Palisades Skateboards Artwork (c) Drew Brophy

Available in retail stores this month, there are five killer designs to choose from.

When we first started this venture with Palisades, National Sales Manager Kurt Hurley came to our office with some serious eye-candy:  samples of their Rick Rietveld artist series longboards, and we were blown away!  The boards were beautiful.  Their printing capabilities were impressive.  The colors, the quality, everything was just top notch.

And Drew wanted to be a part of that program.  Drew loves the idea of having a complete line with many designs that a store can choose from.

Kurt had some awesome new shapes to work with.  Drew started pulling art together right away, and he’s more than stoked on how the Palisades Skateboard crew made the final product look.

The line is great, there is something for everyone.

Palisades Crew at ASR Trade Show

Says Drew:  ”I look forward to adding to the line and a long relationship with Kurt, Brad and the rest of the crew at Palisades.”

If you don’t see the Palisades Drew Brophy Artist Series boards in your local skate shop, ask them to go to www.palisadesskateboards.com and order them!

Yin Yang Indo Board - Artwork (c) Drew Brophy

Drew and I went to the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Trade show last week in San Diego.  Like every trade show, you run into so many people that you haven’t seen in awhile - at least not since the last trade show.

We talked to friends that are retailers, manufacturers, photographers and writers.  The first question most of these people asked was “What have you been up to, Drew?  Got anything new going on?”

And we realized that we have been doing a lousy job of getting the word out on all the new things we have going on.

This year 2010 is going to be the best year we’ve ever had, in terms of strong partnerships and top quality products.   And we haven’t really announced it!  That changes right now…

New Drew Skateboards by Palisades (Kurt Hurley & Drew)

Here’s the 2010 skinny on how hard we’ve really been working:

We have a line of Drew Brophy Converse shoes hitting Nordstroms and Journeys, a HOW TO DRAW WITH DREW book published by Walter Foster, new Indo Boards, a complete skateboard line through Palisades, wakeboards through Liquid Force and a deal with clothing company Hinano Tahiti.

So, to get word out as to what we’ve been up to besides a whole lotta nothing, we’ve decided that I’d better get back to doing press releases and blog posts.

Starting with the Indo Board collaboration, here’s the first press release that I’ve sent out in a long time.   Be ready, I’ll be sending more!

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Circle of Life (c) Drew Brophy

For the past 6 years or so Drew’s been creating a new painting for the Ocean-Institute’s summer program flyers and t-shirts.  They’ll also use the art on huge banners (about 15′ x 20′) to hang on the side of their building every year.

The Ocean-Institute is an organization based out of Dana Point, Ca.  Their mission is to inspire all generations, through education, to become responsible stewards of our oceans.  Their vision is to be the world’s best experiential ocean educational organization.

Drew loves what the Ocean-Institute does to teach people, particularly kids, about the ocean and protecting our environment.  He really loves creating art for them every year.  And, working with the President, Bentley Cavazzi, is always a joy.  Bentley is one of those rare individuals that not only understands art, but also gives Drew a lot of leeway on the creative end of it.

This year Drew decided to paint a slightly different look.  Instead of the paint pens, he used a combination of spray paint and then airbrushing (for the background, to create an under-water effect) and then acrylic paints with brushes.

His goal was to create a soft, under-water circle of life without the hard edges, emanating somewhat of a subtle energy.  I think he pulled it off nicely.

The end result:  A 6′ x 4′ Acrylic on Canvas, beautiful, about to be framed, sold & hung!

We allow the Ocean-Institute use the artwork, but we keep the original.  So once we frame it, we’ll place it in an upcoming art exhibit that Drew will have at the Ocean-Institute, and make it available for purchase.

Here are some photos of the process of the painting of it:

Aaron Chang, signing his page in Surf Story

That’s how historical events usually go – first there’s conception, then benign interest, then slowly people begin to see the vision, then 20 years goes by before everyone agrees that it was an important shift.

Two years ago, when Robb asked Drew to write a story for this project, we weren’t sure how serious he was.  So many people say that they are going to publish a book, yet they quit once they find out how difficult it is.

But “difficult” doesn’t stop Robb Havassy. Despite roadblocks and challenges, The Surf Story Project was born and has become a truly inspiring work of collaborative art.

Robb first described it as a book of personal stories told by professional surfers, artists and writers that have been ingrained in the surf culture.

But The Surf Story Project has evolved into a magical collaboration of talented minds and creative energy of 88 famous surfers, artists and writers from all over the world.

