Skateboarder art 48” x 96” acrylic on unstretched canvas
So, Go Skateboarding Day. That’s everyday. It’s funny how something like this can send you down memory lane. I used to skateboard in my teens and early twenties. Back then, it wasn’t just a hobby, it was freedom on four wheels. When I was first married and a dad, one day, a group of kids knocked on my door. My wife answered and they asked if “John could come out and play.” My wife laughed, told me to grab my board, and gave me a curfew: “Be home by dark.” I guess once a skater, always a skater.
The Skateboarding Scene Where I Live
I live in this coastal town where surfing and skateboarding go hand in hand. Just a few blocks from my place is a promenade that is a hotspot for surfers and skaters. There’s something about that mix of ocean and skateboard culture that’s just magnetic. Skaters roll by as surfers chat in wetsuits, their boards leaning against cars. It’s all very effortless, but alive.
Behind the Skateboarder Painting
Those scenes inspired one of my paintings. A skateboarder, standing on the promenade at Ventura Point, gazing out at the waves. It’s a scene I have seen a hundred times, but there was something about the quietness in her stance. She wasn’t skating at that moment. She as just watching the surf, soaking it all in. That pause before her nextride.
Skateboarding isn’t just about tricks or showing off. It’s about those in-between moments. The connection between you, your board, and the world around you. That’s what I wanted to capture.
Why Skateboarding Still Matters
Skateboarding is freedom, creativity, and a little rebellion. It’s more than just a sport; it is a way of seeing the world. Even if you’re older and maybe your knees don’t love it as much, there is still something magical about picking up a board. It’ is like you’re borrowing a little piece of your past for an afternoon.
Go Skateboarding Day, which is every day, is a good excuse to celebrate that. Dust off the board, roll down your street, and see where it takes you. You don’t have to land any trick. Let the wheels take you somewhere.