Surfer Jeff Ho Portrait Sports Art Surfing

Surfer Jeff Ho portrait

Painting by sports artist John Robertson

50” x 72” acrylic on unstretched canvas

Surfer art Jeff Ho, Z-Boys

Jeff Ho was one of the original Z-Boys of skateboard and surfing fame.  Z-Boys were a group of skateboarders in the 1970's from South Santa Monica and Venice, California who are credited with inventing modern skateboarding.  Jeff had started a local surf team and later a skate team named Zepher Surf Team and Zephyr

Skate team which is how the they became to be known as Z-Boys.  Jeff Ho opened Jeff Ho Surfboards and Zephyr Productions, a surf shop in the Venice Beach area in 1971 and closed it in 1976.  By the way, Jeff still shapes boards and they are still available on line along with other surf and skate products. A bit of Jeff’s story was told, along with his team in the the 2001 documentary film, Dogtown and Z-Boys, and a 2005 biographical film, Lords of Dogtown.

Opportunity to Paint Portrait of surfer Jeff Ho

I first met Jeff Ho in Venice around 2000 when visiting my future wife in Venice, Ca.  One of my wife’s best friend lived next door to her in Venice and she happened to be Jeff Ho’s girlfriend during the Z-Boys days in Venice.  They were still good friends and sometime surfing partner’s to her husband.  He came around regularly to their house and I would speak with him, not knowing his past history.  I just always admired the surfboards he usually had hanging on his car.  They were beautifully painted and shaped.  Because he had an interesting face I asked him if he minded that I paint his portrait.  Being the great guy he is, he agreed.  Only after a few months after completing the painting did I ever find out who we was and his history.   

The skateboard you see photographed is one I made for a skateboard auction fundraiser.  It seemed appropriate to create the surf deck with the image of Jeff on it.  

Surfer Painting Art Artists John Robertson

Surfer

As I live only a couple of blocks from the beach and my studio is even closer, it is only natural I would paint a surfer.  This surfer is standing on the rocks at Ventura, California Surfer's Point.  This surfing break is only a few hundred yards up the beach from the Ventura Pier and the "C" Street

break.  "C" Street is more of an inside break as apposed to the "Point" break.

Surfing

I first started surfing many, many years ago.  How Long?  Well I do not want to give away my age but when I started surfing there were some guys using redwood planks and wore knit swim suits.  Women still wore bonnets to the beach.  The boards were ten to twelve feet of solid redwood and weighed a hundred pounds.  To get one of those things off the beach was like dragging a dead seal back into the water.   It was like paddling a canoe with a chance of splinters.  I actually started out on the old balsa boards - no splinters and slippery when wet.  We used candle wax for the surface.  By the way - no wet-suits either and we surfed year-round.  Living about 6 miles from Malibu it was the natural place to surf.  We sometimes went up to Leo Carrillo and County Line and never went south.  Few surfed the Santa Monica and Venice breaks because - well, just because.   Because Malibu was close and just about the best break anywhere - and few surfers then.  A crowded day was about a dozen guys out.

Body Boarding Now

Even though I live close to a couple of great breaks I do not surf anymore.  I do get into the ocean regularly, body-boarding, but surfing has lost it's appeal.  Main reason?  The same as many.  Too many people.  But just north of us is a nice shore break.  A few boards come out but not enough to interfere with the body-boarders.   It is more about just being in the water and not on top of it.  I feel more part of the environment.  And most of the year without a wet suit.  When the water drops below 60 degrees then that is about the time the wet suit comes out.  But that is what so great about living in sunny Southern California - living outdoors and you can be in the water all year long without wearing a big rubber .... suit.

About Sports Artists John Robertson Surfer Painting

The painting is four feet by eight feet, acrylic on unstretched canvas.  It hangs like a tapestry or banner.