BOARDS ACROSS HERMOSA Part 1

I walked into a gallery in the South Bay a few months ago, never suspecting it would lead to a series of poor decisions and psychological trauma.  The gallery displays mostly jumbo-sized photographs that I found to be pretty special.  I met and spoke with Monica the owner for a bit.  It was one of those rare times where I abandon my antisocial norm and babble on like a jackass.  It's similar to a grand mal seizure - I never know when it's going to happen, and when it's over I have only a vague notion of what took place.  Evidently there was an exchange of contact info as the following day I received an email from Monica encouraging me to sign up for an upcoming event involving painting surfboards.  

The link she provided took me to a site that invited Hermosa Beach artists to sign up to paint surfboards that would be displayed in and around The City of Hermosa Beach for a few months prior to being auctioned off at some extravaganza at the start of summer.  I have never owned a surfboard let alone painted one.  As a kid I once borrowed a friend's board to see what surfing was all about and quickly discovered that it would be easier for me to learn how to fly.

The Boards Across Hermosa event was asking participating artists to portray images on the boards to reflect and help promote the community of Hermosa Beach.  I couldn't help think that the notion of painting a surfboard seems very much at odds with conventional approaches to basic composition.  Whether it's a large or small painting, no one gives much thought to the height/width ratio in a painting since unless it's a Buddhist scroll, the ratio is always less than 2 to 1.  when you see a picture that exceeds 2 to 1 you can't help feeling that it is contrived.

Whereas a 6-foot-long board presents a length-to-width ratio of 7 to 2 with the both ends radically tapered.  My first thought was the McMartin Preschool since the limited height dimension would still allow for a group scene of toddlers in prone positions.  Unfortunately, I later learned that fiasco took place in Manhattan Beach, not Hermosa.

I was on the verge of dropping the whole affair but gave it one last go by googling "Hermosa Beach images".  There were lots of shots of the pier and plenty of sunsets but nothing caught my eye at first.  I was about to sign off when I found a photo of a woman volleyball player taken during the championship match in a pro tournament held at Hermosa Beach in 2019.  Her name was Betsi Flint and she and her playing partner had won the tournament.  The standard photo taken of volleyball players is two players, leaping vertically with one on each side of the net, both in midair trying to muscle the ball past their opponent.  The photo of Betsi was different.  She was also in midair but stretched out horizontally with her body fully extended.  In addition to being a unique image, it made perfect sense with a 7 to 2 ratio.

I took this to be a sign that destiny had interceded to ensure that this image of Betsi was what I would be painting onto a surfboard and I made up my mind to submit an application.

The organizers of the event clearly stated on their website that they wanted the surfboards to display the work of Hermosa Beach artists.  I was not going to pretend I lived in Hermosa yet having found Betsi I wanted in.  The application had only a few questions, one of which was, "Describe your connection to Hermosa Beach."  With out hesitating I wrote, "Grew up east of Sepulveda, went to Hermosa as a kid, later took my kids there and now days, my grandkids."  A bit of a stretch I grant you, but technically correct and In terms of manipulation - nothing less than brilliant.

Feeling somewhat sheepish after sending off the application I turned to the internet to see what I could find on painting surfboards since I hadn't a single clue as to how one goes about doing such a thing.  This is the point where dark clouds first began to form on the horizon.  

There are currently on YouTube no less than several thousand videos featuring some very talented professionals who've spent up to 30 years mastering the tools, materials and techniques and perfecting their skills in painting surfboards.  The complexity of the task and the artistry displayed in the videos began to make me nauseous.  There seemed no possibility of escaping the impending humiliation and failure that awaited me.  

I watched videos for several days on prepping the board, painting supplies and techniques and applying a protective coating to the finished product.  It wasn't enough to be completely intimidated by the effortless manner in which the artists dashed off fantastic work, the videos then addressed temperature, humidity, light/shade, hazardous materials and safety equipment, rendering me mentally paralyzed.  

Consumed by gloom, I continued watching more surfboard painting videos for days kidding myself that it was needed research rather than blatant procrastination.  My only hope was that my application would be rejected as a non-resident.

Weeks later, my worst fears were realized when I saw the subject of a new email in my inbox that read:  "Congratulations!"