2020 Surf Art Calendar
January
“South Wind”
By: Zen Del Rio
STORY BEHIND THE IMAGE
From the artist: South Wind was one of four paintings I created depicting the four cardinal point directions, North, South, East and West. In this painting, I wanted to capture the effect of a strong south wind on a breaking North swell. I am fascinated by the plumes of spray that are created as the wave breaks. I feel this painting captured this natural phenomenon.
PERSONAL CONNECTION
This image illustrates the power of community. I was introduced to the Artist Zen Del Rio through a friend that I surf with regularly only to realize that I also surfed regularly with Zen, but just didn’t know him personally. We had been in the water surfing next each other countless times, but never made the connection and the surf art calendar brought us together.
It reminds me of daily life where we pass through a sea of nameless faces, with all of us running in our own silos, and then all of a sudden, you find a common purpose and these faces no longer belong to a stranger and they’re a part of your life. Zen is a fantastic Palos Verdes artist, who I’m honored to have part of the 2020 Surf Art Calendar.
ARTIST BIO
Mystics believe the number three to have sacred power. Zen Del Rio believes...good things seem to come to him in threes. For starters, his name contains three sets of three letters. Zen was born in Mexico City to a family of wildly creative artists. Zen cut his teeth on drawing, painting and ceramic tile under the tutelage of his mother, master painter and designer Gemma Taccogna. At the age of nine, Zen and his family relocated to Palos Verdes California, where surfing became as much a part of his life as art. Zen spent most of his youth going to school, working in Gemma's studio and going on surfing adventures with his friends to exotic locales.
His art? It's the rhythm of nature translated: pure, simple. Zen is versatile; encompassing a broad range of styles and media, from the abstract through impressionism to realism. Distinctive logo design for corporate identity. Cutting-edge graphics for the top apparel companies. The surfboards he hand shapes are revered by surfers world-wide. His colorful murals adorn homes, schools, churches and libraries.
Zen's eclectic inspirations include "Old Masters" Michelangelo and Vermeer, a variety of impressionists including Cezanne, Van Gough, Gauguin and Tamayo, and the ink work of Aubrey Beardsley and Rick Griffin. The work of Zen Del Rio exudes the wonder of life, the beauty of the environment and the eternity of the soul.
CONTACT INFO:
Website: www.zendelrio.com
PH 310.951.4494
Email: zendelrio@earthlink.net