This pastel sketch completed around 2000 is a surrealistic figurative vision by artist Jay Alders. This very limited edition of 30 signed and numbered prints are being released and available for purchase on shop.JayAlders.com.

Printed on bright white archival fine art paper, the print is 18 x 24 inches with white borders.

The post Limited Edition Prints released for Pastel Sketch “Male Reaching” appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

The post Concrete Wave Magazine – Surf and Skate Art Feature appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

Pick one up at your local east coast surf shop today.

Behind The Easel With New Jersey Native Jay Alders

By Allison Arteaga 

Jay Alders’ artwork hardly needs any introduction. It’s instantly recognizable and almost universally appealing. But when ESM sat down to interview Alders, we realized that what’s even more impressive is his wisdom and good-hearted nature.

ESM: For anyone not familiar, how would you explain your work?

Jay Alders: I guess you could say that my art has some surrealistic elements to it. I like to stylize and warp reality a little bit to show passions of mine in a way that’s new for people. I like to paint things that can’t be photographed. I sort of create my own little world with it.

ESM: What are your primary tools?

I like to experiment with other mediums, but oil is my primary one. It’s just incredible to work with. It forces you to be patient because it dries very slowly. It makes me take my time and work my craft, giving me the opportunity to really explore the subject matter. A lot of chemistry knowledge goes into it, too. There’s a historic nobility to working with oil that I really love.

ESM: How do you feel like you’ve been inspired by the East Coast surf community?

JA: To me, surfing is an art in itself. It’s another tool for me to express myself. And it’s inspiring to see what Mother Nature creates: the shapes of the water, reflections, and the way the light interacts with the water. There are so many elements to it that are so artistic and beautiful. And surfing, in essence, creates lines and shapes and compositions on the wave. So I try to bring that to the easel when I paint.

I don’t like to be classified in general, so I’d rather just be looked at as an artist who likes to surf rather than a “surf artist.” Surfing is one of many things that I love to do; I paint and draw other things besides surfing. But a lot of my work is based around surfing and the ocean.

ESM: As a Garden State native, how did Hurricane Sandy affect you? 

JA: I grew up a very short distance from the beach in New Jersey, and that was everything that I knew. But with the storm, a lot of the landmarks were wiped out, and family and friends lost their homes. It was really devastating to have that happen to the people and places that I love. I felt an immediate need to find a way to give back, but since I was at my new home in Florida, I wasn’t in a geographic location where I could just bust out a shovel and help people in that capacity. So I put a lot of my immediate efforts toward figuring out how I could use my skills and talents to make a difference.

My first step was to create awareness. I did TV interviews down here in Florida, and my wife and I got some drop-off and pick-up locations for relief supplies organized. Once the dust settled a little bit, I got working on a design that we put onto hoodies and T-shirts to sell as a fundraiser, and we have been donating 100% of all of those profits (more than $14,000 so far) to RebuildRecover, which is an organization dedicated to recovery efforts in the tri-state area.

ESM: Sounds like the marketing sense that sets you apart from other artists really came in handy with relief efforts. Where did it come from?

JA: My parents ran their own business, so I had that paradigm of seeing what it was like to hustle, work, and bust your butt to make things happen. It got sort of ingrained in me. My parents never made me feel like being a professional artist was a weird pathway toward making a living. They just always told me that, if you’re going to do art, then make sure you can make a living as a businessman also, promoting and selling yourself. And if you believe in what you do, the sales and the business part sort of falls into place.

ESM: What’s the most difficult part of being a professional artist?

JA: People who create, whether it’s for a hobby or for a living, understand the frustrations of being your own worst critic. That’s one of the hardest things: getting past your inner critic and always trying to improve. Art is one of those areas of my life where it’s very important for me to always expand and evolve. I also have to balance out the business part of my brain that has to make a living from what I do with the part of me that does it for pure artistic reasons.

ESM: Could you explain what goes into creating each of your paintings? 

