Saturday, March 17, 2012

I call this one "flow"...

It really is amazing what you can do with an iphone app.
...Notice how twisted my front foot is in relation to my thigh.
To me, the water seems to be orchestrated quite
beautifully going up and down. Bottom turn. Top turn.

Grandview - 2012 - ...I think january. maybe.
5'6" x 19 1/4" x 2.1" - Paladin EPS/EPOXY
photo by Andrew Hartstock

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Thursday, October 27, 2011

day of the surf dead handplane...

Another fun creation sparked by the ingenious minds
of Ed and Kip from Enjoy Handplanes!

This was such a blast to do! The over all size
and texture of the sanded finish made it quite easy to
really get detailed and get in the zone...


This is my surf inspired rendition of
"Dia De Los Muertes"
Floating around somewhere
on display with many other awesome
creative explosions cast upon the canvas of an
"enjoy handplane"
:)
tHANKS eD AND kIP!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Icky sticky ooey groovey!

Hot and flashy 6'3" x 21 3/8" x 2 7/8"
New "Lola" model surfboard
Shaped and glassed with 100% love for my dear and fondest...
almost finished...


buckets of love...


Squeegie love!...



Sanded and ready for some hotcoat love!...

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Saturday, January 15, 2011

What Im sliding...

New model: "Sabre" 5'6" x 19 5/8" x 2 7/16"
I basically took my Apex template and gave it a fat rounded pin tail...



Apex 2.0- 5'5 3/4" x 19 1/2" x 2 3/16"



I love these fins!

Friday, December 17, 2010

A well deserved WIN for Jeremy Flores!

Nice work Jeremy!
France and all of Europe are so stoked to see him bring home the win for 2010!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Love my new WEST ECO suit!...

Hats off to WEST Wetsuits for making a sustainable material suit!
...And one that actually kicks ASS! This suit is almost too warm! Not to mention the fuzzy inside made from bamboo and recycled plastic bottles.
The West Lotus ECO is an environmentally sustainable wetsuit. The Neoprene is limestone-based; the fabrics are knitted with yarns created from recycled plastic bottles and bamboo. The fabrics are laminated with non solvent based adhesives and printed with water based inks.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

National Pitbull awareness day. October 23, 2010.

This dog in the pic actually is the MOST decorated war dog in history! Even to this day!
But it's unfortunate that people dont know the real history of this dog and his breed...


These are my two gentle angels...





If you dont know the breed other than what the media likes to portray, Then you are truly missing the truth behind these amazing dogs, what their true history as an american hero is, and who is really to blame for the negative stereo type that is so very similar to what african americans went throught in the civil rights movement. So on this day we recognise, from coast to coast, north to south and everywhere in between, that this breed and others like it are only victoms of circumstanse: bad owners first of all! overbreeding, shock driven media and ignorance! The truth is that this dog is so willing to please, that they will do ANYTHING to please their owners, regardless of the task. And it is SO very unfortunate that the wrong people have taken clear advantage of this! Do some homework and you will find that there is a clear line in the sand between where the truth is and where the lies begin!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Smile More...


This is a great artical I found this morning and I figured someone else might
enjoy it too.

Article:

The basis of science is trust in mathematics. If you do not trust
mathematics, science cannot move an inch. Similarly, business cannot
move if the industry has no trust in customers and customers in their
creditors. And human value is about trusting the good nature that we
all are endowed with, that we all are born with. I feel that success
is really measured by the smiles a person has on his face. I wont call
someone successful if one is so tense, worried, disappointed, dejected
and miserable. Who would want such a success?

There is a latest scientific discovery that a baby smiles 400 times a
day and adolescent
smiles only 17 times a day. But an adult does not smile
at all.
What is it that takes away this natural gift of humanity smile,
friendliness, compassion, broad-mindedness, scientific temper we need to
ponder on that. If you ask a kid how many friends he has in the class,
he will count on the fingers 3, 4 or 5 in a classroom of 40-50 kids.
The kids are unable to be friendly with all the 40-50 of their class
when they come out of the school how do you expect them to be friendly
with the world. We have somehow failed to nurture the basic human
values.

