Surf Fridays!

LeRoy Grannis surfing Hermosa Beach, 1969 - around his neck is the Calypso amphibious camera, invented by Jacques Cousteau. Photo by John Grannis.

The famous sticker was designed in 1963 by Stuart Lough and is a collectors' item. Grannis still gives one out to everyone he meets.

I am the overjoyed recipient of the beautiful book, Leroy Grannis - Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s. The book is 276 pages of gorgeous photographs and rich history lessons and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

LeRoy "Granny" Grannis started surfing in 1931 at the age of fourteen, on a borrowed redwood plank that weighed close to a hundred pounds. He was raised a block from the ocean in Hermosa Beach and began photographing the surf scene during the longboard era of the early 1960s in California and Hawaii. In 1966 Leroy was inducted into the International Surfing Hall of Fame as best photographer.

Leroy dedicated this book to his wife Katie, who passed away last December. It reads, Dedicated to my wife, Katie, for being behind me all those years, making it easy for me to shoot pictures, and waiting patiently for me on the beach.

Hap Jacobs, Hermosa Beach, 1963
Jacobs handcrafts one of his prized boards. Today, a mint-condition Jacobs from this era can fetch thousands of dollars at auction.

Mike Hynson, Hermosa Beach, 1964
The brash and stylish San Diegan went on to costar in the 1966 documentary The Endless Summer.

Johnny Fain, Miki Dora, Malibu 1965
The infamous Dora "tap" - Dora loved scams and pranks. His most famous caper was releasing a jar of live moths during a surf movie premier.

Greg Noll Factory, Hermosa Beach, 1965
A pair of Australian surfers drove this classic Westfalia Kombi throughout Europe before shipping it over to pay homage to surf mecca.

Huntington Beach Pier, 1965

Malibu, 1967
When Grannis returned with a friend to Malibu shortly after World War II, they found a crowd of twelve people surfing. "That's it," he said. "This place is ruined."

Margo Godfrey-Oberg, Makaha, 1968

Aikau Family, Sunset Beach, 1967
Myra, Mama, and Sol Aikau watching Eddie compete in the third Duke Classic. Eddie won the contest in 1977, and died three months later.

Duke Classic Finalists, Sunset Beach, 1969
L to R: Joey Cabell, Eddie Aikau, Billy Hamilton, Fred Hemmings, Gordo Barreda, Paul Strauch Jr., Mike Doyle, Rolf Aurness, Felipe Pomar.

Midget Farrelly, Pupukea, 1970

Makaha, 1975

I hope your weekend is as poetic as Leroy Grannis' photos. A heartfelt thank you, Mr. Grannis. The surfing community is very, very grateful for you.

Interview Wednesdays: Ciro Bicudo

I am so excited to introduce you to one of my favorite artists, Ciro Bicudo. You may have already read about him on Santos SurfArt or Grass is Greener, or perhaps you saw his work in Longboard Magazine's last art issue. He is also the creator of PineappleLuv's happy new logo!

Ciro is such a genuinely good, soulful person. He goes by the nickname 'Organik' because as he explained, he takes an organic path in life and when he paints, he always starts with his mother's garden.


Ciro, where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I grew up in Piracicaba, which is a countryside city in Brazil, but my grandmother used to live in a beach town called Peruibe. Every weekend I would visit her and around that time I had my first contact with surf. Nowadays I'm living in São Paulo, which is a big city, sort of like New York; I moved to São Paulo in order to study at the University and stayed here.

When did you first start drawing and painting?

Since I was young I used to do some drawings either at school or at home. But it was skateboarding and surfing that introduced me to the graphic culture when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I remember buying a skateboard deck with the Powell Peralta mini logo. And I always loved that graphic, so simple, so clean and perfect.

Around that time, one of my friends gave me a surfboard to paint and do some art on it... that's when I started doing some for my other friends as well. Later, I started in advertising school and my focus was to work with art of surf/skate brands. After that, I received some invitations to exhibit in art shows.