JA: When I’m doing an oil piece, I work on a wood panel, so before I start the painting process, I have to make or get a panel that’s appropriate for the sketch I have in mind. And I’ve usually spent several days refining that sketch, because I like to organize my thoughts and work through all of the problems of the piece before it even gets to the wood panel.

Once I’m ready, I sketch the piece on the panel. Then I’ll sometimes spend months layering oil paints one on top of another or blending and adding highlights. I like to play with light in my pieces and kind of fool the eye into feeling a sense of energy and aliveness. I also really enjoy subliminal elements that a casual glance might not show. I like having a lot of different levels of depth to my pieces.

ESM: Despite how much work it is, what’s exciting for you about stepping into your studio each day?

JA: Everything. I love it. It’s my sanctuary. It’s my safe place. It’s my man cave. It’s where I come to escape some of the realities of the world and create new ones on my easel. It’s a place were I can be unfiltered and let the creativity of the universe flow through me.

I have the ability to do something that I absolutely love, and always have loved, for a living. My parents tell me that even as a toddler, I was always drawing on everything I could find. As I grew up, I had that talent nurtured by my family and just really took to it as a way to communicate my feelings and express how I saw the world. Art has been my job for as long as I can remember, and that in itself is surreal. Every day I wake up and am just super grateful to be able to do something that I love for a living.

The post ESM Magazine Interviews Jay Alders In The Artist’s Studio appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

Now available on our online store, big color posters of the Alders yoga painting “Down To Earth”.  For only $24.99 plus shipping you can get this beautiful poster sent to your home almost anywhere in the world.

Read about this painting on Jay’s Blog.

Buy Now

The post Posters Now Available for “Down to Earth” appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

It’s Spring time here in the Northern Hemisphere and that means it’s time to release some new summer time gear. After many requests to offer a Surf Art T-shirt featuring “Pot of Gold”, we are proud to announce that it’s here!

This fitted, vintage feel uni-sex surf art T-shirt can be purchased from Jay’s online store to ship anywhere in the world.  It’s so soft and stylish, we hope you love it!

You can purchase a Pot of Gold Brushstroke Series T-Shirt on Shop.JayAlders.com

The post Pot of Gold Brushstroke Series T-Shirt appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

For Autism Awareness month Jay Alders brings you this $100 package of great art items available on http://shop.jayalders.com/ 

With each purchase of this package or any of our puzzles for the month of April, we will donate 20% to Surfers Healing to help kids find comfort, fun and healing through Surfing.

Please help this wonderful cause and get some great gear too! One love!

This package includes:

• 1 Right Past the Light Puzzle
• 1 Right Past the Light Matted Print
• 1 Out of the Blue Matted Print
• 1 Out of the Blue Tote Bag
• 1 Right Past the Light T-shirt
• 2 Jay Alders Stickers
• 1 Surfers Healing Sticker

Visit Shop.JayAlders.com now.

The post April is Autism Awareness Month – Surfers Healing Campaign Begins appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

Throughout my adult life I seemed to have been drawn towards dating unstable nutty dramatic women.  Sound familar? Well, with age, I’ve learned that judging people only proves one thing, that we are being judgmental. Doing so attempts to remove the burden of our own responsibility in any given situation.

Looking at my past relationships purely factually based, I can definitely see some truth to referring to them as nuts, I mean getting things thrown at you is probably not a sign of a healthy relationship, but the fact remains that I was the one that consciously chose to have such people in my life, which doesn’t say a whole lot about my own stability in my younger years.

Rather than go into some Freudian discussion about the reasoning for this bizarre attraction that we have towards chaos and drama, I wanted to share some insights which have changed my perceptions and have led me to the wonderful relationship I have now with my wife and a better understanding of the opposite sex.

Turn Frustration Into Motivation

I’ve always been artistically inclined and rather overly analytical.  It’s been a blessing and a curse at times. I thrive on picking things apart mentally and visually, try to understand them and how they work. I love to explore truths, sort out mysteries and then piece it all together and sometimes create something new.  After a number of heart breaks and bad experiences I realized it was time to evolve out of my current paradigm. I was determined to turn my frustration and confusion into proactive steps towards self-improvement. To piece it all back together and create something beautiful.

