A while back some examples of boards utilizing wood in the graphic were shown and talked about. This got me thinking of other materials that have been used on the top surface as part of the art. There have been a few wakeboards that have used a synthetic leather or other skin-like or cloth-like material. One of the first examples was the 2006 Hyperlite Era, featuring a simple brown synthetic hide covering every square inch of the board's top surface. A year later, following the Era, the Hyperlite Syn (the women's version of the Era) used a synthetic black snake skin along with an emblem made of jewel accented cloth.
(colors are not true, as this board has seen much sunlight)
The 2007 Byerly Legacy used a smooth black synthetic leather top sheet, garnished with pin striping and a metal badge.
Finally, in 2008, CWB changed up the Faction board using a metal stamp on fabric. "The CWB Faction Wakeboarddoesn’t only perform, it’s dressed to impress."
These type of top sheets were not only pleasing to the eye, but were pleasing to the feet, providing a softer no-slip grip for someone who wanted to give wakeskating a try when a wakeskate was not available.
Thanks for keep your eyes peeled. Not only is there one, but six submitted designs. These designs were submitted to the Design Your Ride contest on wakesites.com. The contest deadline is nearly up so if you have a design to submit yourself hurry and do so. Till then, hope you enjoy these and the bit of commentary for each.
"Dew Spirals," "Dew Stripes," & "Dew Splatters":
A series of three designs using water drops, or bubbles, or "dew-drops" in this case to create a unique design that magnifies and warps the underlying art.
"A-MAZE-ING":
There has always been a reserved amount of admiration for mazes. lots of creativity goes into mazes, both to please the artistic mind as well as the part of the mind that likes to solve puzzles. both sides of the board have a maze. Both mazes are solvable (the one on the back providing any challenge, click the picture to increase its size to solve it yourself.) and both lead to an 'aMAZEing' destination (pun intended).
"Flexible Truth":
Quite simply, this design is a dedication to flex technology in wakeboards. A collage of over 25 quotes and other references to the words, "flexible," "reflex," and "slingshot" cover the top and bottom of the board (click the picture to see closer). Scans of common, everyday materials, such as note paper, torn cardboard, pushpins, tape, and much more were used to create a different, messy but identifiable rhythm of creativity.
"Slingshot Dragon":
The name of this design is the translation of the Chinese characters used. The two characters on the top (read top to bottom) are pronounced "Dang Gong," meaning "Slingshot." Appropriately so, a Chinese style dragon is wrapped around the character for "Dragon," pronounced "Long." The bottom graphic was originally hand drawn and then scanned into the computer and modified a bit. The entire design is reminiscent of the artists respect for Chinese; language, people, and heritage.
Maybe it's not all coincidence that we use the same word, "deck" to identify the expanse of boards around a home and the boards used for each respective boardsport. There is a potentially unrecognized commonality between the deck of a house and the deck we choose to ride. They share a common purpose, to capture that moment in time with our respective surroundings and take advantage of the magic it has to offer.
No matter where, no matter the level of riding, your deck is a tool to capture your surroundings; to capture majestic mountain peaks, turbulent ocean waves, structured urban paradises, mirrored crystal lakes, and other glorious vistas and impressive scenes. Your deck helps you to expand your senses; capture and enjoy the whisper of white powder, the spray of water, the whir of wheels on pavement, the harmonic hums when pressing and sliding.
Naturally, a deck seems to be a perfect medium to literally capture and feature artwork representing the various fantastic vistas mother earth has to offer. A particular favorite of mine is the '99 Hyperlite Evolve 144cm wakeboard. (picture fromWakeWorld.com) This board features an impressive view of "Horseshoe Bend." Horseshoe Bend is a unique formation in the Glen Canyon. It is located only a couple of miles south of Page, Arizona and Lake Powell where I grew up and learned to wakeboard and respect other boardsports. If your down in the southwest of the USA, check this spot out; it is free and easily accessible. (picture taken from Wikipedia.org, Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl)
Together we salute our surroundings, the earth, and all the variety it has to offer with a sideways stance!
