grand canyon Tag

18 Jan

Posted at 09:06h in Press by
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Drew Brophy in his Art Studio in San Clemente Photo by Jason KenworthySUP The Mag magazine printed an interview with Drew Brophy.  They talk about standup paddling, standup surfing and art.

In the interview, Drew gives insight on what it was like in the early days of stand up paddling, and taking his paddleboards (and family) traveling to places all over the world.

One quote from the article:  “Everyone takes it for granted now because (standup paddling) it’s been around for a while. But imagine in those early days, there’s nobody around, just Ron and I and a couple other guys. You’re just riding these waves forever and you’re not even getting wet. It just expanded my repertoire of surfing. It’s just another form of it.”

They also talked about Drew and Seth Warren’s record breaking trip standup paddling 225 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, paddling in New Zealand and how Standup Surfing has changed Drew’s “Big Wave Game.”

You can read the entire article here:  http://www.supthemag.com/features/from-the-mag/drew-brophy-the-sup-artist/

PHOTO CREDIT:  Jason Kenworthy

15 Jul

Posted at 05:42h in Behind the Scenes..., Press by
27 Likes

Drew Brophy SUP Magazine Interview in print spring 2013Talk about your Grand Canyon trip:  “That was pretty much like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna learn to surf so I’ll paddle out at Pipeline.’  I was real naive.”

I was stoked to be interviewed by Will Taylor for SUP Magazine.  

My friend, photographer Jason Kenworthy, took the shot in my studio.   

(Note about the painting on the Standup Paddleboard in the photo:  it was commissioned by KEEN FOOTWEAR, and was inspired by my Standup journey across country last year – you can read about that here:  Adventures in America’s Back Country. )

In the interview I talk about how New Zealanders were friendly when they saw me SUP Surfing Raglan, my 225 mile SUP journey down the Colorado River, and how SUPPING saved me from small waves.

Here’s a short taste of the interview (to read the entire thing, check out the magazine):

HOW DID SUP FIND YOU?  I was in my late thirties and I couldn’t get motivated to surf all the time if the conditions were bad or there were no waves.   When the waves are small, I’m moody, and Ron House was like, “Why don’t you come standup?”  Immediately it was tremendous.  It gave me something to do when I couldn’t surf.

SO YOU WERE THERE AT THE START.  …Imagine in those early days, there’s nobody around, just Ron and I and a couple other guys.  You’re just riding these waves forever and you’re not even getting wet.  It just expanded my repertoire of surfing.

WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES HAVE GROWN OUT OF IT?  It has allowed me to get into other bodies of water, whether it be rivers or lakes.  I’m a water person…..

TALK ABOUT YOUR GRAND CANYON TRIP.  That was pretty much like, “Yeah, I’m gonna learn to surf so I’ll paddle out at Pipeline.”  I was real naive.

At that point we’d only heard of a few guys that had been on the Colorado with standup boards but they all only did pieces of it.  Nobody had done it all the way.

We did 225 miles, every bit of it.  It was super-humbling experience for me.  I saw some of the gnarliest, scariest things I’ve ever seen.  But we surfed the river, man.  Big laterals coming off and you bank off of them and come down and hit these pits and come up out of it and into the next one.

Art is my job but surfing is my passion. It’s a great magazine, please check it out online here: http://www.supthemag.com/

Life is Good,

Drew

 

26 Dec

Posted at 11:32h in Behind the Scenes..., Painting Story by
24 Likes

I CAN SEE Painting by Drew BrophyI CAN SEE Original Painting, mixed media on canvas board, sized 12″ x 12″.

This painting was inspired when hiking through the Grand Canyon on a SUP whitewater expedition.

Most people aren’t paying attention to their surroundings.  They see what they are told to see, or what they expect.  They follow the herd.

Somewhere along the way, humans have shut out the details, only absorbing the obvious, or what’s being sold to them through the media.

Eighty percent of the important stuff is missed by most.

This fact was evident when hiking deep into the Grand Canyon.  I was on a 16 day expedition with a private group.  Occasionally, the commercial tours would cross paths with us, usually in groups of 30 or more.  Often, they trudged right past the most spectacular sights the Canyon has to offer; perfect heart-shaped stones, eagles flying high above, ancient messages left on rock.

On one very hot day (as a commercial tour group filed right past me, missing what had stopped me in my tracks),  I looked up at an enormous canyon wall, to see handprint impressions on the stone.

