photorealistic art |

Who will win? All will be revealed come June!!!

Hometown Huck

Life At Sea’s Tim Ward Offers $$$ to the biggest boost!!

By Neal Kearney

Surf progression is fueled by many things: organized competition, bitter rivalries, cross-training, and a deep pool of iconic influencers and paradigm shifters. Borderline mythical Earth-shakers, from the Duke to Dane, continually redefine the way we look at riding waves. Add in the continual evolution of surfboard and wetsuit design, advent of life saving safety vests and the utilization of jet-ski assistance, and you’ve got some strong forces propelling advancement.

How else can the limits be stretched? In the name of progression, Santa Cruz-based artist Tim Ward and his “Life At Sea” brand, are offering a $15,000 purse for their best-maneuver-caught-on-video competition called “Hometown Huck”. Waged between local Santa Cruz surfers and their respective filmers, this contest awards a honking hunk of cheddar to the craziest display of gravitational gymnastics.

A full $10k of that purse goes to 1^st Place, and prize money has a partial split to the winning filmers. Bitchin’! The window started in 2017 and will end on May 31st of this year. With less than a month remaining to submit entries, this is a clarion call to all local punters to utilize the remaining days concentrating on corking out and submitting their clips before time runs out!

Monsieur Ward

Life At Sea is a Santa Cruz influenced line of stickers, patches, keychains, and more. Most visible locally, are the Monarch, Octopi, Mermaid, Shark, Poppies and other local flora-and-fauna bumper stickers. They are everywhere! Straight from the ever-inspired and creative Ward, the newest designs include a line of Surf Rat, Anchor, Black Flag, and other nautically themed designs.

Now, along with going global with various designs customized for many locales, the brand has donated nearly $50,000 to ocean cleanup and preservation so far, as well as donating toward our local Monarch Sanctuary at Natural Bridges. A portion of every Life At Sea purchase goes toward these honorable causes–which is fuckin’ dope!

Ward’s iconic TR Productions logo

Ward is noted for his cartoon strips in the dearly departed Transworld Surf, as well as designing globally recognized graphics for brands like O’Neill and the Monterey Marine Research Vessel. He is also a stylish surfer, deep thinker, and great friend. With the Hometown Huck contest, Ward and Life at Sea are offering up $10K to the local Santa Cruz surfer who captures themselves launching the craziest air during the contest window, which started in 2017 and will end on May 31^st, 2018.

This kinda aerial competition isn’t unprecedented. In 2008, Volcom announced they would award a ten-grand purse for a completed kickflip on a surfboard caught on tape, fueled in large part by team rider Ozzy Wright’s obsession and near-makes.

Zoltan Torkos, local Santa Cruz surfer and magician, sent Volcom an entry of him landing a, to be fair, “credit card”, kickflip. Volcom said no dice. Not above the lip, a condition clearly stated in the rules. The internet didn’t agree, and the Youth Against Establishment caved to public pressure ultimately awarding Torkos the cash.

The “Hometown Huck”, is basically the same idea, just on a local level and without restrictions on any particular type of air; much like the 50K payout won by Dusty Payne in 2008’s Kustom Airstrike campaign. Also, this aint’ no corpo publicity stunt, just a creative individual trying to pump out some flair and froth in a dying, core surf scene.

I recently chatted with Ward about his passion project and here’s what he had to say…

Ward Floats the Boat

You’ve been fortunate to have such success with your Life At Sea bumper stickers over the past decade or so. Is this contest a way of bringing back the creativity that Santa Cruz surfers have long been known for?

Great question. I was just thinking the other day, that Santa Cruz has pretty much invented the air, more than once. Kevin Reed in the very beginning, on a single-fin no less. Then Ratboy many years later, in an amphitheater setting at the (Steamer) Lane, when he split the peak with Slater and stole the show with an epic, futuristic Backside 360. Both KR and Ratboy were mag covers. I love the fact that Santa Cruz has such a prominent role in progressive surfing.

Ratty smokes Slates with the “Air Heard Around the World”

When/how did you decide to pursue this competition? Were there any specific inspiration or “Eureka!” moments in the brainstorming process?

Honestly, I feel fortunate to have had some of my art take off the way it has, and I simply came from a wave-sketching grommet-hood. The words, “Hometown Huck”, recently hit me as an event name, combined with a mental image of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn surfing on a fence post . That was it- I wanted to do something new, to give back to SC surf roots, and the Huck Finn idea/image was pretty damn fun.

The Wily Bastard himself, Huckleberry Finn

What kinds of moves are you personally hoping to see? A twist on an old favorite, or one that you’ve never seen or knew existed?

It would be awesome to see a backflip in contention, but I have no preference. Any burly move is a burly move. If you rotate, great, but if you do a huge straight air, great!

Without being too intrusive, how did you come up with the prize money. 10K is a considerable chunk o’ cheese!

The dough comes from the Life At Sea brand sticker/decal sales all over California, Florida, now in Hawaii and beyond. The purse was originally $5k, with a two-month shooting period, last summer (2017). That year was very flat, so I extended the window to an entire year–combining the money from that initial attempt with that of this year, 2018.

