Jack London Waikiki Alaia

16x55 

Acrylic and toner text transfer on locally sourced Cottonwood and Paulownia. Shaped by Jon Wegener. Painted by Nathan Gibbs

The famous author, Jack, London, once wrote an essay on Surfing during his visit to Hawaii when he learned to surf. It’s quite an amazing essay and he does a really good job describing but it’s like from a newcomers point of view on Surfing, Waikiki and the culture and surrounding area. I found an old travel brochure for a cruise line and use that image of Waikiki and Diamondhead in the background. I also used a technique to transfer text on the Wood and embedded a portion of his essay on the board as well. This makes for a great wall piece and conversation piece  and anytime you want to read something amazing about Surfing it’ll be right there on your wall.

These painted surfboards are collaborations with other shapers. They come as traditional foam and glass boards or beautiful hand built custom ancient Hawaiian designs called Alaias. The alias are built with different woods. Redwood, cedar, old growth Sequoia and Paulownia are some of the wood types commonly used. Then I choose a theme, usually based off of a location such as California, Hawaii, or specific locales like Malibu, LA, or the mountains. Finally many boards are two sided so you have two display options. We also take custom orders.