07/20/2024
Storytime: Rewind way back..I was a young, awkwardly shy teenage grom with a fresh drivers license and a not even year old H.I.C fish short board. The only thing that had even a remote chance of possibly getting me up before school or sunrise was the promise of a good swell. My friends older brother lived by the beach and at that time we had developed a complex yet effective call network to get a surf report at first light (this was before surf cams or fast internet). Me and two, sometimes three, of my best friends would call the other, relay the report, and decide whether it was worth skipping school that morning to meet up and go surfing. Luckily, my mom was awesome (and still is) and would write me a note for being late to school and not tell my dad. It was a privilege I didn't abuse too often and saved for good swells so it all worked out swimmingly. The water must have been cold and while I don't remember much about that particular session I assume we met that morning on Stone St., suited up, and went out. What I do remember is getting out of the water and making my way from the beach down Oceanic St. towards Sweetwater Surf Shop. I was last one out and the current had pushed us down the beach. My friends had gone ahead and I was watching them approach the corner by Sweetwater Surf Shop. For some reason I was lagging way behind but fortune decided to shine upon me that morning. As I passed the last house, I looked over to the parking lot on the right. Standing in front of her VW bus, wetsuit halfway down, surfboard against the car, was the tan, fit, older lady surf goddess of my dreams. (I was a teenager, she was probably in her 20's) She was looking carefully at my friends and the moment they disappeared around the corner she pulled her top over her head revealing what was a perfect pair of real life b***s and probably the first I had ever seen in person as a teenager. It probably lasted a split second before she put something on but for me time slowed down and it was like my own personal scene of Phoebe Cates at the pool from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." I fell instantly in love but was so painfully bashful that I looked straight ahead, pretended I didn't see her and sped up to get around the corner. I caught up with my friends and excitedly mumbled "girl b***s" to them while trying to describe what I had witnessed but they seemed skeptical since they had missed it and I realized the joy of that moment was a gift just for me. As I was creating artworks for "Welcome to WilmingTOON" for some reason that specific memory resurfaced. I took some artistic liberty and switched it up a bit because Sweetwater and Vito's in the summer on the strip is a bit more iconic than a parking lot in winter. I'm sure there are plenty of people that have a story about N. Lumina Ave. but the one you just read happens to be mine. "Surf Shop" is available to collect and debuted at the opening of "Welcome to WilmingTOON". This 11x17" artwork was printed locally on 100lb cardstock and is a 1 of 1 in this size. It comes framed, signed, and dated. DM if interested in adding it to your art collection.
