40th Anniversary Art Contest

In celebration of Surfrider LA's 40 years as an organization, we wanted to recognize some of the incredible artists in our community who have supported Surfrider's work throughout the years! Please support the artists below by following their socials and sharing their work. 

40th Anniversary Winner

Congratulations to our 40th year art contest winner, Olivia Chavez! She displayed her 11 foot long shark at Surfrider LA's 40th Anniversary party at Rivian on August 24th.

"What inspires me to create art is to lead my audience to consider greater
environmental issues such as the ocean and how humans affect its health. It is
important in my practice that my work addresses ecologies at risk and to use creativity
of thought to support and sustain non-human life. Plastic Shark accomplishes this by
utilizing a camera-less process called the cyanotype method. I collected trash to create
a visual of the pollution occurring in our oceans." - Olivia Chavez 

Chavez's Plastic Shark and Olivia Chavez (center left) with members of Surfrider's EC at the Surfrider 40th Year Celebration on August 24th, 2024. To support & follow: @creationsbyliiv

40th Anniversary Art Submissions

This competition was so challenging to judge as there were so many excellent submissions! Thank you to those who donated your pieces for our auction and a BIG thank you to all who shared your talents with Surfrider LA. 

Sasha Gary

Gary's Driftwood art from Venice Beach and Malibu. To support & follow: @venicedriftwoodartist

Nathalie Allen

Allen's up-cycled boards. To support & follow: @Ouanapacifico

Sandy Bleifer

Bleifer's 17-feet long art installation, each of the 7 panels is hung individually on a french cleat. To support & follow: SandyBleifer.com

Sera Underwood

Underwood made this frame from straws collected on Venice Beach after big storms this winter.  She was inspired to organize a beach clean up and collectively picked up over 70lbs of trash in a few hours. To support & follow: SandyBleifer.com

David Ellis

Ellis has been a member of Surfrider for over 40 years, beginning in 1985 in Newport Beach.

Laurie Jiobu

Jiobu's "Ebb and Flow" is 22x21.5 inc., acrylic on canvas. To support & follow: https://www.lauriejiobu.com/ 

Yusha Neuman

Neuman's work demonstrates Surfrider's 40 years and the impact of humans on our oceans. To support & follow: @tiff.y.neuman

Mark Farina

Farina's works are repurposed and discarded objects found on the beach and alley ways around Santa Monica.
 To support & follow: @mxfarina

Ryan Yamashita

Yamashita "One Piece at a Time" is a 35" x 8.5" ocean resin art surfboard featuring microplastics collected this summer from places such as Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Oahu, and more. The piece celebrates Surfrider's four decades of ocean conservation, education, and our ongoing fight to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches for all people to enjoy. To support & follow: https://www.ryoceanresinart.com/ 

Leilani Vella

Vella's FLOW invites the viewer to delight in the unknown, to release expectations, and embrace the freedom of creating in the moment. The sea symbolizes the ever changing nature of life, it’s constantly in motion. When we model this flow, we embody a formlessness that enables us to expand. To embrace flow is to have the ability to hold life lightly enough to allow it’s energy to lead us, rather than grasping to a structure that will inevitably limit our lives. 
 To support & follow: https://aquaterra.earth/ 

Steve Kelly

Kelly's work demonstrates the importance of Surfrider's work for our beaches in Los Angeles.  

Kyle Rebar

Rebar's work are pieces of trash that he's stumbled upon in nature framed with materials salvaged from commercial productions. To support & follow: https://kylerebar.biz/gallery/zuc7s0270s6ruk4cnoznsh30b92r79 

Kat Young

Young's work represents the positive impact humans can have on our oceans. To support & follow: https://www.katyoungart.com