Half the health is spent in gaining wealth and half of this
wealth we spend to gain back the health. I do not think that is a good
economics. We do not need to cultivate human values. What really
obstructs human values is stress and tension. If a person is tense,
then his perception, observation and expression suffer. And you have
only two ways to get rid of tension either lessen your workload or
increase the energy level. In todays world, it is not possible to
lessen the workload it will keep on growing day by day. The
alternative is to increase our energy. Here I usually suggest that we
can take a look at different sources of energy. The food is our first
source of energy proper food and right amount of food, neither too
much, nor too little. Second is proper sleep. Third, that is the most
important source of energy, is breath, which we have ignored or
forgotten about. You know 90 percent of impurities in the system go
out through the breath. With every breath we exhale, we are throwing
out carbon dioxide, toxins are going out of the system and blood is
getting purified. Breath is such an important source of energy but we
have not done much to learn and study about our breath. The breath is
the link between body and mind. For every emotion there is a
corresponding rhythm in the breath. You would have noticed that when
one is depressed, unhappy, anxious or tense, the breath moves and
flows differently. Notice how we breathe when we are tense when we are
angry we breathe differently.

I took up this aspect and we went to different areas around the world,
including prisons. About 100,000 prisoners did this breathing exercise,
for five days, a couple of hours each day. They had tremendous experiences.
Afterwards they said that if they had taken this before, their lives would
have been different perhaps they would not have been there. You know,
in the spur of the moment when the emotions arise, the person acts and
commits a crime and he does not know why he did it. By the time he
comes to his senses he has already committed the crime. This mind,
which oscillates between the past and the future anger about the past
and anxiety about the future continuously, creates so many toxins in
the body. Breath is the key to eliminate these toxins, these
impressions, and harmonise the emotions.

Neither in school nor at
home, have we ever heard or learned any thing about how to manage our
emotions. The ancient Vedas, yogic system, yoga and also, Koreans with
tai chi, have used these techniques. They have formulated breathing
exercises that release your tension and improve your alertness and
awareness. So I feel it is very important that we teach our children
and our people as to how they should handle their negative feelings
and their emotions. If a child is educated a little bit about
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism all different spiritual
and religious traditions he will grow up thinking very favourably,
with a broad mind and a sense of belongingness for everybody. We can
be creative and productive, and at the same time not lose the human,
the humanness that we are all born with. Just material things or
comfort alone do not really make a person comfortable. He may have a
good bed to sleep on, but is unable to sleep due to insomnia or worry.
He needs to get a broad understanding about himself and his
priorities. A clarity in the mind makes things much easier -
understanding his basic emotions like love, his interaction with
people around him, knowing about his own ego or what his own intellect
or mind is saying to him and introspection, will give him a few
minutes of relaxation which is very vital.

So, what is most important is introspection about ones own life and how to
improve the quality of life this intention itself will open many doors
for a person, to feel better about himself. Develop a sense of caring
for each other and smile more.

~Sri Sri

Friday, October 1, 2010

Ole' boneyards come's through once again...

Surfed Boney's yesterday... Damn, I forgot how fun that wave is! Once my childhood stomping grounds, It used to be my home break as well as swamis and D-st. Still great waves in Leucadia, but its so nice to get a few good ones out here! Its like reconnecting with a great friend.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Sold out, over rated and way too cool for me....

Sometimes it gets a little too thick for me.
It seems as if no one seems to have a grasp on loyalty, reality and how NOT
to sell out for popularity. People seem to be able to buy their talent these days and its all about who you know or how much $$$ you have. Rather than how hard you have worked for it.
To me, there is nothing more stoke crushing than working hard at what you do, trying to push forward, only to look up and see that you've lost the popularity contest that you didn't even enter...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Saturday, September 4, 2010

i LOVE CoLOuR !

I was recently allowed the privilege of glassing Lauren's new CASTER! As you can tell, she opted for a tri-color scheme of 2/3 honey mustard, an olive band and a lovely teal nose! It was a great experience and most of all It was special to me because i know how much this board means to her, as it was a replica of her all time favorite shred sled!

It was tedious an and extremly fun at the same time! this was only my third time glassing full color opaque with multiple colors! It turned out better than we expected! stay tuned for more pics!
Quite the labor of love!...

