2024 event artist: ROBERT STROMBERG

Robert Stromberg, raised in Carlsbad, California, has experienced a life full of sketching and surfing. Inspired by his father, a low-budget film director, and his part-time elementary school art teacher, Bruce McIntyre, who retired as an illustrator for Disney, he found himself hooked on drawing and painting. He then moved to Los Angeles with a dream of becoming a director. Immediately, he was drawn to the more visual side of things in visual effects and design.  

He has received several awards for his work, including Academy Awards for Best Art Direction on Avatar and Alice in Wonderland. In addition, he has won five Emmy Awards for visual effects in Star Trek and HBO’s John Adams and Boardwalk Empire. Stromberg is also known for his directorial debut in Maleficent, the highest-grossing film for a first-time director. He is also the founder, chief creative officer, and chairman of The Virtual Reality Company. 

Stromberg’s piece “Surfer’s Paradise” is up for auction this year. The inspiration comes from growing up surfing in Carlsbad and spending hours dreaming up fantasy worlds on his surfboard. 

2023 event artist: Rick Rietveld

Rick Rietveld, a Southern California native, began surfing in 1971 and has been heavily influenced by the surfing lifestyle ever since. In 1980, he co-founded the popular surf wear company, Maui & Sons. He held the position of creative director for over 10 years, during which time his iconic logo, illustrated advertising and artwork launched the success of the company’s image and popular appeal. He has received several awards for his work, was featured several books including the goat coffee table book “SURFING” by Jim Heimann; and Stoked: A History of Surf Culture, His Eddie Aikau posters for Quiksilver in the mid 90’s and the 1998 and 2015 Triple Crown of Surfing posters are iconic and just a few of his many posters he has created during his career. 

Up for auction this year is Rietveld’s “Einstein’s Day Off,” inspired by his favorite Albert Einstein quote, “creativity is more important than knowledge.” This quote and painting honors the brilliant doctors and researchers who use their great minds and creativity to improve cancer treatments and care.

2022 EVENT ARTIST: Sush Kudari

Sush Kudari is a San Diego based artist who loves to combine vibrant colors and patterns. Her inspiration stems from her upbringing in India where colorful textiles decorated the streets and spices highlighted the hues of the neighborhood. While her art may not be traditionally Indian in appearance, the influences can be seen in her style. Sush began her business, Kudari Kollection, while studying engineering at UC San Diego. By day she is a Software Developer and surfer, by night an artist. Along with painting on canvas she also creates artwork on surfboards.

Living in San Diego added a new spirit to Sush’s latest works which are oriented towards the stunning beaches and memorable landmarks along the coast of Southern California. Recurring themes of blue skies, bright oceans, and rich greenery are influenced by San Diego’s unique scenery and flora. In the piece Sush created for the Luau and Legends of Surfing Invitational, she was inspired by views of Scripps Pier and the beautiful flowers of San Diego, creating a combination of colors that you will see walking through our town.

2021 Event Artist: Grant pecoff

Gazing into a Grant Pecoff painting, you are drawn into an atmosphere where vibrant light and electric colors transform the familiar into the extraordinary. Pecoff’s art is an invitation to slide into a state where we feel alive and awake - into a setting of passionate depth and radiating energy where our hearts and imaginations are filled with possibilities.  Take a trip into Grant Pecoff’s art and share his vision of our magical world.

Pecoff paints cityscapes, coastal views, buzzing cafes, the people interacting in them and, always, the light. “There are such amazing variations of color within the leaves of one tree, for example, affected so much by how the light filters through and how the shadows fall across it,” says Pecoff.  His expression of light as it reflects on water is particularly stunning. He makes the light appear as if it is dancing on the waves and recreates the movement of the water using electric blues, rich oranges and fiery crimsons. His deliberate distortion of images as they are echoed on the water is whimsical and surrealistic. John Shore, editor of Décor & Style magazine refers to Pecoff’s compositions as “dreaming-while-awake oil paintings.”  

A native San Diegan, Pecoff received his formal training at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He soon realized that his real classroom was the world around him. “When I was a child, my father traveled to remote places across the globe, searching for rare plants,” Pecoff reminisces, “His stories of those experiences were enchanting to me.  He taught us to notice life around us and to express our feelings. It encouraged the development of my playfulness and imagination.” 

At the heart of Grant Pecoff’s talent is his ability to share the way he sees life with the viewer. His art calls us in and shows us a new way to experience what we see. Through Pecoff’s painting, he communicates the essence of a culture and helps us to feel the commonality we all share. Perhaps it is this expression of our universal similarity and oneness which have created such enthusiasm from collectors near and far for Pecoff’s paintings. As his work evolves, it is certain to continue to speak to us, to shape us and to influence the way we see our world.

2020 Event Artist: Andy Davis

Southern California Surfer Andy Davis is one of the most stoked and passionate people you will ever encounter. And his art is an extension of the electric enthusiasm he has for wave riding and the culture that surrounds it.

Due to the the COVID-19 pandemic we were unable to sell Andy’s artwork at the 27th Annual Luau & Legends of Surfing Invitational. We hope to be able to sell the artwork at this years 2021 Luau Event.