Are there any other artists in your family and do you have any brothers or sisters?

I have a 28 year old sister and a younger brother who is 22. In my family, my mother is an interior decorator/designer and my sister is an architect and an unbelievable artist. She paints with water based ecolines .

What gives you inspiration?

Music, surf, skate, colours, architecture, photos... Nature is one of my greatest loves. I love to paint flowers, leaves and the ocean. Nature makes me feel so good, it makes me peaceful and happy.

What is your creative process like? Do you get an idea and draw it first, then paint? Or just start painting and see what emerges?

It's a freestyle process. Some ideas just happens as I paint, or I'll do a sketch in a blackbook and then I paint it. All of my works are an expression, colours says how I feel at that time.

Like many other artists, we have other jobs. How do you create that balance where you find time to do your own artwork?

I work in the Local Motion office during the week, developing products and a design that is more commercial. But at night when I'm at home, I try to created some concept designs. When I'm creating my personal paintings it's something real, that I truly feel and believe. All nights and weekends is when I do something for me, not commercial stuff. These two points (commercial designs and pure art) help me to always exercise my brain. 'Cause the evolution is constant.

Do you like to play music when you paint?

Every time when I'm in the process of painting, the radio is on. I love music, I am listening to something all day long. Some of my inspirations are DUB, JAZZ, FOLK, PUNK, music from the 70's, 80's and 90's.

What are some of the last CDs that you played?

Neil Young - Harvest and Harvest Moon
Drag The River
Tim Armstrong - A Poet's Life
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
The Descendents - Live
Rancid - And Out Come the Wolves
Coltrane - A Love Supreme


I think a lot of us in other parts of the world would like to listen to more Brazilian music. Can you recommend some of your favorite artists?

My favorite Brazilian musicians are...

Bossa Nova: Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Donato, Chico Buarque, Toquinho, Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell.

Punk band: Garage Fuzz

Rock: Los Hermanos

What is your favorite home cooked meal?

All my mother's food. And my father's barbecue.


What is on the top of your wish list for travel?

I love Brazil, but my dream is to visit California, then Barcelona, Ireland (and drink some Guinness) and Italy.

What is your favorite place to surf in Brazil and where did you first learn? You also skate, right?

One of my favorite spots is a secret spot near my grandmother's house. You need to get on a boat to arrive at this beach. I learned to surf at Peruibe's popular beaches. Yes, I skated when I was young. I love skating just as I love surfing, but nowadays I'm not skating too much.


I am so jealous that you never have to wear a wetsuit in the water! What do you ride?

Oh, here in Brazil, in June and July we need to use a wetsuit, because the water is too cold. It is winter here in these months. My favorite boards are my twin fins fish 6'0 and my 6'1 evolution fish with 3 fins .

Do you play any instruments?

I play chord instruments and harmonicas, but I love acoustic guitars, and I love to play folk songs.

What is the most exciting thing to have happened in your career so far?

Being in the Longboard Magazine Art Issue is a dream come true. And when I met Ben Harper and he said, "Your work is gorgeous."

What are some of your dreams for your future and what is your greatest ambition as a painter?

To have my personal art space/studio and live for some time in California working with art, design and surfing. I want to do art shows around the world.



Favorite artists?

I have a lot... OS GEMEOS (The Twins); Flavio Samelo (photographer); Thomas Campbell; Andy Davis; Yusuke Hanai; Kyle Lightner; Mucha; Rick Griffin; Jesse Ledoux; Evan Hecox; Beatriz Milhazes and Hieronymus Bosch.

Thank you, Ciro. What advice would you give to a young person who wants to be an artist?

Trust in yourself, and if you want to, you can. Think-feel-do it.

Now Showing...

I may have mentioned that some of my work is now showing at Corduroy - a killer surf boutique & art gallery in beautiful Portland, Maine.

