Painting the Dream-wave Catcher

 

 

In samurai culture, the sword is often used to represent the soul of the person carrying it. In surfing, we have the board. Shaping them, designing them, and spraying them has allowed those who love  the ocean through surfing to understand more about the physics and the sheer poetry of our act in the universe. It is possible to polish our spirit in many ways. Crafting a surfboard is an a journey of homage to the special relationship surfers have with the ocean.  That’s why I felt blessed as a surfer when asked to paint a board. I had the pleasure doing so last month when a friend who shapes made it happen.

 

.Much gratitude to Torin Pfotenhauer for the opportunity and deep respect for his art in shaping this wondrous board, this sleek, immaculately crafted 6″2, designed for our good friend Andrew Hepburn living on the Bluff.

The brief from Torin was: “Do your thang.” The words every artist lives to hear. So I let loose and composed a scene on the bottom deck and decided to keep it just blues. A friend once told me, “it won’t go if it’s not blue.” So I let that advice guide my pallet. By the end of the second day there was an Native American Chief character with his hand rested around the fin box set on a coastline in the gloaming.

A lot of my time painting on canvas is spent focussed on movement, on how and where energy flows with its momentum. Well my style seemed to find a perfect home on the foam, especially ’cause I knew that the canvas was designed to move. I wrapped the composition around the rails  to the top deck using a old tree and the ocean-scapes. Then, where the brand normally goes, in the prime spot below the nose, I suspended a dream catcher. Hence the name – Dream Wave-Catcher.

The board was perfectly glassed by Vaughn Makkink and the boys at  Surf Vortex and  delivered to Andrew  by Torin last week after a good, late surf of the Bluff.

 

Thanks again to Torin for allowing me to share in this ride. I really hope to share more.

Peace and love

Radmer