This past Wednesday, I had the honor of joining G. Love & Special Sauce on stage to live painting during their epic performance at The Freebird in Jacksonville, Florida.

I am incredibly appreciative of Garrett for allowing me to be a part of their performance. The show and painting and the post-party on the bus was just a blast.

This painting had been sleeping in my studio now for a couple years. I had left it unfinished in 2009 and moved on to other ideas. It was originally inspired by my friend from home Quincy Mumford who was about to put out his second album and asked me to design him an album cover. His management and I didn’t quite see eye to eye so it never progressed much past a sketch on the canvas.

A couple months ago though, I was flipping through the jungle of ideas in my sketchbooks and rediscovered this sketch which I thought had some real promise.  It was already kind of started on the canvas, so I figured I’d put it up on my easel to reincarnate it.

Original sketch from August 2009

I had intended to make it a bit more surreal, having a snowboarder morphed into the guitar player’s arm. Quincy and I both love surfing and snowboarding and I felt it important at the time to combine both. But after recently re-working it, I wasn’t convinced that really worked visually or was necessary.  I did like the idea though of being caught between winter and summer both metaphorically and literally.  Being born and bred in Jersey, we all have a love/hate relationship with the seasons.  A lot of people seem to just hibernate during the winter. For me it was always a time to create and reflect.

This piece needed to reflect where I mentally was now though since years had passed since it’s conception. The concept of living the moment between two transitional periods of life became my main focus along with attempting to illustrate ‘the zone’ that artists and musicians share a passion for. That place we all go to bend reality around our visions, where logic and potentiality take over seamlessly.

Prints are available on Shop.JayAlders.com

Jay Alders and musician/long time friend, G Love will share the stage at Freebird Live in Jacksonville Beach, Florida on January 25th. G Love will provide the tunes and Alders will back him up by doing a live painting on stage.

Alders often paints to G Love’s music while in his studio so the live collaboration is sure to be a mind-blowing one.

The Void Lounge (sponsored by Void Magazine) at Nippers Beach Bar and Grille in Jacksonville Beach, Florida is featuring Jay Alders art work in their newest exhibit. Alders designed a custom cover for Void’s “Green Issue” back in November and was enthralled to be the feature artist in the Void Lounge.

Pieces such as Throwing Lines, Shifting Perceptions, Right Past the Light and more will be on display January 18^th through February 18^th.

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In 2010, when 35-year-old Trish McKenzie heard that an apartment was about to be renovated in Point St. Charles, she jumped at the chance to buy it. The building, which had been operating as a crack house, was in dismal shape, but it had been auctioned off for development. McKenzie, a sports and recreation director, was given the heads-up about the old-made-new again apartment by the husband of her former boss, a real estate agent.

Given the building’s shady past, weren’t you concerned that it might not be the best place to set up a home?

Not really. I grew up in Montreal and I know the area. In fact, at one time, my grandparents lived a couple of streets away. The Point is really changing. Lots of old buildings are being renovated. This complex is probably at least 100 years old, but to all intents and purposes it’s brand new.

The fellow who bought the building after it was auctioned off never finished the job, so the real estate agent said that if I liked the look of the place, he’d complete the renovation, then find other buyers to turn it into a co-prop. When I saw the apartment, I decided right away that I wanted to buy it. The sale went through very quickly.

What exactly is a co-prop?

It’s similar to a condo in that it has several owners. The main difference is that we don’t have to pay monthly maintenance fees. We’re each responsible for our own units but we share common expenses, divided according to the amount of space we own. My share is 34 per cent. We split the cost of anything structural, like repairs to the roof or if the balconies have to be redone.

You said you have a garden?

The backyard belongs to my unit but a good friend of mine lives on the second floor and a really nice couple occupies the third floor, so they use it as well. I don’t mind sharing. Instead of a garden, they each got a parking space.

Did you have to decorate the apartment before moving in?

There was very little to do because the whole place had been done over. I did ask for a number of modifications. The hallway was just a large open space so I had a couple of closets put in. I needed a storage area, especially for all my sports gear.

(She leads me to a walk-in closet crammed with snowboards, a rack full of seasonal clothing and three bicycles mounted on the wall. We walk over to a stylized painting of a surfer that hangs on the exposed brick wall in her living room.)