I just wanted say hi and introduce myself and skateboard company...Knock On Wood. I'm really excited to be part of Deckxhibit and look forward to contributing whenever and whatever I can.
Knock On Wood is an emerging skateboard company based out of Tennessee. If you are unfamiliar with the place maybe you have heard of Jack Daniels...same region...different cup of tea. The company is skater owned and operated and all products are manufactured in the U.S.A. We currently represent up-and-coming skateboarders and artists in the Eastern states. We are more than a business (hardly a business, we are an empire, the yin to your yang, a house hold name, your mother’s best dish); we are a family of friends who share the same love for skateboarding.
Here are what the goods look like:
Windmills : Vines : & Giving Tree These are a few early designs since our establishment in 2006-2009
Stump (Blue, Red, Green), 2008-09 A collaboration graphic based on a sketch by rider Matt Sharer.
We are currently working on a board graphic with artist Amos Oaks. Among many accomplishments in his art career, he was the winner of the Design Layton's Deck for Toy Machine. I am very excited about the completion of his design and will report back when the final concept is soon in production.
If anyone is interested in owning a piece of Knock On Wood, we sell ourselves on this street corner.
Wood and other natural grown materials have been used from the dawn of board sports to the present day. Besides its structural qualities; wood and other natural cores give a unique flair and an attractive design. Nature is the ultimate architect and artist, which is why it is so often emulated. Sometimes just a finishing treatment, applied with care is enough to give a board its final touch, providing a window of emphasis to its matchless, natural appeal. Even compression molded boards' graphics sometimes incorporate wood into the art work. Natural grains can be featured pictorially, (such as with the 2001 Hyperlite Byerly)(above pictures obtained from wakeworld.com) or even as an emblem or badge or flair of unique authenticity, such as the real wood inlays on the 2007 Liquid Force Watson series (shown at the top), the 2008 Hyperlite B-Side and Byerly Legacy wakeboards. (Pictures courtesy of waterskis.com)
Appropriately named so, ARBOR, famous for 'using environmentally friendly natural materials to improve performance and style' has a very good collection of snow and skate that goes 'with the grain.' In fact, every deck they make is a perfect example and so it is difficult to choose only one or two to picture here. Go and check it out!
Similar to Arbor, RAYSKIN is passionate about creating an ecological friendly product. Rayskin produces customized surfboards; each board is a limited edition in its own right. The boards are a hands-on blend of old-school and new-school materials, tech, and art. Rayskin also expands their horizon to other realms of the sideways stance and makes custom skate decks and gave us a peak at a Samurai graphic (bellow) for a snowboard being laminated in Utah, courtesy of Charles and Ric at Rayskin.
When natural materials are used they also serve as a vintage hallmark, reminding us of our predecessors and origins, both of our decks of choice and those who rode before us.
*Note: many of the pictures can be seen larger if clicked on
Wakesites, Slingshot Wake and ProductPulse have teamed to bring you a contest where you get to design a limited edition Slingshot wakeboard. Even better, submitted designs will be featured on MySpace and Facebook, so your creative work will be seen by millions. So, check out the current leaders. And while you're at it, create and submit your own design to win. You just might end up riding on it.
We'll be entering one of our own designs so keep your eyes peeled and get your vote on.
The saying, “Dare to be different” is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Humanoid, one of the newest, upcoming wakeboard companies. Or possibly the phrase, “Don’t be afraid to be yourself” might be more fitting? Either way, in more ways than one, Humanoid is definitely breaking the traditional mold of other wakeboard companies to bring us some uniquely inspiring and creatively weird stuff. Humanoid’s artistic expression is especially transcendently peculiar. Zach Shapiro, one of Humanoid’s artists describes the art well with this excerpt from an interview, included below, “I love the balance between cutesy and grotesque and finding that healthy edge between the both.” Read more from Humanoid’s 'imaginartistic' duo in the included interviews graciously provided by Joel at Humanoid and check out the unique vibe at the Humanoid website.
