Archives: Surfboard Art
Decisions, Decisions I am excited to introduce “Sunrise Lines”, a balsa wood surfboard shaped and glassed by Juan Rodriguez of One World in Sarasota, Florida. Ricky Carroll, shaper of “Crystal Lip”, had introduced Juan to my work and as I was contemplating my next project the phone rang. It was Juan.
“Pink Hibiscus”, surfboard #4 in the Tony Arruza Collection, is completed and as with the prior three boards it is an eye-catching and unique piece. For those not familiar with this project the goal is to come up with 15 boards by 15 shapers from which to mount gallery shows from. This personal project is a marriage of two life long passions, photography and surfing.
A couple of months back surfboard #3 of my surfboard/art project and he was impressed with what we had done. I was delighted with his request to use an inlay design on one of his beautifully hand crafted, and expensive, solid balsa surfboard. The inlay would be placed as a lengthwise strip that measured 7’6″ long and 5″ wide on either side of the center stringer. The inlays that I’ve created for my personal boards are the full width and length of the bottom of the board. To create a one photograph inlay of the proportions Ricky wanted was close… Continue reading
My boards were on public display for the first time and I could not have selected a more appropriate venue than the annual Surf Expo. Held every January at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida the Surf Expo is where the surf industry gathers to display the latest in surf and beach apparel, surfboards, stand up paddleboards, skateboards, art, accessories and more items than you can imagine coming from the ocean and the youth culture. Ricky Carroll of R&D Surf Inc. provided floor space at his booth that included surfboards from five shapers. Using custom made steel stands… Continue reading
My latest surfboard art was created in conjunction with award winning shaper Ricky Carroll of RC Surfboards in Rockledge, Florida. The inlayed image, titled “Crystal Lip” (#1 of 10), is from a series of recently photographed wave lips. It evokes purity in motion and makes a striking and dramatic image on this, my third surfboard inlay. From the outset it was truly a collaborative effort. Ricky suggested a 7″ 4″ semi-gun style, big wave board and a color resin tint job on the opposite side of the print. This would be the first time we would accent a color… Continue reading
The second in my collection of surfboard art is a combination of a 6’0″ retro-fish design surfboard shaped by Ron Heavyside, owner and master shaper of Nomad Surfboards, and the Giclée print entitled “Mullet Chase” by Tony Arruza. The idea of inlaying a fish photograph on a ‘fish’ type surfboard came easily