Your love of sports evidently figures in your decor as well!

This is by Jay Alders. He goes around surf competitions in the U.S. I’ve always loved his artwork, so last year my family gave me the painting for Christmas. The couch used to be in my parents’ basement. At some point, I’d like to recover it because I’m not keen on the colour, but I must admit, it’s very comfortable.

You have a couple of pieces that look as if they might be antiques.

The oak sideboard in the dining area was a housewarming gift from my mum. She knew it would match the dining room table, probably the most important piece of family memorabilia that I own.

There’s quite a story behind it.

The table was a wedding gift for my great-grandmother, and my dad, who inherited a lot of her furniture, took it all down to our cottage in Vermont. Unfortunately, the cottage, which was in a remote area, was broken into the first weekend after he put in all the antiques. The thieves took everything, except this table.

My father told me I could have it if I was willing to refinish it myself, so I did! I had to glue everything together because the table was so old and the surface was badly cracked. I hated having to restore the claw feet. They were very fiddly.

Did you know anything about restoring furniture before you tackled the table?

Nope! (Laughing.) I basically made it up as I went along, but I’m pretty pleased with the result.

My friend Mark Longnecker is a well known Florida based tattoo artist and called me the other day while our friends from the band Echo Movement were staying at my place near Jacksonville Beach.  He offered the band the bro-deal on tattoo’s before their New Year’s Eve gig.

When we rolled into Cocoa Beach on December 31st,2011, Colin (drummer for E.M.) asked me for a ride to Mark’s shop for his new tatt which was to be based on my painting “Burning Inspiration” which was used for Echo Movement’s last album.  I was really honored that Colin wanted my art on him especially since this painting was originally created with his band in mind.

When we got there we only had an hour and a half before their set. Mark asked if I wanted to sketch it on Colin’s calf with a sharpie and he would ink it.  I was really surprised and stoked for the opportunity. Colin was amped and we got to work.

I think Mark did an incredible inking job on the piece. He did real justice to the original painting and Colin was really happy with it.

We raced back to the venue just on time where we celebrated 2012 with a bunch of great friends.

It was one of the first manatee’s I’ve ever drawn. They are sure weird looking creatures. Luke does some awesome surf videography, check out his work.

The entire city was pulsating with miles of art galleries, exhibits, street artists painting walls, DJ’s, live music, free drinks and almost no cops anywhere. I couldn’t believe how alive Miami was with the expressive energy of art everywhere. I was overjoyed!

My friends Carina and Kevin were cool enough to let me crash on their couch for the weekend. Carina is super into street art,works for Quiksilver and is a talented creative person in her own regard. She was my personal guide to all the hot spots and gave me some insight into some of her favorite artists.

When I arrived, I found out that my friend Garrett (aka G Love) was performing that evening, I told Carina and her and Megan were really amped on seeing him play, so we went over to Purdy Lounge and caught up with Garrett and his awesome girlfriend Sarah and friend Shelby.  It was good seeing them and a kick ass way to start a weekend in Miami.

We drank entirely too much and paid the price for it the next day…Blaahhhh. But it was a fun night of drunken goofiness and art-overload.  Kevin made me vegan pancakes and everything seemed to be ok.

I saw most of the big time indoor exhibits like SCOPE and Underbelly Project and saw some really cool stuff.   I went to the convention center which was the “main event” and was baffled by a lot of it. There were some big names like Picasso on display, but mostly a lot of shit like this exhibit of rocks arranged on the floor. (see below). I mean, what the f–k is that?

The highlight for me at the convention center was seeing Mark Ryden‘s piece (below).  I am not a believer that anything is art, to me, skill, technique and creativity is where it’s at and Ryden knows what the hell he’s doing. I definitely was more inspired by the outdoor street art than by the fancy shmancy 5 figure priced tape measure sculptures and blurry photos of pubic hair.

Overall though, I am stoked to go back next year, I had a blast and filled my thirst for culture for a little bit. I hope to be involved in it next year in some way with my art.

Dec 7 2011 – The Inertia published an artist spotlight on Jay Alders and his surf inspired artwork. The feature highlights Jay’s contribution to the surf community through his art and involvement.

Check it out here >>> TheInertia.com