportunity and visit each other’s coasts, we keep in touch and shoot the shit.

Joey is now co-owner of Resource Distribution, home to Riviera Longboards and they just got this dope new warehouse which I got to check out in the morning before my flight home.  Riviera was one of the first big licensing deals I got years ago and it’s really nice to see how far we’ve both come since then. I love seeing friends have success.

ONE OUT OF TEN

I read an interesting tid bit in a Robert Kiyosaki book years ago about how 1 out of 10 business ventures fail. Kiyosaki goes on to comment that to the success-minded person this only means you may need to try ten different dreams, but eventually, it will work.

I try and always keep that advice in my consciousness. And this trip further solidifies it’s deeper meaning to me.  Whether it’s compiling a 440 page book or being a Professional Fine Artist or starting a skateboard company or meeting your childhood heroes.  If you try hard enough, have faith and go with the flow, you will eventually succeed.

Happy Holidays!

A huge Mahalo to Robb and Patrice Havassy for providing me with a home away from home and inspiring me in so many ways.