WET...

Maaaaaan, it's like getting to pee after sitting through a long, long movie. Finally got to dip a brush into paint again. It's been far too long. There's been a lot going on in my sketch books over the last year, inspirations long forgotten, ideas that once got me really excited and don't anymore and others that still wet my whistle... Plenty of material to get the wheels turning again. I'm currently putting together a bunch of small pieces (11"x11" with ply frame, like THESE) and will have them all available in MY STORE within the next few weeks for an unbeatable price... hopefully some of you will see one you like and be so kind to contribute to my Indo Tube Searching Fund (See previous post)

HELLO INDO!

Pretty damn excited about this one. Come March 29th, I'm gonna spend 2 months getting cozy inside of some warm early season Indo tubes. Matlock gets there a day before I do and after a few nights in Bali it'll be time to go feral on some other islands and see what we can find... Operation: GET SHACKED! Got 2 new Roberts boards on order, shaving the head, rehabbing the shoulder, pumping some iron and stuffing my face with all the food I can... no computer, no phone, no bullshit... jungle barrels we're coming to find you!!

Words of Wisdom:

"You never leave where you are until you decide where you'd rather be." - Unknown

A warm welcome home from Mr. Pacific Ocean

Well... the welcome is warm, but the water is not! Brrrr. It's always good to come home to waves when you've been gone, Brown and I got Little Rincon real good the other day, haven't surfed it like that in years. There really is no place like home, you know which spots to check on which swells, how the tide and wind will affect it, which rocks to jump off, where to park, where the trail is etc... it's comfortable, however, with a new spot, being uncomfortable is exactly why it's so exciting to travel around the world to find crazy waves you've never surfed. There's a desire to want to get to know how a new break works, in all conditions, so that you can feel at home.

Stealth Mission Home for Grandma... Back to the US of A!

A few snaps from The Land of Oz... Farewell!

Weird how, at the drop of a dime, life can change in an instant. I'm back home on good ol' US soil now, just like that. Got off the plane from Australia a few hours ago (and couldn't wait to inhale a giant plate of good Mexican food served by actual Mexicans) What a treat!

Grandma's in the hospital and I decided to cut my OZ trip short by a month and grab a last minute flight from Brisbane to come spend some time with her while I still could. Glad I did. And apparently she's doing better than she was a few days ago. Woo hoo!

I'll be here for a month before heading out to Indo for a while. Hopefully the waves will continue to pump while I'm home... I've been jealous of all the epic swells the West coast has been getting this winter... but not too jealous, I spent the last 2 weeks in Byron Bay and that magical place had me by the balls, literally... it was hard to leave... the hot sun, the beautiful beaches, the fun waves, bath tub temp water, ice cold adult beverages and hoards of gorgeous, young, friendly, international women. Man Heaven? I'll be back to OZ soon enough... there's still so much to see!

But it is good to be home after 13 months on the road. Time to recharge the batteries, spend time with fam and friends, take a break from the booze, surf pumping Rincon and paint my ass off! Can't wait to set up the studio and go nuts! And my diet will pretty much consist of a constant rotation of In-N-Out Burger, Mexican food and cheap sushi... and of course Pizza Oasis when I go visit the crew in Portland... absolutely drooling for it!

Thanks to all the people in OZ who made my trip great!

Endemic Agenda: Shirt Graphics

The brand spankin' new company Endemic Agenda just launched their clothing line and website a short while ago. They invited me to become a member of their Artist's Vault and used my Washed Up Print graphic for a range of men's and women's Tees. You can buy the shirts on the Endemic website. And their products are made using renewable energy and earth friendly inks, sshweet.

I think they got some good things going on. Keep an eye out.... and go grab a shirt.

Roady Toady

Australia, February 2010

Life on the road
Hopping like a toad
Jumping across entire seas
Finding waves that only tease

Sunrise on a new East coast
New smells, new tastes, fresh buttered toast
Opposite sex crawling all around
Mouth is drooling like a hound

Warm water candyland
The sun, the heat, body’s tanned
Buckled board over the falls
Old trunks that rash the balls

Blue Bottles sting like hell
Onshores blowing them into the swell
Red wine all day into the night
These foreign girls are looking mighty tight

Inspired ideas fill my brain
Can’t wait to grab the brush and drain
The smell of paint and sweet sawdust
Vices and my life’s true lust

A few more Lilly pads to skip
Before the ending of this trip
Mind and body free to roam
To stoke my soul and ride the foam

365 Days... on the road

365 days ago I hopped on a flight with a one way ticket to New Zealand, some surfboards, a backpack and a plan to create a lifestyle that revolves purely around surfing the best waves I can find while still being able to make a living from my art and design. I'd say the plan was/is a success. It has since taken me to 2 additional countries, shown me the joys of sailing and living on boats, logging over 1000 miles on yachts in the South Pacific. The plan has brought me a dream setup on a tropical island, my discovery of the sport of spear fishing, a new favorite breakfast... Muslie(with milk, yogurt and a sliced banana on top!), the opportunities to swim with whales and sharks, lots of mindblowing scenery, amazing waves, many wonderful new friends from all corners of the globe, and much, much more.

But most importantly, this last year has given me a broader perspective on life and has opened my eyes to the infinite possiblities for alternative ways it can be lived. There are so many people living lifestyles that are so different from the typical scenario of: work 9-5, get married, buy house, have kids, live in one place. Several people on my travels have inspired me with their uncommon and exciting lifestyle choices. And now, I might be more lost than when I started on this voyage, because the more I see and learn, the more options seem to present themselves... it's beginning to get a bit overwhelming! There are so many roads in life but so little time to go run off and explore them all...