"Trash Can Racks"
Watercolor - 8 x 12"
I was working on this painting a few weeks ago at Artwalk in San Diego. People came by to see what I was working on, and a lot of them wondered why I would be painting a trash can. Because its cool I'd tell them. Or, I told them I heard everyone was buying paintings of trash cans these days, so I thought I try one myself. Some of them didn't know I was kidding. I do think the painting is cool though.
"Walking Torrey Pines"
Watercolor - 8 x 12"
Three guys walking away from some surf at Torrey Pines State Beach. My wife likes to take the kids there, and though it is a great beach, the waves there are some of the worst ones in San Diego. I have tried to surf there with the family, and on Labor Day this year it was ridable, while Blacks, just 3 miles down, was all time.
"Monster Left"
Watercolor - 8 x 12" - $225
This shot shows the size of the wave, and how perfect it looked this day. This guy dropped in and was just screaming down the wave. He hit a flat spot, slowed down, and the wave just kept going. I got three more pictures of this wave which shows the guy trying to dive under the lip and then getting creamed. He came up with a broken board. Its a great painting though.
"Watching Pipeline"
Watercolor
11 x 18'
Pipeline is so beautiful. Sometimes it is just as fun to see your friends pull in as it is to pull in yourself. Well, maybe its funner to pull in yourself. Yeah, I think so.
"The Point"
Watercolor - 7 x 23"
This is one of the first seascape paintings I did, that I kept. It is the place Rick Cane's girlfriend from the movie North Shore said she lived. Laie Point
"Kualoa Mountains"
Watercolor - 81/2 x 22
Another view of Chinaman's hat. This is where they filmed Karate Kid 2.
"Cliffs"
Watercolor
10 x 16"
I love surfing at Sunset Cliffs. If the waves are small, a good longboard is great fun with small crowds. When the waves are huge, it isn't scary. And in between it is fun too.
"The Flag"
Watercolor
7 x 11"
This shot reminded me of the famous picture of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima, only this one has used surfboards in it.
"Torrey Pines"
Watercolor - 15 x 22"
I love the cliffs along Torrey Pines. They look over some of the best beaches in San Diego, and continually change colors throughout the day. When you take a low tide rising in the afternoon on a clear day, I"ll paint the scene.
"Going Left"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
Another beautiful wave at Blacks. I wish I caught this one, and the thousands like it that break all the time.
"Knee Paddling"
Watercolor
61/4 x 141/2"
She looks so cool, just gliding up the face of a little Swamis wave.
"OB Sunset"
Watercolor - 8 x 12
Sunsets can be spectacular anywhere. I happened to be in OB for this one.
"Waxing 2"
Watercolor
This is a lot like the painting above. I love the feel of these. It shows a quiet preparation time, which makes the scene seem more serious than it is. I mean, the guy is just going out for a little surf, but what he is doing has to be taken seriously. Surfing is more than just fun - its important.
"Going Home 2"
Watercolor
Even people who surf at Tourmaline might not remember the mural that is painted on the bathrooms there. The model here is the lovely and talented Mandy Newbold.
"Tube"
Watercolor
This shot was taken by Dr. Bruce Robbins. When I saw his shots from this day, I was amazed there were such good waves, and that there was no one on them. He said our friends, the Del Mar lifeguards, put up the flag so us bodysurfers can have it alone. Usually when the lifeguards put up the blackball, they are refered to in words other than our friends. This shot, and the others from that day looked awesome. Makes me want to bodysurf more.
"Waimea Gathering"
Watercolor
15 x 22
Surfing is so great. Everything about it is fun. Even walking away from it after a good session. Especially when the session had 20 foot waves, and everyone saw your last one in. How can you feel any cooler?
"Surf N Sea Longboards"
Watercolor
11 x 15"
This shot is from Haleiwa, and like the other painting of Surf n Sea I did, I wish my garage looked like this, with a board for every ocassion and wave size. I measure my wealth in surfboards. Right now, I have three boards, and they are pretty beat up. Needless to say, I'm feeling poor.
"Children's Pool"
Watercolor
11 x 18
A cold grey day in La Jolla can still look beautiful.
