|
8/12/2014 1 Comment Our Unlikely Allies
 I have grown up watching shark week and have always had a huge interest and respect for sharks. And maybe the early years of shark week bred my love and awe of these inspiring creatures. Maybe it was also growing up surfing and sharing my turf with them. I was never one to be scared or apprehensive about their presence. Although I was wary of them, I have this trust for them...Some people think I am crazy, especially when they see my photo with a large Tiger in the Bahamas! They may be potentially dangerous but if treated with respect and understanding they really are just a fascinating animal. I get upset when I watch the newer series of Shark Week and it has become so focused on the shark attacks instead of the science and conservation of them. I get it fear is what sells and they are business selling ratings. But it is the same shark attack stories retold every year because the fact is sharks really don't' kill very many people, maybe 5 a year. And like I said, fear sells. Most People don't want to be reminded about our global environmental crisis and our complete lack of conservation. Even with my art when customers ask about my cute little snail and I tell them it is a copepod dissolving as a result of the ocean acidifying due to the increased atmospheric carbon dioxide being absorbed into the worlds oceans, they shrink away backwards looking for a quick escape out the back door. And I don't think it is because people don't care, I think it is out of guilt. I know I am guilty of it too. I see where we are headed and I feel like it is going to take a miracle to stop the destruction we have put into motion. We don't want to be reminded of the overwhelming problem our world faces. Because individually we feel like we can't fix it alone. It has truly become a global issue and I think it causes people to shy away from action. And of course this is a very big generalization. There are lots of great advocates out their fighting for global change and it does trickle down from a global level to an individual, being if you just take the time to pick up a piece of trash and recycle it or bike to work one day. This is why the new Shark Weeks make me so angry. Their ratings are off the charts and they are filled with stories and fear when they could be using at least half of their air time to educate on conservation of sharks and our worlds oceans. So in the midst of all this hype don't forget about looking behind the hoop la and remembering what is truly important so instead of this drawing by a little girl during shark week last year, maybe there could be more drawings of saving the sharks and our oceans. 
1 Comment
 So much has happened since my last post! Last time I was posting I was living in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica painting for local galleries and surfing a world class break 2-3 times a day. What a life right? It's crazy how as a young girl I dreamed of being a surf artist and living in Costa Rica. Then I "grew up" went to college for a science degree and kind of threw the artist dream out the window as unrealistic and fleeting. I fell away from my original dreams, chasing what I thought was the right career path because most people didn't take me seriously that I wanted to paint waves, travel, and surf. I gave into them and followed a traditional path of college, internships, and job hunting. It was so hard for me. My side job as an artist was always so easy though. The science career was not my calling and I quickly found myself back in the art business. And even faster in a Central American country actually making it as an artist and being respected for it. I got so nervous walking into galleries with my portfolio and to my surprise everyone invited me into their stores and people were even buying my art off the streets. There is no better feeling than that and actually making it as an artist painting waves, surfing, and travelling. I am so grateful for what my education brought me and how it really enhanced my art and my connection to the ocean. I am living proof that you can make it as the travelling surf artist :)
Last November the plan was to move to Costa Rica and start an art business. So we packed up, moved, and I started painting. I quickly realized once we got to Costa Rica that this was not a place I wanted to open a business and live. It was a place I just wanted to visit a lot and expand my portfolio. Maybe I am not courageous enough to tackle the foreign language barriers, visa hassels, and abiding by another countries foreign policies. So I was happy enough to paint for local galleries and really develop my portfolio while we relaxed in the sun and surfed. We decided to move back to the states after Winter and began researching places to open an art gallery right on the ocean. We found the perfect spot in Carolina Beach, NC and we were approved for the first place we applied for! Then it was on to house hunting and moving. On top of it all we found out we were expecting our first child! So now here we are, I am 13 weeks pregnant, our gallery is open and we are moved into our new beach house. There is so much to look forward to and I am happy about our location and place in life. I have committed to a location but the gallery is seasonal still allowing for us to travel in the winter in search of waves and inspiration! Pura Vida right?! 12/20/2013 1 Comment the 5th day of christmas 5 days till Christmas! I decided to switch things up today! I have not been feeling the seascapes lately, even though they turned out nice, I just haven't felt the spark that is in some of my art recently. So instead of a fine art seascape I did this cool illustration. It is an 11x14 posca on canvas board called "Fish Love." The little pink fish is falling for the bad boy green fish :) This piece brings me back to my roots as this was the theme of a lot of my earlier pieces. If you looked through my sketch pads and portfolio from high school this style would definitely be recognized. Which style do you like better, the more conservative or the illustrations?
