My passion is surf art but I would say the real passion is for California surf art. I grew up on the central Oregon coast in a small town named Newport. When I was in middle school, I visited my aunt and uncle in San Diego and immediately fell in love with the place. I always told myself I’d move there and sure enough when I graduated college that’s exactly what I did. We moved to beautiful North County San Diego in the Carlsbad/Encinitas area and lived there for about 10 years. I studied architecture and surfed in my off time. My love for the area and culture never waned and I began painting it. For me the ultimate expression of loving something is to paint it, and I did just that. Say what you will about California and any negative stereotypes it might hold. From aggro surfers to crazy drivers on the freeways, I never really gave the madness of California much attention. I guess I turned a blind eye to it and saw it with rose colored glasses. I really loved where I lived and now I miss it a lot.
I’ve made a lot of road trips up the Pacific coast, often on the way to visiting family in Oregon. I especially fell in love with California’s central coast. There was just something about the untapped, pristine nature that struck a cord with me. I think in a way it was a perfect blend of the rugged Oregon coast and southern California (if there is such a thing). I’ll never forget reading about the first Spanish explorers who settled California. They reported back to Spain, describing California as the “Land of milk and honey”. In my mind, Southern California probably looked a lot like our modern Central Coast. The area still feels like the wild west and is definitely a place I could retire someday.