Included in the list of 88 are professional surfers Gerry Lopez, Rob Machado, Daizy Shane and Rochelle Ballard, 7-time published author Drew Kampion, iconic artists John Severson, Bill Ogden, Jim Evans and Phil Roberts, younger artists Jay Alders and Patrick Parker, art collector and Juxtapoz Magazine executive Greg Escalante, and photographer’s such as the much loved Aaron Chang.

(To see the complete list of 88 contributors, click here.)

The first time a book of this nature has ever been accomplished, it was quite a feat to gather that many gifted people and connect them together in one place.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SURF STORY PROJECT:

Robb Havassy wasn’t scared to take a huge, expensive risk that very few people would take. We are grateful to him for seeing his vision through, and for including Drew in this impressive list of personalities.

The significance of the Surf Story Project became clear to at the book signing party at Hurley Headquarters in Costa Mesa, where hundreds of people gathered to celebrate.

As I watched the artists and writers shake each other’s hands, genuinely eager to meet each other and sign each other’s books, they seemed connected, as if a new tribe has been formed through the making of the Surf Story Project.

The walls of the venue were emblazoned with surf art of many of the contributors. Works by Jay Alders, Heather Ritts, Charlie Clingman and Bill Ogden hung as a monument to this great project.

I don’t know if Robb Havassy intended this to be, but I believe that The Surf Story Project will become a future historical reference of what is happening here and now, during the early millennium, in the culture of surf.

At the signing dozens of books were sold and signed (they retail for $275.00.) The vibe was high energy, excitement, even exhilaration. You could say this is one project that has found huge success right at the starting line.

HERE ARE PHOTOS FROM THE BOOK SIGNING EVENT:

 
DREW’S SURF STORY:

At first Drew wasn’t sure of what story he wanted to share. He leaned towards stories that depict the happiness and joy that surfing has brought to his life. But he decided to write about something deeper, a memory that affected him greatly.

Having just returned from a trip to South Africa, Drew had quite a few adventures to write about. One was the extreme high of having surfed some of the best waves in the world on a five star vacation. The other was depression from witnessing the atrocities of sick, homeless little boys living in the streets. Some as young as 5, the same age as our son at the time.

Drew decided to tell a contrasting tale of both the exhilaration of surfing J Bay and staying in a house on the cliffs, and the sadness he felt for the boys that ran after him on the beach, begging for food.

If you buy the book, you can find Drew’s surf stories and artwork beginning at page 204.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The book is 444 pages, and is a full color beauty that weighs 9 pounds! It’s impressive in both size and depth.

There are only 1,000 copies of the Collectible edition in print. Well over half have sold already. (Our own copy is #414 out of 1,000.)

If you are interested in buying one, I recommend you do it soon. You can get it here on our website, and we’ll be sure to have it signed by Robb Havassy and Drew Brophy and a few other Southern California contributors as well.

Robb Havassey has inspired me greatly with this project, both from the view of “getting things done” to the importance of having an artistic vision and seeing it through.

What we can learn from Robb is that if you have a vision, no matter how big or difficult it seems, it’s worth the sweat and tears in the end. You may just make a little history.

To find out more about Robb Havassy’s SURF STORY PROJECT, go to http://www.surfstoryproject.com.

Surfer's Sanctuary Painting (c) Drew Brophy

Drew’s been busy painting all sorts of projects right now in a mad dash to get things done before we leave for Myrtle Beach this weekend.

He’s been finishing up paintings to sell online (they sell about as fast as we can post them) and surfboards for clients’ kids.  Right now there are 6 surfboards in the studio just about finished!

After these boards are finished, he has two more big paintings to finish before Thursday for the Hurley Exhibit!  (2 Days to paint these….)  And then there are also those 2 little paintings that need finishing….

Anyway, I thought I’d post a slide show of some of the fun little paintings and sketches that Drew’s done these past 2 months.  Many are sold, there’s a few left, and he still has 2 more to complete.  Enjoy the slide show!

Last week Drew was hired to go to Nordstroms at The Grove in LA to paint Ugg Australia boots, alongside Cory Miller of LA Ink.

When he arrived, there was a line of people waiting to get their boots painted!  The demand was so high that they asked Drew to stay 2 extra hours.

The most popular technique requested that day by shoppers was the airbrushing of Drew’s hand-made stencils of dragons, skulls and flowers.

