Here is a photo of the Abalone Mermaid as almost done. I actually finished her yesterday, but didn't take a photo. She is currently with Peter, who photographs all of my art, and I will pick her up next week, take her to the glasser down in Ventura and she will recieve her final coat of gloss polish. I always have my boards photographed before the coat of final varnish since it will be so shiny that it will cause too much glare for a picture.

She may take more than one coat of resin since my paint application can be thick at times. I applied a lot of gold leaf and then distressed it by sanding it back and mottling and stippling paint over it, giving an aged and abstract background. I will have a photo of the finished product soon!

Abalone Mermaid

After having returned from a rejuvenating trip to Nicaragua, I am filled with energy, creativity and excitement. After surfing some of the heaviest waves of my life, I am tackling this intimidating project with with zest. With my limited time to work (only about 15 hours/week) I am making the most of those precious hours when my son in daycare.

I am also juggling a large commission and an insanely detailed painting of a 1940's beach party, not to mention the 50 paintings I'd like to start, so I have to prioritize the projects.

On this piece, once the figure is completed, I will texturize her with 23K gold leaf, roughing up some of the "cleanliness" of the woodgrain I painted, adding a warm, antique feel. Drawing upon all the deteriated wood, gold and metal I have seen in Italy and even in Nicaragua, I am creating a surfboard that bridges the past to the future.

6' Abalone mermaid

I've started to block in more colors on the flesh, adding warm highlights and cool shadows. I've also started to "grain" in some 23K gold leaf, adding an antique look to the piece.

Recently, my friend Dave gave me a shortboard blank that he had rescued from a dumpster after a "Beach Blanket Bingo" theatre production! It was saturated with housepaint and had been sitting in a storage unit for 3 years. I gave it to shaper, Jeff Scardine (http://jscardine.blogspot.com/) and he was able to work his magic and create an amazing retro "pumpkin seed" shape from a shabby blank. It was almost impossible to resist the temptation to surf it, but I knew it was destined for art.

So far, I have painted a bird's eye maple stringer, heartwood rails and redwood center panels. An abalone mermaid is being painted on the bottom. I will be updating as she comes together.

Moe"Uhane is complete!

Here are some of the completed photos, without the gloss coat.....she received her gloss polish today and I pick her up tomorrow, so come on down to see her at the second Open Studios this weekend, October 23-34 from 10-5pm, as well as other new paintings!

"Moe'uhane" Mermaid surfboard

Here is my latest hand-painted surfboard, shaped by Jeff Malmen.. I have titled her, "Moe'uhane," which means "dream" in Hawaiian. She is still a work in progress, but I plan to have her finished by this weekend, October 16-17 in time for Open Studios. Please come by and see her, as well as my latest paintings. I'll have prints of my last mermaid surfboard, "Malia"(see below) and many other prints available for purchase.

On this piece, I hand painted the woodgrain as a faux bird's eye maple and walnut finish. On the bottom of the board I am painting a Hawaiian mermaid as I see her resting at the bottom of a Hawaiian reef, encircled with Butterfly fish, coral and abalone as she dreams of a handsome fisherman.

6 hot days in the making.....

The Utility box is finally finished....

it was tough to paint in the 114 degree weather. On tuesday it was 104 degrees, but at 3:30 in the afternoon, I brushed some glazes on my treasure chest and the paint was still wet 10 seconds later! I looked up and saw that a bank of clouds had moved in and the temperature dropped 20 degrees in 20 minutes. At that point the paint could be blended, mixed and glazed. I could finally make some progress. I spent a total of 6 days on this project, feeling almost like a celebrity. I was painting on the busiest street in San Luis, and everybody saw me working. I was honked at, yelled at (all positive statements), people gave shakas, thumbs up, and thanked me profusely. It was very satisfying to see people grateful for the art the utility box artists were providing for the public. It didn't even bother me when an old lady came up and started shaking her cane at me when she found out that the paint was not going to wash off.

Utility Box Art project in San Luis Obispo

I was honored to have been chosen to paint a large utility box in downtown San Luis Obispo along with 12 other artists. My rendering is of a 15 foot Pacific Octopus crawling out of a treaure chest, reaching for a deep sea diver helmet, in honor of hte 15 foot Octopus that my grandpa killed in 1946 after it terrorized all the divers out at Port San Luis.

The festival commenced on saturday, when the temperatures hit 104 degrees. Needless to say, the paint stopped blending, my brushes dried up pretty bad, so things are going a bit slower than planned. Here are some photos to see the progress:

It's supposed to be 106 today and 102 tomorrow. Needless to say, I will be working on an oil painting in my studio these days. The box must be completed by Oct. 9, when it will be sealed with Frog Juice sealer, so I have a little bit of time to wait for the marine layer to return so I can blend my paint!