Artist Jenny "McCool" Dougherty thoughtfully sent over these snaps. She has a solo show at Corduroy right now. I love her work. She is one of the members of The Pine Haven Collective. Jay and I are stoked that on St. Paddy's Day, we will get to meet Mister Joseph Conway, another member of The Pine Haven Collective. Jenny, we will take good care of him!

Plywerk rocks!

I want to thank everyone who has already let me know that you will be donating your work to benefit the Mattson family. Jonathan Mattson wrote to me this weekend and let me know how grateful he is for your support!

I just got word from Plywerk and they are generously offering a 30% discount. Truly amazing - and the co-owner, Kim Nguyen, is an award-winning photographer and donating a piece as well! Thank you, Plywerk!

If you choose to have your work mounted on their beautiful, sustainably harvested wood, please email me at pineappleluv (at) gmail.com and I will give you the link and code.


I should also mention that my husband Jay has already used the product and is very happy with it. Jay has very high standards.

If you're just tuning in, details on the benefit are here... Thank you all for caring and contributing.

A new grommet was born!

Ed at Q-Peeps kindly made my sweet, new PineappleLuv banner a few weeks ago. As a celebration, I told him I'd put it up the moment I found out his baby was born. A shining star has entered our world. Welcome Luca Fladung Vara!

Check out little Luca here. Congratulations Ed & Marcia!

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update: Thanks Jess! Ed's story really is an inspiration. For those who don't know...in Ed's words:

Hi, my name is Ed. I’m a graphic designer who lived in L.A. I quit my job, sold my car, rented out my house and moved to Mexico. Along the way, I learned how to surf and fell in love. This blog is my story. In these pages I write about and photograph my daily experience. I also post about things I find interesting: art, design, photography, music, tech, etc...

Surf Fridays!

I'd like to share some of the awesome birthday gifts I received this week, parts of which will no doubt make their way into future Surf Fridays...

I can't wait to read this one. It's supposed to be a great book, with important messages about our environment. Reviews here.

Fantastic photos and graphics in this one -
I heart Taschen books and surprisingly did not know this one existed!

My Mom found this early 1970's book at her local library sale.
It's got tons of beautiful and very 'real' images.

And last but definitely not least, is the gift that made me start talking really fast and animated - because this is the beginning of one of my life dreams...to collect old surf movie posters! And it's signed by John Severson! (Surfer, filmmaker, artist, photographer and he founded Surfer Magazine in 1960). Apparently Mr. Severson purchased a few items from my step-dad's eBay shop, the two got to talking...and this is the result.

Drew Kampion wrote, "Before John Severson, there was really no surf art, no surf magazines, no real surf films, no surfwear industry, no pro surfing, no Surfrider Foundation, no surf culture as we know it. In a very large sense, he made it all happen by synthesizing the sport of surfing into various expressions of his art."

Here's a short clip from Severson's 1969 film, Pacific Vibrations. John Severson wanted to make a statement with his last film, which he calls his swan song - by bringing the viewer's attention to our ocean and our environment.

Some of the surfers featured in this film are Mickey Dora, Bill Hamilton, Jock Sutherland and Spyder Wills. A few of the locales include Huntington Beach, Rincon and Maui and it has a super groovy soundtrack.

For a longer clip of this film, including interviews with John Severson, go here. I hope your weekend is full of good vibrations!

I'm glad to be here

Once upon a time, I was born on this day and I said, hello world. What do you got? Yeah? That's pretty f*$%ing amazing. I like it. I'd like to give some things in return. I've got some stuff I'm working on, so be patient. Thanks world, for all the goofy stuff to make me laugh. Why is a poodle walking down a street so awesome? Thanks world, for giving me such an amazing family and husband and friends...and new people to meet. Thanks for giving me choices and my body and a home and a heart. Colors and rain and snorkeling masks to see all those fish! Thanks for paint and surfboards, sand and soil and romance and so many good songs, how do our brains not explode!? Life just gets better and better each year. It's so true. Thank you for being here, too.

Love,
Jamie