About 10 years ago, I read the book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus“. It opened my eyes to a new way of thinking and finally I thought that I could at least find some logic in understanding women’s needs and their way of thinking. What used to just be labeled in my mind as “woman are freaking crazy” now became a personal challenge to understand and respect their ways of thinking.

You can only alter two things in any situation:

1. The actions you choose to take

2. Your perception of the situation.

So rather than feeling helpless, I saw a few options to choose from to make a real change in my life:

A) I could continue to participate in complaining about how nuts women are.

B) I could try to change every woman I ever dated so she thought like I did.

C) I could be a single reclusive hermit.

D) I could learn to understand and change how I view women’s way of thinking.

Being a guy, I kept my eyes on the prize, and (D) seemed like the only logical choice in meeting my life’s goals.

Translation Does Not Mean Fluency

But even with these new insights which I’d learned from books and articles I’ve read over the years, the problem still remained that it was still a matter of translation. Which is to say that Female-Thinking would enter my brain and I’d have to translate it to Man-Thinking and then re-translate it back to woman-language. I’d then cross my fingers, hold my breath and hope that the translation I used worked. (As a side note, I wish Google would just create an app for this)

Even though intellectually I was beginning to understand and respect the differences, there was still plenty of times in my life that I just felt like metaphorically slapping my forehead and rolling my eyes in frustration* with thoughts running through my head such as “why does this situation have to be so dramatic or so damn complicated?”…or…”Not again…”

(*side note: Don’t actually make that facial expression or say those thoughts out loud , chicks do not dig it.)

Every man can relate, just as every woman can relate to feeling emotionally ignored and not understood.  That sort of thinking just perpetuates the problems we all experience. I see this with women friends of mine too where they claim to know how men think but they usually only understand intellectually and superficially…book smarts.  But there’s no relationship to the knowledge.

Despite the differences in genders, we have various levels of both male and female energy and thought patterns in the stereotypical sense at least.  But as a broad observation, most people would agree that men as a whole are very outcome based and we pride ourselves on being logical (whatever that means) , whereas women are often socially connected and emotionally & intuitively driven.  There are exceptions of course and clearly nurture plays a significant role but I think it’s undeniable that we are hardwired differently.

The Debate

Several years ago, when I finished painting in my studio, I got into a conversation with Chelsea in the kitchen.  We were talking about the different ways that men and women think, which is a topic of debate that we’ve all participated in.  I think that for us men, one of the things that makes it harder for us to fully appreciate how women work is to the fault of women. Yes ladies, sorry, but it’s true….read on.

How often do women sit around and complain and gossip about other women saying how crazy this friend is or how bitchy that one is or how this girl makes no sense or how that one said this and that. When us guys hear that stuff, it just emphasizes our sexist stereotypes and verifies that ‘our way makes more sense’. Women reading this can list a hundred ways guys are self-defeating too and I won’t deny that.

We went on to discuss some couple-friends that we care about a great deal. We were trying to dissect some of their relationship problems because we wanted to strategize ways to support them lovingly.  We shared our viewpoints of how each gender processes the same situation differently and I think we did so in a very unbiased balanced way. (It’s always easier to use this approach towards when you are not one of the people under the magnifying glass)

I was trying to explain to her during our talk, that in this phase of my adult life, I usually intellectually know how women’s brains process situations. However I still didn’t see the value in solving problems and coping with life in this emotionally dramatic and intuitive way. It made no sense to me.

As a man, we have a tendency to focus on our goals, aim and shoot.  Anything not having to do with our goals doesn’t warrant a place in our thoughts because it’s a distraction. Us men focus all of our attention into the leakiest part of our ships. If something is urgent and important it gets top priority, if something in our career or long term goals needs attention, it gets it all.  If something or someone seems ok, we ignore it because it’s already checked off as “OK” on our To-Do list.

Sadly, people and roles in our lives that are not part of our current “mission” become collateral damage because we as men don’t see an intuitive need to maintain,nurture and balance other areas of our lives unless we consciously make it a direct goal.  I’ll call this “Target Thinking” often known to women as Typical Man Thinking.

