Lizzy

Years creating surf art: Ehehe, I started creating surf illustrations in 2013, but drawing was always part of my life since I can remember.

Instagram: @lizzyartwork 

Is being a female surf artist come with its own set of challenges? All of us have different connections with the ocean and as artists we canalize it on our way. There aren’t so many surf artists in the world. More and less we know each other works. And it’s so special to see how we materialize this “stoke” and create a style. I think in surf art industry there is no boundary if you are a man or a woman. Many times we use artistic names that we cannot identify the gender of the artist. So in a matter of gender it’s fair and equal.  But of course as women I think we feel the ocean differently and represent it in a different way. I draw a lot of surfer girls and their connection with the landscapes around. So I create a very feminine representation of it, because it’s the way I see and feel this scenes. I know that a lot of women truly read my illustrations and feel inspired by it.

Surf art goals? I’m not that good at planning things. I just trust in the destiny as long as I keep doing what its in my heart, the right opportunities come on the right time. I already had the opportunity to draw a big collection for an international brand (Dakine) and to be invited as an artist on Duct Tape Festival, so it was already huge! 😀 I honestly don’t know what can be next! At the moment I’m writing and illustrating a children’s book about a surfer / musician and his struggle to help cleaning the ocean from plastics. And I really want to have it in hands as I’m very committed with the Surfrider Foundation cause, and I feel that I can give something to help out spreading the word among the next surfer generation.

What do you love/hate (you choose!) about surf culture as it pertains to women surfers? I hate that the surf industry and brands use woman as a sexual object, exposing only the beauty and not our talents. Surf brands are telling the young girls that they only need to be pretty to get sponsored, that the surf doesn’t matter that much. When you see those advertisements, you see radical scenes in man posters and girls in bikini in women posters. We live in a patriarchal society, where the man is strong and powerful, and the woman is fragile, innocent and pretty. There are so many examples of strong woman in the world, and in surfing area. We have to tell the brands that we are also strong and powerful and we want to  disassociate from that fragile character that they want us to be.
Thank you WSL for announcing an equal prize money for man and woman on the competitions, that was a victory!

How has your surfing/art life affected the rest of your life on land? To become a surfer was my first big decision as an individual. I was 14, so all my choices after this had in consideration my dream. I decided to camp by the beach during summer holidays to learn how to surf, and a few years later i moved to Peniche to be close to the ocean. I created a surf clothing brand after the degree, and I started illustrating surf scenes after the masters. If I had chosen a career I would probably be archeologist. But the ocean teaches me so many things. Surfing is the best metaphor for life, as it truly connect us with the nature around and within. It makes us to reach different levels of consciousness. If I hadn’t started surfing I think I would be a totally different person, and not for the best! So I believe surfing made me a better being and a human with something to tell.