It was a message left in another time, from inhabitants of the Canyon.  I don’t know how long ago those handprints were made; hundreds of years ago?  Thousands?

The ancient greeting stayed with me long after returning home to Southern California.

So I decided to create my own handprint art.

I added the all-seeing-eye.  It represents that “I Can See”, because I feel that artists are given the gift of seeing more than most others.  Seeing things in nature, in people.

This painting was given to my sister-in-law, Caroline, for Christmas.  An artist herself, she fell in love with it.

For a fresh insight on the Handprints in the Canyon, check out this post by Andrew Guiliford, who felt that the handprints in the canyon guided him to safety one night.

Handprints in the Grand CanyonLife is Good – Drew

18 Dec

Posted at 10:52h in Press by
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Drew Brophy, Chilling on the Grand Canyon

Drew had always wanted to be featured in the famed SURFERS JOURNAL, a beautiful full-color magazine that most people keep for years.

Though the Journal had at times contacted Drew over the years to feature his art, it somehow never materialized. Maybe one day, when Drew is old and grey and his art has truly “made it” they will do an art feature!

But for now, Drew’s stoked to have had his and Seth Warren’s Grand Canyon SUP Expedition featured in the Surfer’s Journal EXPEDITION REPORT.

The best part is that Drew’s friend, published author Chris Dixon, interviewed him for it.

If you want to pick up a copy, go to http://www.surfersjournal.com/ and look for Volume 21.5, Oct/Nov 2012 Edition.  Or, squint your eyes and see it below:

05 Jul

Posted at 11:09h in Press by
24 Likes

Supping Lava Rapids, Colorado RiverFriday, July 6, 2012 – 6:30 p.m. – Drew Brophy will be interviewed on 1280 THE ZONE 97.5 Radio Station in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Show host Bob Grove will be asking Drew about his 225 Mile Standup Paddleboard expedition down the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon.

If you are within listening range of the show, stay tuned for the giveaway!

Bob Grove will be giving away to a listener one pair of the newly released Aerial 7 Drew Brophy “DIY” Headphones to a caller.   These headphones retail for $100, so it’s a generous gift.

If you miss the interview, don’t fret – you can listen to it anytime online here:  Bob Grove Trail Mix Radio Show.

07 Jun

Posted at 11:20h in Press by
22 Likes

STANDUP Paddle Magazine Dec 2011 Issue featured Seth Warren’s Story onDrew and Seth’s 225 mile paddle down the Colorado River, and rapids, on paddle boards.  Seth and Drew were the first to ever standup paddle the entire 225 miles from Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Creek.

The magazine feature included six pages of story and amazing photos taken by Seth Warren.  Here’s some of the article:

18 Jul

Posted at 20:29h in Adventure, Behind the Scenes... by
20 Likes

Seth Warren enjoying the beauty of the Colorado River

When my good friend Seth Warren asked me to standup paddle gnarly rapids, 225 miles down the Colorado River, and live in the wild Grand Canyon country for 16 days, I wasn’t sure I should go.

But I knew it was a trip of a lifetime.
Not just anybody is allowed to do it – you have to put your name in for a “lottery” and some people wait years for their names to be pulled.
The river was running it’s highest in thirty years and the rapids were super crazy, and it was awesome!
We took some Go-Pro cameras with us and documented as much as we could.  Some of the footage was used in The Paint Shop TV show and you can watch it here:  (Please leave a comment if you like it)
Fred Swegles of the Orange County Register Newspaper wrote an article about the expedition, and you can read it here:  SURFER’S GRAND CANYON RUN AN ADVENTURE LIKE NO OTHER.
It’s also been written about in the January 2012 Issue of STANDUP PADDLE MAGAZINE – a 6 page spread of photos and story written by Seth Warren.
The March 2012 issue of STANDUP JOURNAL magazine also featured photos of the trip.

 

The Paint Shop Episode 6 “Life is Grand” Full Episode in HD from The Paint Shop on Vimeo.

The Paint Shop Episode 6 “Life is Grand” Full Episode in HD

In this episode, Drew goes stand up paddle boarding through the rapids of the Grand Canyon with his friend, award-winning filmmaker and adventurer, Seth Warren. After 16 days in the wilderness, he’s glad to be back in the studio working on a new painting featuring reptiles for local San Clemente shop “Reptiles Reptropolis”.