Surf Panel, self portrait, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 18, 2001.
Black Pack (Bucky’s Packard) acrylic on canvas 18 x 12, 2001.
Three Princes, acrylic on canvas 24 x 18, 2002.
Woody Junkyard. 50 woodies, count ‘em. 16 x 18, 2001.
The Treasure. Acrylic on Canvas. 20 x 24, 2001.
I get to look at these pretty much everyday.
Jim Phillips painted these. If you’re a skater, I don’t need say more. You probably have his boards still hanging in your room, in your living room, tucked away up under your bed. For the rest of you, search and you will be enlightened. The skateboarding boom of the 1970s and subsequent success in the 1980s can be partially attributed to the creative and graphic genius of one Jim Phillips. The mark he has left on skateboarding is undeniable and unlikely to be ever surpassed by anyone else artistically. Shit, how many times can the fucking screaming hand be parodied?
Rich Novak, the owner of NHS, the mastermind behind the first ever precision-bearing wheels, the road rider (sold 6 million wheels by ’76), one of the godfathers of the first ever full independent suspension truck (Independent, 1978) and all around badass extroardinaire had Jim paint these in 2001.
Getting back to his roots, Phillips painted the landscapes, surfscapes and surroundings of Novaks’ and Phillips’ youth – the Pleasure Point area of Santa Cruz, CA.
I find new things hidden in the paint every time I stare at them.
Tune in and trip out.