Friends that kill it!
Zach Shapiro (Artistic Mind for the Oracle Flex)
Age: 21
Hometown: Miami, FL.
What got you started in your artistic endeavors?
I am an only child, so I used art to pass time and entertain myself at an early age. My Mom and Grandma were both artists so I luckily inherited some of their artistic genes.
What kind of equipment do you use for your works?
I use pencil and paper to sketch my ideas. I began experimenting with digital media using programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I just recently purchased a Wacom tablet so that’s been pretty fun to use. So mostly everything starts out on paper and is then scanned onto the computer, then brought to life with Illustrator.
What influences your work?
What influences me most is how I am feeling at that given time. What stage of life I am in and the environment around me. I love the balance between cutesy and grotesque and finding that healthy edge between the both. Old school comic book characters, children’s books and dreams fuel a lot of my work.
What do you like about the type of art that you do?
It’s a release for me. Being able to create is something I’ve always enjoyed doing.
What were your main inspirations that made you pursue your field of artwork?
The thriving art culture that surrounds me, I felt maybe I could get involved somehow and have some fun doing work that others may appreciate.
What advice would you give starting artists wanting to follow your field of artwork?
Get involved, draw, paint, graph as much as you can and try to get noticed and be original. In this world there is so much talent out there that it becomes intimidating to even think about. But everyone has a unique perspective that makes each person’s art so much different. So keep your hands busy.
Jacob Gardner (Artistic Mind for the Oracle Stiffy)
Age: 31
Hometown: Bloomington, IN.
What got you started in your artistic endeavors?
Boredom and school drove me to it, escapism.
What kind of equipment do you use for your works?
Stencils, paint markers, card tables, exacto blades and a lot of spray paint!
What influences your work?
Friends’ artwork, street art, and a lot of people who are in Juxtapoz Magazine.
What do you like about the type of art that you do?
The smell, the feeling it gives me
What were your main inspirations that made you pursue your field of artwork?
Life and living it, all that just comes from all around me, only fragments get through to the art.
What advice would you give starting artists wanting to follow your field of artwork? It takes guts!
National Forest is a 'creative think tank', a collection of designers, art directors photographers and more that come together to produce breathtaking and original work for a wide variety of clients. Two of their biggest and most important (to us anyway) are Burton and Element.
They're a personal favorite of mine, and forgetting boards for a brief second, their variety of styles and the craft of what they produce makes waves in the design industries too. One project might involve a kind of cut and paste, intricate, photo-montage approach, while the next is a slick, vector-based illustration accompanied by bespoke type. This diverse set of styles and abilities reinforces the think tank approach.
They're currently working with Burton on a new line, so we can't wait to see that. Also, be sure to check out what they came up for possibly the coolest barbershop.
When we got a shout from Mike, we didn't realise that he was responsible for some of the wake industry's most memorable, rockin' board graphics. Stuff like the '05 and '06 Premier series from Hyperlite, the '09 Mana from Ronix or the really fresh '09 JStar lines along with product promotional material. It's all so varied and rich. Distinctive illustration, strong type and excellent use of colour through all his work really sets his work apart.
Living in Gig Harbour, WA, Mike Anderson has almost 16 years design experience in the action sports industry he's now heading up Blacksmith, a boutique brand design firm. Looking to take on more than product design he works on anything from creating a company trademark to showcasing the final product through point of purchase presentation. His work combines digital assets, illustration and photography to create stunning work. We all think his boards rock more than anything though.
Take a look at more from Mike and Blacksmith here.
Ricky Gonzalez is one of the legends of wakeboarding, and along with his riding, his tattoos are just as prolific. Other great riders such as Scott Byerly and Randall 'The Vandall' Harris rock out great ink but Ricky's artist Kaib Knight has also contributed artwork to his Gator pro model boards.