Chelsea reinforced to me that women on the other hand will get in their heads a pattern of thinking and start going off on tangents looking for other areas of their lives where this way of thinking can apply. A thought or comment about what plans are for next week might quickly transmute into panicking over worries about having children or where their next home will be or how plans need to be made to catch up with college friends.

“Really?“, I thought, “…women really need to find parallel issues to other seemingly unrelated areas of life in order to work though problems and feel connected? Why not just focus on whatever the issue is at hand and tackle it then and there?”, I continued.   This female “Parallel Thinking” made sense on paper, like I understood what she was saying as the words came out of her mouth,  but how does that make any sense? How is that useful? I was glad that I kind of understood it, it’s a helpful skill to work on as a dude, but I was sure glad to be a man because that still seemed kinda’ nutty.

My Epiphany

(Insert the metaphorical lightbulb going off over my head here)

I LOVE ART.  I love painting, I love drawing, I love sculpting, I love doodling on napkins and imagining things in the clouds. It’s always been my release. I learn about myself and the world through the meditative and often stressful process of creating art.   When I am in my most intuitive creative mode, when I am in the zone, I am actually often using “Parallel Thinking”! “Holy shit!!!  How could I already be connected to my female way of thinking so deeply and not have seen it?”, I thought.  All along what I referred to as my artistic ability was actually closely related to being able to think like a woman. (gasp)

So I explained this revelation to Chelsea and I felt more connected than ever before to this side of me. I described times in my studio when I would get lost in my own mind and go off on what seemed like spiritual tangents which inevitably would become some of my greatest work.  Moments of clarity that led to me to search for beauty, identify patterns in shapes, linear composition, subject matter & colors that normally might have nothing to do with each other. Bending and distorting objects and figures because it felt right and not because there was logic to it. What a magical way of thinking.

The down side to this Parallel-Thinking during the creative process for me is that I can get lost in my own head and emotionally feel drained and allow that negative pattern to seek out other areas of similar criticism in my personal or professional life. If left unchecked it can throw me into a low level of self-confidence and I feel drained and yes, it makes me bitchy.

During these low moments, I’ll be seen slouched over my easel with complete frustration on my face. I feel that this painting might never be able to be completed. I feel worthless. I know at these times that I’m being overly dramatic and that this feeling will pass but I get in moments of crisis nevertheless. “Is this similar to how women feel?”, I asked her. She nodded and agreed.

How could I possibly do what I do as an artist without Parallel Thinking?! Focusing on emotional connection & intuition drives me to paint the way I do.  But then, if I didn’t use my ability to Target Think with my focus on outcomes,structure & logic, my paintings would have no cohesiveness or attention to detail.  I need my ability to use ratios, mathematics and color theory to bring together all of the emotional elements.  Creating art for me is really a search for that perfect balance between Target-Thinking and Parallel-Thinking.

When I going off on too many tangents with a piece, I find myself thinking how unnecessarily complex I am being.  When I get too logical with a painting it loses it’s soul and magic. Just as this applies to my art, both genders need to learn to balance and embrace both male and female energies. Both Parallel and Target Thinking methods need to find harmony, because without both we are not complete.

I learned through my love of art that a woman needs to seek connection and explore her thoughts across her whole life in the same way that I need to do so when I paint. But just as every man must learn to value and connect to this side of himself, every woman needs to acknowledge and focus on outcomes and goals so she is empowered to pull herself out of the downward spiral that too much Parallel-Thinking can lead to.

So the next time you find yourself feeling like your gender’s way of thinking is the right way, take a moment to think about the hobbies, career goals and favorite life experiences that need both sides of your thinking to be in harmony.

The post How Being An Artist Taught Me About Women appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

While painting this piece, I listened to Eckert Tolle’s  audiobooks “Power of Now” and “A New Earth” on repeat, mixed in with some classic rock, jazz, hip-hop and reggae. When I started feeling like I was slipping out of the zone, I would take breaks to do yoga and meditate. It was a goal of mine to re-create that zen-like ego-free bliss that I get from Yoga during the entire painting process. Connecting with the energy around me kept me into the present moment and in essence, this piece painted itself.