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I know this girl, and she likes to paint...

Ms. Lauren Tolford.
quite the expressive one,
if you know her.
On a daily basis,
she blesses the universe with her presence,
her art and her compassion for all.
Talented in many mediums,
she is a swimsuit designer,
a painter,
a jewelry maker and
a great surfer!


If you would like to see more Art or inquire about any other of the facets of this young ladies life, please CLICK HERE or HERE
or...feel free to contact her direct:
Laurentolford@yahoo.com

Sunday, August 8, 2010

In a pinch...

I forgot to bring my fork.
Its hard to eat lasagna without one.
There are plenty of fins in a surf shop.
Any questions?...

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

pinniped canine or canine pinniped?

WoW! I spend alot of time in the ocean and sometimes i miss my dogs. I often wonder how i can share this experience with my four legged freinds...

Here's the solution! Can you imagine! Playing fetch between sets, never having to worry about your board washing all the way in. Hook a rope to him and you have a sweet tow vessel! He even wards off grumpy locals and small sharks!

Whatever it is, I want one!
Ill call him Poseidon or maybe Neptune...

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Saturday, May 29, 2010

5'1" "Shoe horn" is finished...

This was by far one of the coolest experiences Ive had! My first complete build! Not only did i shape it, but i laminated, hot coated, installed the fin system and sanded it! No one else touched this board in the building process! Ive shaped other boards and sent them off to glass, but i really wanted the whole enchilada with this one...

Im stoked! it actually was easier than i thought in some aspects, and way more time consuming in other areas. Im very happy with the results! My hat goes off to all those who do this on a daily basis! Especially the laminators! i think thats the most crucial part of the whole build! No margin for error!...


Ive ridden it about 5 times already, and with the propper fin setup, it really screams! But its very picky with what fins it likes...
YEW!
:)

Friday, May 21, 2010

5'4" - "Moon plug" Quadromatic...

5'4" x 19 3/4" x 2 3/16"
Quadromatic...
One night whilst laying in bed, i had a vision. sorta like feild of dreams. anyway it was the channeling of an old spirit wanting me to utilise the soul of a broken longboard. or at least the idea of taking the front half of a tanker, and creating a tiny little vessel that screams!

I immediatly i thought of Dennis Murphy, and his lineage of longboard expertice. So i called him and told him about my crazy thoughts. He was totally down! infact i think he was stoked to open a new realm of what i like to call "plug style" boards and designs. I felt that his interpritation would be along the same line as what i had invisioned, and he was the man to embrace the idea! I would be stoked to see this take off and open a new demographic of customers to MURPHEY Surfboards. To me its a style that Dennis would have a natural instinct for. So keep your eyes peeled in the near future for More distinctive Murphy Shred sleds!


The whole proccess was alot of fun! I gathered together all the ideas and refined my choice to this outline. Dennis then went to work planing the rough cut and fundamentals of the board. Then the finishing details were in my hands! The concept was really something that i had never Shaped before, but it came together better than i could have imagined! Single concave to vee out the tail! WOW! I cant wait to get it in the water!

Chunky, yet refined.


40 grit!
Yew!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Alternative perspective...

"Weird flip"...old pic, but worth dusting off. (D-st circa 2005)

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

5'1" x 19.5" x 2.3" tri-fin slug plug..."the shoe horn"

This was the very first board that i have built 100% solo! Shaped, glassed, and soon to be installed fin boxes, hotcoat and sanded. the only hands that have touched, and will touch this board, are mine! Shaped out of the garage, then i went to GLOBAL Glassing, where was able to throw some resin on there with all the appropriate deck and fin patches. And from years of watching and partial collaboration of other boards, i successfully laminated this lil' slug plug! From there she went into the tanning booth for some uv treatment. Next post will be covering the fin boxes, hotcoat and sanding!

Chubby Rear end! just like i like em'



Im pretending to know what im doing here...



Bottom lamination, step one...



Tanning booth! for boards! what?!...
insta-cured! Some say it gives off a yellow tone but i dont care, this board is gonna get some aftermarket art treatment before its maiden voyage...