oahu Tag

10 Dec

Posted at 19:40h in 50 Fascinations, Behind the Scenes... by
36 Likes

46 of 50 Paint Studies in 50 days LIVING ON THE BEACH AT PIPELINE by Drew Brophy 2015FOR 50 DAYS, I’M CREATING 50 PAINT STUDIES that reflect 50 things that fascinate me.

This is #46 of 50 in the #50Paintings Paint Studies series.  Only 4 left to go!

TITLE: LIVING ON THE BEACH

SIZE:  11″x 14″ paint pen on Fredrix Pro Archival Canvas Board.

Back when I lived on the North Shore of Hawaii, I was trying to make it as an artist.

Sometimes I couldn’t even afford a bus ride; times were tough.

But it was great living at Pipeline, surfing that break whenever it was good.  I remember thinking that if times ever got too bad, it wouldn’t matter, because I could just live on the beach, shower at the beach park, and surf every day.

This painting study is available – SOLD to Hugh, in Philly, PA!

One of my goals with this series is to make original art affordable for those who want it.   If interested in adding tomorrow’s to your collection, please email info@drewbrophy.com or text or call 949-678-8133 asap!

I hope you enjoy this series.  Thanks for reading!

Life is Good –

Drew Brophy
Artist, illustrator, surfer
“It’s my job to make things look cool.”

23 Feb

Posted at 07:32h in Painting Story by
20 Likes

This painting was created in 1997 back when I was still working out of my garage in San Clemente, California.

It was inspired by the over-and-under water  paintings in Wyland Galleries.

My paintings always get named after they are finished.

When I was putting the last bit of color on this one, my girlfriend at the time, Maria, looked at it and said, “Let’s call it WHY-LAND“.

Before I came to California, I lived on the North Shore of Oahu painting surfboards

I was flat broke and it was hard living there because not many people were friendly to me.  It can be lonely on the North Shore.

I spent a lot time waiting for the bus after painting surfboards all day at Barnfield’s.  The bus stop was right in front of Wyland Galleries, so I would wander in to in to check out all of the cool art.  Wyland himself was there every so often and he was always very nice to me even though I was always covered in paint and mud.  I’ve never forgotten that.

A few years later I moved to San Clemente.  After my art exploded onto Lost surfboards with Matt Biolis, he asked if I could to do some tee shirt designs for them that would match the surfboard art. Matt is very good at seeing potential in people and he must have seen it in me. I started painting on canvas with the paint pens for the first time.

This painting represents the inspiration from my days visiting Wyland Galleries and the confidence that my friend Matt had in me.  It was painted with the same markers that I used on the surfboards, a technique that I still use today.

Now, I see Wyland every once and a while and we talk about art and Business.  I think it was this painting that put me on his radar. I have no idea if he remembers me as that kid in his Gallery,  or if he realizes that his simple kindness and beautiful art inspired a kid to get to where he was going.

This painting is one of the few I’ve kept for myself, but finally decided to let it go out into the collection of someone who will appreciate it.  It’s in my online store, here.

Life is Good – Drew