2012 ARTIST
Each year, an artist is asked by the event chairs to donate their time and a piece of art to represent the Luau & Longboard Invitational on t-shirts, posters and other materials. The artwork is auctioned at the Luau. All proceeds are donated to the Moores UCSD Cancer Center.
The 19th Annual Luau & Longboard Invitational proudly announces the selection of Kevin Walsh as the 2012 Event Artist.
“I’ve been apart of the Luau, donating various pieces and collaborating on different surfboard donations for 4 years now and needless to say it holds a special place in my heart. Cancer research and the work being done to try to cure this devastating disease needs to continue and the work being done at Moore’s Cancer Research is as good as it gets. Two years ago was especially tough for me and cancer’s terrible impact was felt throughout my family. Having lost three family members to various forms of cancer inside of the same year, it was a true honor when asked to be the featured artist of 2012.”
A full-time artist, Kevin Walsh documents the surf culture, its landscapes and its people, but his work is mostly known as the loud awe-inspiring paint-pen artwork on the bottom of surfboards ridden by surfing’s elite. In addition, he’s done requested concert posters for Jack Johnson, as well as been the featured artist of Professional World Tour surfing events hosted by O’neill and RipCurl. Often travel-inspired, Kevin recently spent 6 weeks in Bali painting various landscapes that were later put up for auction to protect the very same coast he traveled.
“I learned to surf in Santa Cruz in my early teens and the rugged coastline, the people and the town all have had a hand in inspiring my work. Surfing is a lifestyle and I’ve been lucky enough to mold a career around something I love.”
“I’ve colored, drawn and painted as long as I can remember with my dad being the one I’ve looked up to the most. I watched and learned the passion he had for the craft from such a young age, I feel like I was destined to do what I’m doing now.”
“It’s been a true pleasure and honor to serve as this year’s artist and I can’t thank the Luau enough for allowing me to play a small part in their continued efforts. My hope is that we can continue to raise more and more funds to ‘Surf For A Cure!’”
Mahalo Kevin!
Thank you to our 2008-2012 Luau & Longboard Invitational’s title sponsor, Pfizer La Jolla.