"Waimea Bay Resting"
Watercolor
11 x 15
A cold grey day in Hawaii looks way more colorful than in CA. Even when the Bay is flat, it can look a little meanacing. If there were 20 foot waves rolling in on this day it would be scary.
"Harbor Morning"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
Another cold morning in San Diego. Believe it or not, in like 2 hours after this shot was taken, it was a bright and sunny day,
"Shoreline"
Watercolor
I will never get tired of painting the shoreline, and things that happen there. Check back to my site in 20 years, and I will probably have a painting in the new section that looks a lot like this one.
"Simmons"
Watercolor
Another day along Neptune Street. Windansea wasn't breaking, but Simmons was going off, and there were only like 5 guys out. In the 10 minutes I was there, I saw someone pull out of a solid 4 second barrell - and he was dry.
"Kauai"
Watercolor
11 x 14"
This was a comission for a Father's Day present. What a suprise. Diane, who had the painting done, told me her husband teared up when he saw it. How cool.
"Pounders"
Watercolor
11 1/2 x 22"
When I was a student at BYU-Hawaii, and I just wanted to bodysurf a little, and Sandy's felt too far away, pounders had some fun waves. It was great to go back and visit.
"Paige"
Watercolor - 10 x 16"
This is a cool shot, and I don't know if the painting shows it well, but the wave is thick and strong, and about to dump, and Paige is gracefully paddling over it seemingly without a care in the world.
"8 A.M"
Watercolor
11 x 20"
Walking down to Pipes on a crisp morning with some fun surf in the forecast. What a great way to start the day. And if you are going out at 8, that probably means either work is flexible or non-existent for the day. How cool.
"Casa 2"
Watercolor
11 x 18
Another view, another time of day. I could paint this scene 100 times and it would be different each time.
"Oceanside Head Dip"
Watercolor
10 x 15"
When Billy Harris is famous, I will be able to sell these watercolors for so much money. Everyone will want to see what he surfed like before he was a surf star.
"Shores"
Watercolor
7 1/2 x 9"
I never used to surf the Shores growing up, but now I find myself there a lot. Probably after lifeguarding there. The waves are amazingly good sometimes.
"Walking Out"
Watercolor
5 x 10"
What feels better than knowing you are about to have a few hours of uninterupted play time, with the sun shining and warm water and a few good longboards? Not much.
"Morning Walk"
Watercolor
I keep telling myself I should paint things that people actually want to buy, and get away from surf art, but then I see this scene, and I want to paint it. Its a clear morning and a cool shoreline, and guys with surfboards. The only thing that would make this shot better is if it were two girls walking down the beach.
"Big Cove"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
On different days, the Cove changes. It goes from a serene seascape to one of Southern California's best big wave spots. This day was Dec. 18, and the first time I ever surfed out there, except on a lifeguard rescue board when it was smaller. It was fun both times.
"Moonlight Beach"
Watercolor
12 x 17"
This is Moonlight Beach, but it could be anywhere. I think this is my favorite place - right on the shoreline. And it is one of my favorite things to paint.
"One Gull"
Watercolor
71/4 x 113/4"
Seagulls are really pretty birds when they are hanging out. They do lose some of their appeal when they are fighting over a sandwich left on the beach, or tearing into a plastic bag with some chips into it. I still like them though.
"George Greenough"
Watercolor
8 x 22"
This is George Greenough. As if anyone wouldn't know that. I did it, using a photo Harold Ward took, to be a part of an exhibit in the Surf Museum in Hunting Beach. And I was honored when George's brother bought it.
"Heels"
Watercolor - 12 x 16"
This painting is from a photo taken from Bill Harris. It is Billy, his son, and what he is doing looks so hard. I can barely get one foot up to the tip. But to get my heels over, well, that is something I will never be able to do. I did try once though. Needless to say all I did was a half turn 3/4 the way up my board, and blow the wave.
"Another Pelican"
Watercolor
11 x 8 1/2"
Man, I love the way this one came out. Its one of those paintings where you let the watercolor do what it does on the paper and hope for the best. I love it.
"Swamis Shoreline"
Watercolor
Looking north from like Pipes area.