He's been tattooing for the last 12 years and runs Tattoo Six, he draws much inspiration and drive from his faith in Jesus. His work for Gator incorporates sublime and traditional tattoo styles, with heavy shading and contrasts between rich and muted colour. Skulls, scrolls, birds of prey, swallows, oriental flowers and characters and other iconic tattoo elements are prevalent on the boards.
His sketching, paintings, carvings and tattoo work all share this style and he's also made the chopper a canvas.
Take a look through his work here and on his MySpace. We wish him all the best in his new move to Hawaii.
The scale of this disaster is shocking and every little will help. Please pass on the word. To donate securely with the Australian Red Cross please click here.
There are a few skateboard art books, skateboard sticker art book, but Disposable - A History of Skateboard Art is arguably the most revered. It's coming from an actual designer/artist, Sean Cliver, rather than a subculture analyst so instantly it gets more kudos. Even the preview gives you a deeper insight than most skate books out there. It's well worth the $20 asking price and a space on the coffee table.
Here are just a couple of the gushing comments made by skate industry legends...
"The book is really, really good—the whole thing just craps quality. Very all inclusive, a lot of it made me feel real small." — Todd Francis, artist for Element Skateboards
“Skateboarding has always been much more than the progression of stunts performed on a skateboard. There is a whole creative mentality behind it all that has influenced our culture. Art being one of them. This book has the most complete look at skateboarding history through the art on decks and the artists behind it all.” — Lance Mountain, pro skater and artist
Emil Kozak is from a small town in Denmark, and was inspired to take on graphic design as a result of his life long passion for skateboarding.
He began at an early age to develop his skills, inspired by skateboard-art and the result today is a unique artist with brilliant ideas. The style is fresh and positive, but often with a message that digs deeper. He is a master of composition and has an eye for detail, that is not seen very often. Typographic, clean lines and few colors is often how Emil Kozak`s artwork is described. Yet, there is always an unexpected surprise: obscure references, playing with words, codes and hints.
Kozak is motivated by a simple goal that resonates throughout his work. ”I hope that my work can remind us that imagination can defy gravity and bend time. It is our own responsibility to enjoy every second of the day. Nobody else can do that for us. Have fun, eat candy, do what you love, love what you do… We might get thrown off this spinning ball of iron and mantle tomorrow.”
As a result his work has been exhibited widely all over the world and appeared in numerous magazines and books. He has produced design and artwork for clients such as Vans, Element, Graniph, Eastpak, Burton, Channel Islands, Nike, Lab Skateboards & Uniqlo. More from Emil here.
This collection of boards must be seen to be believed. It's a comprehensive archive, with artist details, dates and some original artwork shots for skateboard brands like Chocolate, Girl and Birdhouse dating back as far as 1991. What's more is they're all available for trade.
I recently posted on QBN (a design portal) looking for submissions for Deckxhibit and got a good few responses from designers who've had work produced, created concepts and others who've just posted what the ride (or at least used to). I've put together a little compilation of some of the boards they designed (concept and production). Some sick work I think you'll agree. Next up will be some of the boards they ride.
Enjoy.
Shapeaspect's Grow boards.
Andy_ssw's skate decks for the No Comply exhibition in Melbourne.
Bliznutty's Never Summer skate and Salomon Prospect 157 snowboard concepts.
Horton's snowboard design (produced) - see more of his work including a few skimboards here.
For the longest time, boardsports have constituted a method of personal expression. Not just the big slash at the wake, or that stylish floater at your favorite break, the board itself is a canvas that artists, designers and riders have used to great effect.
This blog aims to showcase the best in board art from all boardsports and we're open for submissions and admins. Send us concept art, photos of your board, the board you covet, your partners board, even steezy action shots at your local spot, it's all good.
Feel free to feedback on our posts and make any suggestions/ideas you have for the blog. Above all, enjoy Deckxhibit.
(colors are not true, as this board has seen much sunlight)
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