Check out on my 12 Days of Christmas page and please visit my Etsy store. 12/19/2013 0 Comments The 6th day of christmas The 6th day of Christmas is here! This is a 16x20 posca on canvas board called "Roca Loca." I forgot to paint the man hand lining on the big rock so keep an eye out for the updated painting. This is my favorite spot to hike to in Playa Hermosa. The energy here is amazing and the view is breathtaking. I could not believe all the little elements of this place. From the millions of crustaceans living in the rocks that scurried with the frothing tide to the spectacular sunset over the mountains. Check this sweet little painting out on the 12 Days of Christmas gallery page :) Pura Vida and only 5 days till Christmas!!  12/19/2013 0 Comments The 7th Day of christmas This is a 7x9 little barrel painting. Have you ever got this view? I grew up surfing the east coast and have not had the privilege to experience this view first hand. Even though the east coast does offer great waves with barrels, I am not at that level of surfing yet. It is something I aspire too. I have been surfing Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica for about 5 weeks now. Low tide is where this wave barrels and it is a very heavy wave and very shallow. Maybe even the heaviest wave in Costa Rica. It breaks over sand though so I know it is only a matter of time before I get the courage and experience to drop in and pull into one of her heavy barrels. I will definitely blog about it and paint my first time. This little picture shows my vision of what I think it looks like from the inside. Maybe by the end of this series I can say I got mine! Go to the 12 Days of Christmas to see this painting :)
12/18/2013 0 Comments the 8th day of christmas This is the 8th Day of Christmas painting and the 5th in this series. This is called "Pool Bushes" and is an 18x24 cm posca on canvas board. The bushes around my pool are thick with the hibiscus flowers. During this series I am finding subjects that are all tied into the beach life here. They are going to lead up to the big painting on the last day which will tie together all the different subjects I have been painting; waves, flowers, birds, and seascapes. I love doing all these studies back to back because I learn something and practice something new with each piece.
12/17/2013 1 Comment The 9th day of Christmas... This is an 18x24 cm (approx 7x9 inches) Original Surf Art painting on canvas board. This painting is called "When the Ocean Meets the Sky." Have you ever been out in the water and it was so calm you could not tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began? I tried to capture that in this painting with that perfect reef break in the midst of it all. There is something mesmerizing about the ocean and I try to capture that in all my paintings. This is also the 4th painting in the 12 Days of Christmas Series I am doing. Pura Vida! Check it out on the 12 Days of Christmas collection page.
 Today is the 10th Day of Christmas and this is the 3rd painting in the 12 Days of Christmas series! This one is called "Hermosa Dawn" and I painted this one today while watching the waves as the sun came up. It was dead low tide at Playa Hermosa and the waves were head high and some fun barrels were coming in across the sand bar. I decided to sit this session out and paint the waves today :) After watching the Billabong Pipe Masters yesterday I had barrels on my mind for sure. Watch the session from today in Playa Hermosa at Hermosa Surfotos on YouTube.
12/14/2013 2 Comments The 12 days of christmas Today is the 2nd day of my series "The 12 Days of Christmas." For the 12 days before Christmas I am doing a painting for each day. This series is aimed to engage my fans and help me keep working on producing a solid body of work. The more I paint the more experience I get! I love how my style is ever changing. You can look back to my older paintings from my gallery and see the progression I have made. I love my old style but am excited to see how the old and new are merging together for something unique. Keep up with the 12 Days series here! The 12 Days of Christmas
|
Sheila FayeI am the artist of Saltwater Surf Art. I recently graduated from Coastal Carolina University with a BS in Marine Science. I have found through my education that there is huge gap in knowledge between the science community and the general public. It is my goal to help bring awareness and understanding of our current environmental issues through my art. I currently am living in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica to work on my art and surf. Archives
August 2014
Categories
|
Search by typing & pressing enter
RSS Feed