Noah “Waggy” Wegrich

Who are some of the local surfers whose entries you are excited to see? Any solid entries so far?

I’m not one of the Huck judges, so I’ll just give my own personal viewpoint and nothing else. The standout to me, with just weeks remaining are: Waggy (Noah Wegrich) with a huge frontside straight air and Shaun Burns with a frontside full rotor. And if we’re being honest, the actual skill and dedication required to stick the kickflips Zoltan (Torkos) does, who knows who will be in the money.

Who makes the call for the winner, and what goes into the final decision?

The judges are Shawn Dollar, Bud Freitas and Kalu Coletta. Each will independently select their own top picks, which will then be merged for the final math.

The “real” Santa Cruz is a distant memory, sadly. Is this an effort to shake up local rivalries and bring back the “core” or “nonconformist” reputation SC is known for?

I’d say it’s simply the result of an appreciation of progressive surfing- which does have a high degree of non-conformity. It’s purely for fun and for stoking some people out though…that’s it! Most of these #hometownhuck clips can be found on my Instagram @timwardart as well as Dave Nelson’s @nellysmagicmoments

Artist Profile-Maia Negre

If you live in Santa Cruz and you’re not an ocean lover, you should get your head checked…immediately. Other than scrooge-like land lubbers, it’s not a stretch to say that our local community has saltwater flowing through its collective veins. This affinity for the sea has produced countless Santa Cruz-centric surf films, brands, musicians, shapers, and artists. One such artist is the wonderful Maia Negre, whose dreamy oceanic artworks are truly are a sight to see.

Maia is a jewel in the Santa Cruz surf art scene, which includes artists like Tim Ward and F.J. Anderson. She brings a unique blend of photorealistic and abstract surfscapes to her art. The flowing lines in her wave paintings evoke a sense of movement, and much like a wave, they seem to carry you with them as you experience her artistry.

The following is an up-close and personal look into the world of an inspirational and sweeter- than- honey artist.

Let’s start from scratch. Who are you and what do you do?

I’m an artist, and I paint. For most of my career I’ve worked on canvas or on paper. I’ve recently started painting on wood, which I’m really loving at the moment. I’ve also painted surfboards, done a large-scale glass mosaic, as well as a public mural project in Capitola. I’ll hopefully be doing more mural projects in the very near future.

Very nice. How did you decide to become a professional artist?

I do it because I love doing it. Always felt like it was absolutely what I was meant to be doing.

How do you work?

Mostly I paint indoors in my studio, where the lighting and environment is consistent, but the source of my inspiration comes from the outdoors – especially from the ocean. I also usually work listening to music and drinking lots of coffee.

Sounds like a good set-up. So, can you tell me a bit about your background and introduction to art?

My earliest training in art began at 5 or 6 years old, when I started playing piano and reading, writing, and composing music. Being born into a culturally diverse family (my mother is from Hong Kong, and my father is from France), some of my earliest memories were communicating non-verbally to my non-English-speaking grandparents and extended overseas family. Art and music bridged any cultural language barriers, so I’d play them music, sing, draw them pictures – mostly all expressions of love.

The reason my parents named me Maia, was because it was a name both the Chinese side and French side could pronounce.

In my late teens, I started surfing and taking college art classes. I later got my degree in Fine Art from San Jose State University and with a minor in business. I’ve been a full- time artist, pretty much ever since then.

In your eyes, what’s integral to the work of an artist?

Inspiration, time, and space to create.

What about an artist’s role in society?

I think the artist’s role is to inspire and innovate. We are all artists on some level, and we can all remind each other how important it is to be creative and unique – in whatever field we might be in.

How has your practice change over time and what art do you most identify with?

I think my practice has just gotten more refined and consistent over time, evolving with experiences and influences in my life.

I love art that evokes a sense of wonder. Art that is beautiful and inspiring – I think the world needs a lot more of that.

What is an artistic outlook on life?

Having courage, trusting the process, following your heart. Having the tenacity to keep doing what you’re doing and being true to yourself.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

The sense of serenity, joy and appreciation people have when connecting to my work, gives me a feeling I don’t even have the words to express. It’s a beautiful cycle and inspires me to keep creating.

Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?

Not at all! My life, as an artist, has connected me with more people than I would have ever imagined, and on very beautiful and meaningful level. The time I get to create, when it’s just me, my brush and the canvas, is always a time I look forward to – and every part of the process.

Note- Maia’s partnered up with Merge4 Socks, you now you can actually slide your feet into the tube in the comfort of your home, (and wear them anywhere! 😉 Merge4Socks are available at Santa Cruz Boardroom, SC Apparel, O’neill Surf Shops, Buell, Pacific Wave and more.)

Come meet Maia at her booth at the Capitola Art and Wine Festival, September 8^th and 9^thin front of Zelda’s on the Esplanade.

And follow her on Instagram @maianegre

Category Archives: photorealistic art

HOMETOWN HUCK!

Artist Profile: Maia Negre