"Torrey Pines"
Watercolor
I had a lot of fun surfing this day. There were two other guys out way down the beach, and these little barrells kept coming in. After surfing like an hour, my left fin broke off. I tried to keep surfing, but I just slid out after that. I hate FCS fins. I have broken off like 8 of them in the past three years. I hardly ever broke the glass on kinds - only once, when my board flew off my roof racks in high school.
"Cruising Turtle 2"
Watercolor
This painting turned out so awesome. I love looking at it. Its the kind that paints itself in front of me, and I get to watch it, as it is created.
"Billy"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
What a beautiful shot, with the Oceanside pier in the background. This is another shot taken by Bill Harris of his son Billy. I would like to take pictures that good, and I would like to surf that good as well. My next big surfing goal is to feel really comfortable up on the nose like that. That looks cool.
"Windan'sea"
Watercolor
9 x 15"
I worked at Windan'sea lifeguarding again the summer of 2003. The surf was more crowded than I have ever seen it, and there were more people on the beach than ever. The good news was that I was able to surf a lot, but the bad news is whenever the surf was big, like on Aug. 2, we were too busy making rescues to enjoy it.
"Window Shopping 2"
Watercolor
8 x 12"
The second installment in the series of when I was shopping for a new board. This is the big shop in Solana Beach. There is a lot to choose from here.
"Trestles Surf Racks"
Watercolor - 12 x 22"
This one day at Trestles was so great for me. Not only did I have the best time surfing, but I did a lot of really cool paintings. I should have stayed all day.
"Tandem"
Watercolor - 10 x 16"
Here is a shot of the famous tandem team Guy and Paige. They look so smooth. Surfing is hard, and adding another person to the board, and lifting them and posing, and still making the wave is indeed a talent.
"Paige"
Watercolor
I believe this is the future of surfing. Right here. A young girl, wetsuit not quite fitting, figuring out what is so great about surfing. And doing it. This image seems so pure and simple and fun. It makes me happy. And this happens to be the same girl from the previous painting surfing alone insetad of as part of a team.
"Scripps Pier 2"
Watercolor
11 x 18"
This view hasn't changed much from when Ansel Adams took the same shot over 40 years ago.
"Pump House"
Watercolor
This day was great. The sun was shining, it was warm, and there were good waves all over the place. The main break at Windansea was very crowded, but guys were getting good rides at Big Rock, The Pump House, Simmons, Little Point . . everywhere.
Watercolor
11 x 16
"Uh, I got it." Sometimes its better to surf somewhere else, and get waves that aren't as good. I have to admit this day at Windansea was really good though.
"Cardiff Walker"
Watercolor
A cool shot walking around the board. I love the weightless feeling that lasts for like a second when you step back from being on the nose - when you start to drop to the bottom of the wave - and you hope you don't pearl. I can't remember what happened in the next few seconds of this ride. The guy was good though, and young - maybe 14.
"Trestles Bike Path"
Watercolor
11 x 15
It takes too long to get to and from the water at Trestles. Riding a bike cuts down on the time a lot and it feels cool riding a bike to the surf.
"Paddle Out"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
I did this painting in College, but with oils, and I always wanted to try in watercolors. That is my friend Nate, paddling out to Goat Island. Boy, I love Goat Island.
"Rainbow Bridge"
Watercolor
15 x 22"
Ah, the gates of welcome, inviting all who pass through to enjoy nature's Disneyland. Is there a better town anywhere than Haleiwa? There are surf shops, art galleries and specialty shops, restaurants, and some of the best waves anywhere.
"Cardiff Sunset"
Watercolor
5 x 22"
Sunsets are so fun to watch. I miss living in Hawaii where every night I could just walk out my front door and see one. And having this view from my house would be an incredibe blessing. I hope the people who live there enjoy it.
"Cardiff"
Watercolor
Looking south from the dirt area above Cardiff Reef.
"Bikes"
Watercolor
One way to go down the path is by bike. It'll get you there quicker, and hopefully you can keep an eye on them while in the water.
"Turtle Bay Splash"
Watercolor
I will always look for interesting waves crashing on the shore.
"Blacks Overview"
This is one of the best sights you can have when walking down from the glider port. If you can take out all the people and just look at how good the wave is, and know it is just a few feet overhead, all lined up, you know it will be great. Blacks has such good waves.