If you have a pair of boots you’d like painted, Drew will customize them for $75.00 with his stencil technique.

Bring them to our studio in San Clemente, CA, between now and Dec. 18th, and he’ll tat ‘em up for you.  Call 949-678-8133 to arrange a time.  Here are some photos from the Nordstrom’s event:

Stenciled Skull (c) Drew Brophy Dec 2009

Happy Customer! Artwork (c) Drew Brophy Dec 2009

Stencil Art (c) Drew Brophy Dec 2009

Hi. I’ve been asked to paint on a used board. I’m just not sure how to price it. Can you recommend a starting range. Should I just price it like a regular painting? Thanks for your help!  Aloha, Kara

Kara, this is a great question, and I think that surfboard artists everywhere should somehow format a similar pricing structure.

First, make up a price sheet for yourself.  Second, be sure to charge extra for used boards, because more time is involved to prepare them for painting.

And to answer the part of the question about “Should I price it like a regular painting?”:  We have two different price sheets for painted surfboards.  One for real art, and one just for board decoration.

REAL ART TO HANG ON THE WALL:  The first price sheet is for true pieces of art that will be hung.  These are priced like any painting and pricing begins at $3,500.00 (includes the board) and goes up to $20,000, depending on the size and complexity of the subject matter.

BOARD DECORATION:  This second price sheet is for all surfboard paintings that are meant to decorate a board that will be ridden.  The board is supplied by the customer.

Pricing for this starts at $75.00 and can go up to $2,000, depending on the size of the board, the painting, and the complexity.

What you get for $75.00 is what we call a small board “tattoo”.  Usually a little “hit” painted on the rail, or a small character or wave on the nose of the board.

What you get for $120 is a larger painting, still on the nose or a small section of the board, but of greater complexity, like a beach scene or a sexy mermaid.

Most of our customers ask for a $250 paint job, which covers about a third to half of the surfboard and is a beautiful painting that they can proudly show off when surfing.

A full board painting, of course, will cost in the $500 - $2,000 range.

REGARDING PAYMENT:  Make sure that payment is made at the time that the board is picked up.  No board leaves our studio unless I’ve been paid in full (cash preferably).

CHARGE EXTRA FOR USED BOARDS:   We require that they bring it with wax completely scraped off.  We also add $20.00 for used boards, because even with the wax cleaned off, it takes a lot of extra time prepping it for painting to remove the residue.

MAKE A PRICE SHEET that details the different painting prices for different types of board decoration.

I wish you the best of luck!  Please, feel free to ask any other questions on this topic.  We’re here to help.

Maria “Spunk” Brophy xxoo

PS:  Check out my business blog for artists www.mariabrophy.com

Heather, Drew, Maria

It’s been a busy month, but hey, when isn’t it?  The week after the Battle of the Paddle mural painting, Drew and I were at the Sacred Craft show giving seminars and painting demonstrations while manning our booth.

The highlight of the weekend was watching our son make $25.00 in tips by giving temporary tattoos to people.

An amazing thing that happened:

We had at least a couple dozen people come to tell us that they follow our blog and that Drew has helped them with their art business or getting into art.  It was such an honor to hear that.

Maria with Nia Peeples and Sam George

Heather Ritts came to help us.  We needed someone who could answer questions about paint pens for the customers buying our DVD and pens.  She’s an expert on that.

Cutting stencils for the painting demon

Drew did a painting demonstration with Spray Paints.  He first cut out the stencils, by hand, then used them to create a unique, easy painting.  The whole process was about 15 minutes.

Cecelia McDermott came and took most of the photos for us.

It was a fun weekend - Scott Bass, the show promoter, was stoked.  They had a packed house all weekend!

Spray paint Demo

Drew, Maria and Bill Stewart

Spray paint Demo

Our super busy booth - all weekend long

Dylan giving tattos for tips

Lunch Break at Sacred Craft

Signing prints

The mural is 8′ x 16′ and was constructed entirely of wood.  With a lot of help from Steve Inunza, also known as Stevie Wonder, the mural was built on-site and primed, ready to get painted the morning of the first day of the event.

At the end of the event, the clever design of the mural structure made it easy to disassemble into 3 separate pieces and neatly placed in our back studio.

The mural is for sale and is priced at a very affordable $5,500.00. You only need money and a LOT of space for it.  If interested in buying, please e-mail sales@drewbrophy.com

Here are photos of the progression of the mural, along with a few other images captured at the famed Battle of the Paddle: