Where it all began?

^^Check out this photo of a photo of my room as a toddler. I have a lot to thank my parents for: walls covered ceiling to floor in a crazy colourful world, it must have been the catalyst for me to start drawing imaginary landscapes and characters. (i especially loved the kite as light switch touch.)



^^Then notice the blatant (but unconscious) inspiration in these drawings for shop signs i did more than twenty years later!

Folk Art

Some drawings inspired by the weird & beautiful Mexican folk art from the state of Oaxaca where we live....

Barrilitos II

as far as the eye can see............
(this drawing will be on sale soon over on my sister-blog D79 SELLS OUT)

Randoms

a few random photos of our life in Mex from the last few months...
Loads more on my flickr

BHDs (Big Hair Day)

Some variations on a theme.......
(the top drawing will be on sale soon over on my sister-blog D79 SELLS OUT)

what we do....

So, i'm not just here being a lazy surf bum and knocking out the odd drawing....
We've also been giving voluntary English classes for local kids in the nearby community/cultural centre called La Casa de la Cultura.
They also offer recycling facilities an eco-shop and various workshops and classes from making paper and indigenous crafts to violin and Spanish lessons. They also have arthouse/international/political film nights and show kids films for free....see more here

BIG HAIR DAY

Well pleased with this!
Worth a look at the bigger version on my Flickr here
(this drawing will be on sale soon over on my sister-blog D79 SELLS OUT)

Mexican Plumbing: who says water and electricity can't be frends?

Hmmm, what shall we hang the shower from?
I know, lets use a metal wire to attach it to the dodgy home-made light fitting.

"THEORIES"

^CREATIONISM

^ HOW ELECTRICITY WORKS

^THEORIES: this is a new series of 'alternative theories of things' drawings i'm working on- at the minute these are just rough sketches...

Lack / Shack / Sporadic Splurging

Apologies for the lack of posts of late, we've just moved into a new shack a couple of blocks from the beach...the trade-off for warm waves at my doorstep is no web access (a 'no brainer' in current parlance i believe) without a hot, dusty trek to the internet cafe.
So i'll be saving up posts and splurging them sporadically..... in the meantime, enjoy a picture of some curly things.

The Boy In The Bubble

Some black & white weirdness appeared in my new round-cornered sketchbook last night...

Poetry In Motion

Having just re-watched Ray Barbee's section from 80s Sk8 vid 'Ban This' after mentioning it in the post below, i thought it deserved a post of its own as one of my all time favourite sections.

It ain't too fast or gnarly or tech but go and watch it now for the smoothest most flowing, connected, beautiful street-skating you'll ever see with some sick oldskool tricks thrown in for good measure.
"Poetry in motion" is the concise description on YouTube and quite right too- style like this is something you can't learn or fake.
To all those just starting out: Stop tryna learn 1 mph nollie-flips and learn to SKATE first!

Mattson Family Art Benefit

As mentioned in a previous post i sent two pieces off a while ago for the Mattson Family Art Benefit which takes place on Friday 26th June at art project/retail store Surfindian in Pacific Beach, San Diego. The night will also include music from the Mattson 2 and my hero from classic 80s Powell-Peralta vid 'Ban This' -Ray Barbee. (nobody can no-comply as smoothly as that no more!)
There's more info on organiser Jamie Watson's excellent PineappleLuv blog and enjoy the beautiful poster art & design by Julie Goldstein and Mark Tesi.

^ C R Y S T A L ^ C A V E R N S ^

i havent been at the peyote, just a few things came together in one day and this drawing was the result...
i had been reading this excellent book about Michael Peterson (legendary Aussie surfer and undiagnosed scizophrenic) specifically a bit about surfers in the 70s taking acid before going surfing, then i saw this old advert from Cornish surf shop Revolver (maybe nicked from a 1960s Hawaiian tourist brochure?) and this chimed with some shapes and things i'd been drawing and this was the result....click here to see the uncropped fullsize version.

Head In The Clouds

A quick sketchhhhhhhhhhhh...

PERFECT DAY

^^^Final illustration for "The KooK", a new Ltd edition broadsheet publication/zine by Cornwall-based Dan Crockett (cousin of Andrew "Switchfoot" Crockett) - it's gonna be good, keep an eye out and in the meantime check out Dan's WILDERING blog.
(click on image above for larger version)

The Flying Longboarder takes off...

The new Flying Longboarder site is now up n' running and looking good, have a look around and check out the art section for my work (which is available to but directly from the shop, speak to Florian) and other great exhibitions which will be on this year.

Today Was A Good Day

rough sketch developing ideas for an illustration for Dan Crockett's new KooK zine....

Getting Bigger

^Staying safely on terra firma and trying out my new waterproof camera as the MexPipe bears its teeth...check out a nice barrel then nasty wipeout...

Foraging 1

There's a lot of free food to be found in Mexico. A half an hour stroll yesterday along the beach (where a big tropical storm has washed a lot of stuff down the rivers to the sea) and around the dusty backroads threw up these treats:

Mangos, as we've just passed mango season there's tons rotting in the streets and a few ripe ones left on the trees- it's crazy that you can pay a pound or two ($1.50-3) for one of these back in England.
Limes, perfect sliced in una cerveza or to make guacamole, these too are lying everywhere on the floor, we also experimentally picked some lime tree leaves to make tea.
I'm not sure what the round mini-marrow type things are yet but they look pretty edible...
The Churchill fins made a good ad-hoc fruit basket....

VORTEX

Just bought a sponge for the bigger days at Zicatela, when the liquid floor just falls away from you. i attacked it straight away and without mercy with a quick freestyle marker drawing...

Self Portrait

the long view...

D79 on SOULFACE

Check out a little article on me in the 4th issue of SOULFACE, a new bilingual online surf mag from Portugal: http://www.soulfacemag.com/mag/eng.html

(goto INDEX and click on Droog79 link to go straight there)

whitewater

Un Sueno Posible

Croydesque

^New canvas painted in the North Devon dunes whilst on a wedding/surf trip last week

Art Auction

Two new drawings recently sent to America for the Mattson Two art auction benefit.....

Hip Hop Hooray!

^^birthday card collage for Kosee

Fishing Lines

^A better pic of a bit of bored board ornamentation^
(click for bigger view)

Tunnel Vision

My first ever go at graff under the tutelage of king Kosee...me on the leftside...unplanned, ran out of paint, some shaky lines and other skoolboy errors but still pleased...things can only get better...
Thanks to Bristol Graffiti blog for the spot & picture

STORM IN A TEA CUP

The first ever D79 solo show "Storm in a Tea Cup" opens on 9th April at the Flying longboarder in Comillas, N.Spain. More details on the FL blog here.

Pick-sells

a few more picks from my upcoming show......

Korny Kollaboration

A-maize-ing new piece by my amigo Kosee & his partner in krime Dyl Shipley.
Location: The People's Republic of Stoke's Croft, Brizzle, UK

* * * SNEAK PREVIEW * * *

A little first look at the drawings i've been doing for my first ever solo show at Flying Longboarder in N.Spain....the show will be up over Semana Santa (Easter week), lots more images to come.....

Puerto graffiti

a few (unfinished?) pieces around town....

Pisarron

a quick Droog sketch on the 'part-time pisarron' we use for teaching, also used as advertising for the cafe we work from...

choices..............?

'SCAPES

a big swell here last week saw some crazy antics in the sea (including tow-in pig-dog barrels on 15ft faces on SUPs) and also inspired some new hammock-executed scribblings^^^

smoke

Tony Tribute

A picture drawn by the missus in tribute to Tony Hart who died last month. In true Tony-style she just drew a scribble on the page and built a picture around that- a great way to get rid of that 'blank-canvas syndrome'.

Quality Peoples

Big thanks to Ed Fladung for his recent DROOG79 feature on his excellent Mexican surf/art blog Quality Peoples.
If you haven't checked out Ed's blog, get over there now for some quality photography, surf and shaping shenanigans, art, design and technology links and features and of course updates on the little'un........

(Ed- hope it's ok to post your flickr image here, if not let me know....)

MURALISMO

Wall painting at our new 'local': a little cafe/restaurant/bar just off Zicatela beach called La Parrilla D'Kay.

Line in The Sand

Big sunset drawing at Zicatela

Skate Spotting

A few choice Mexican skateboard finds. Top is a homemade Puerto Escondido device and the other two are vintage decks found in a shop in San Cristobal.

Octo-plus

another little one:

Escondido

Some shots from in and around Puerto...

La Punta evening session^

Fishadow^

Our digicam is slowly dying (full of biscuit crumbs) so occasionally throws up the odd random gem that has something about it, like this one of little La Punta^

ask a stupid question....^

La Punta graff^

Really like the fish sketch on the left^

Escondido essentials^

WORK ETHIC

Hope y'all enjoying the latest posts and drawings from Puerto Escondido, please help to keep me here forever!(you can see why^)

If you need any unique art, illustration or design work for your project, home or business (surf-related or not) please pop your head round my door and i'll do something good for you for a good price.....cheers me dears

OctoPuerto

LIFT?