They Came, They Conqured , They Skated Home…
A week or so ago I had the annual pleasure of being part of the group art show I Used To Skate Once. This is an event that has been run by an terrific guy named Matt Brady. He has a shop called The Outpost, you should check it out.
This was the eighth year of the show and the fourth that I’ve been a part of. If we’ve talked previously I’m sure that I’ve told you that IUTSO4 back in 2008 had the first ever woodcut that I made. In a way it was Matt who helped me even realise my now happy obsession with woodcuts and printmaking. I owe him big time for that one!
Anyway, everytime I go near a skateboard it’s hard to not think that I need to make things bigger, better, weirder. You know how it is, you don’t want to repeat yourself. Well this year I decided to tackle one of those great little boards that were the staple back in the 60s and 70s and seem to be making some kind of comeback even now. I kept it simple, stuck to what I love and what I love about skateboarding. With any luck I got it right and the skill as much as the attitude of this great pasttime is in the board.
This is the top side:
When I was a kid I was too scared to skate. It wasn’t till I was in my early 20s that I even started skating. The pro’s didn’t just seem fearless they seemed invincible to me. At the end of the day I’ve come to realise that it’s all up to your attitude and it’s this that I’ve adorned the underside of the board with.
The skateboard was sanded back, carved out using my woodcarving tools (a 1mm v-gouge and a 1.5mm u-gouge), then covered in a layer of black ink and varnished ready to be used and roughed up! The skateboard went on show and was sold on the night which makes me happy. Now it’s going to a new home. I couldn’t give it up though before trying it out at least once…
I had a great time on the night and was happy to see that the whole event was a great success. This board was the eighth skateboard that I’ve done a woodcut into in the last four years and I reckon it will probably be the last. It’s fun but there’s just to many different surfaces, objects, and different types of wood to experiment on. Time for the next creative adventure!
My skateboard and many others are currently on display at The Outpost (5a Winn Lane, Fortitude Valley). They’ll be there for the next few weeks, until the 21st July I think. If you didn’t make it on the night, go down and have a look!