US OPEN of SURFING / FINALE

This is my final post about the US Open of Surfing. Thanks to the folks at Hurley for rolling the dice on my 'talents' and allowing me to challenge myself on this project. Thanks to Alex Chu for his great work on the documentation, time lapse and editing of the video, not to mention having to tolerate me for three days straight!

Check the video at the Hurley site here.

US OPEN of SURFING PT. 4

The 2009 US Open has concluded and as you can tell from the photos above, a few people turned out to watch the action. I was pretty excited to get this mural assignment from Hurley and pushed it as far as I could given the requirements and logistics of creating something like this on site. It was great to have the mural subject, Rob Machado, drop by at the end of the weekend to check out the mural and he seemed stoked on the results. I'd also like to thank Kika Madrigal, Jason Maloney and Adrian Nyman at Hurley, as well as Roger Gastman at RRock Enterprises, and the videographer, Alex Chu.

A few technical notes: the mural was executed on location, at the event, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; seawater was used to mix the wheatpaste for all of the collage. I also used seawater to mix the watercolor/dye washes as well as thinning/cleanup of the water based inks I used in all of the screenprints. The final dimension of the completed piece is 9' x 22' and is a combination of black and white photocopies, screenprints on colored paper, gesso, acrylic ink and chiffon. Several lengths of the semi-transparent chiffon, which we screenprinted upon, were glued only along the topmost edge, allowing the fabric to move and shift with the wind. 

Hurley documented the entire process and will be releasing a webisode, featuring a timelapse view of the work, start to finish, later this week.

US OPEN of SURFING PT. 3

The waves at the Huntington Beach Pier this weekend were quite epic. Never have I seen such massively-size surf in person and it was amazing to see and feel the power of the ocean. I saw some swells that must have had 25'-30' faces. It's unbelievable that these guys and gals get out there and attempt to ride the lightning....

Here is a link (check it out at the 0:50 mark??!!! ) to the sickest thing I saw at the US Open of Surfing! But keep in mind I spent most of my time 'working'. I will have a full report of the H20/Rob Machado mural (that Hurely commissioned me to complete on site) very shortly...stay tuned.

US OPEN of SURFING PT. 2

In progress studio views; commissioned, commercial mural for 2009 US Open of Surfing. Dig the amazing wood screenprint frames on loan from Hurley; how many prints have THOSE things made? (Thanks, Kika!) 

And huuuuge inspiration from Bob Raushcenberg on the Hoarfrost vibe (detail photo).

US OPEN of SURFING PT. 1

The folks at Hurley have commissioned me to design and execute a large mural during the U.S. Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach. I am currently thrashing in my studio to prepare all the needed ingredients for the piece, which will measure 8' x 20'. I will be on location at the event this weekend, Friday July 24-Sunday July 26, creating the massive collage. Hurley will be producing a thorough webisode documenting the creation of the mural, so stay tuned. 

BTW-I am happy to see skateboarding included at the festival site...

EXCUSE ME MA'AM....

...I am trying to get rad here."

The boys of Black Sheep in NC have been laying down some skate sessions with the latest shop release. Thankfully, Justin Pittman  'got rad' despite the rather questionable deck graphics! 

DISPOSABLE / SEAN CLIVER

Artist, illustrator, historian, collector Sean Cliver is making the rounds in the press right now. He's promoting the latest edition of Disposable: Skateboard Bible (above) from Ginko Press. I have had a copy of the first edition for several years, and it's extremely informative, entertaining and of course, nostalgic. I can't wait to get a copy of this new one. There's a good interview with Cliver over at (***gasp***) ESPN.

Highly recommended for any artist/designer/illustrators' reference library and/or skateboarders' collection of printed material.

BLACK SHEEP NC

You may recall that I posted a Coming Soon teaser a few weeks ago...well, Josh Frazier and his crew at Black Sheep in Charlotte, NC got it done. He also wrote a few kind words about our shared east coast skate scene...both the decks and the shirts are now available  from Black Sheep at 704.333.1423. 

I think it's a fun graphic, with a great 'tie-in' to the DIY zine thing, and a complimentary use of House Industries' (Ken Barber) Blaktur. Can't wait to get my 'samples' from the UPS. Thanks Josh!

HOW TO MAKE A ZINE

As part of their new Against the Grain webisode programming, I recently created a short tutorial on the dying art and craft of zine-making for Hurley. The whole sequence was shot at my studio, improv style, starting only with a few tools and some photocopies. The entire design was performed in front of the camera, right as you see it, without any planning or additional takes/shooting. Many thanks to the Director, Greg Roman, for making this a reality.

It's my hope that the youth of today will be inspired to continue the tradition. Have a look...