The Sun, water and air beautifully and perfectly transmute source energy into life. I chose to have the female figure in Downward Dog, because it’s a core basic pose in Yoga which much of Vinyasa flow is based around. It serves as a pose for endurance, stillness and strength. From the time I first  started Yoga until now, I am starting to grasp the idea of how much even the simplest poses can be pushed to the limits.

Since this is my first piece of Yoga art, I would like to share a little bit about how this came about. I was first introduced to Yoga in college. Thinking it would be an easy elective class and a means to meet girls I anxiously signed up. At a time in life  that I was not yet capable or willing to see Yoga’s true devine light, it quickly slipped from my weekly ritual when the class completed.

Over the past handful of years with some gentle nudging from my now wife Chelsea and a pathetic desire to be able to touch my toes in the morning I began to reacquaint myself with the ancient practice of Yoga. It’s become an empowering transformative tool for me, which I rely on as a regular means to connect with the creativity of the Universe.

We were in Kauai , Hawaii last month staying at the northern part of the island in Princeville, spending much of our trip at and around the legendary and gorgeous Hanalei Bay.

There’s such a symbiosis in Hawaii, the tropical plants inhaling our exhalations. The warm sun rises and falls as does our chest with each breath. The great Pacific Ocean reflects light and divides the life above with the life below.   I enjoy bringing autobiographical elements to my work, it acts as a visual journal for me. During my visit, I knew that Kauai was soon to become the inspirational setting for this piece.

With this painting,  I offer gratitude for the inspiration and experiences that Hawaii offered me. I also pay tribute to the inner-beauty and oneness within us and the immeasurable perfection that is our Universe.  Namaste.

Signed Limited edition Archival Prints are available on Gallery Wrapped Canvas and Fine Art Bright White Paper.

Buy Prints at: Shop.JayAlders.com

The post New Yoga Painting: Down to Earth appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

Painted in 2003, this still life oil painting “Lemons and Egg” by Jay Alders is now available as limited edition archival prints on canvas and fine art stock. Each print is hand-numbered and signed by the artist.

Buy prints at:  Shop.JayAlders.com

The original oil painting on canvas is also available (*at of this post) for collector purchase.

The post “Lemons and Egg” – Limited Edition Prints Now Released appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.

It’s estimated that 1 in 110 children are coping with Autism, many of us have someone in our lives who is more than just one of those statistics.  Each of us can make a difference. When our friends at Surfers Healing called to see if Jay was willing to participate in Autism Awareness Month, he didn’t hesitate.

Surfers Healing has been setting up camps across the country and Jay has seen the benefits and fun these events bring to thousands of families.  “I’ve been to several events on the beach where kids with Autism are given beautiful experiences in the water through surfing.  I am very supportive and grateful for this collective movement of compassion which Surfers Healing is leading the way.”, says Alders.

For Autism Awareness Month beginning April 1, 2013, Jay has chosen various items on his online store (shop.jayalders.com) that will be listed under the Charity section of his site with 20% of all profits being donated to Surfers Healing.   Special packages and charity items will become available at 12AM on April 1st.

Surfers Healing was founded by Israel and Danielle Paskowitz.Their son, Isaiah, was diagnosed with autism at age three. Like many autistic children, he often suffered from sensory overload– simple sensations could overwhelm him. The ocean was the one place where he seemed to find comfort.

A former competitive surfer, Israel hit upon an idea–with Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and Izzy steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together. Surfing had a profound impact on Isaiah. Israel and Danielle decided they wanted to share this unique therapy with other autistic children. They began to host day camps at the beach where autistic children and their families could be exposed to a completely new experience of surfing.

The post ‘Surfers Healing’ Charity Collaboration appeared first on Jay Alders:Surf Art,Fine Artist,Photographer,Designer,Writer & Surf Artist.