It can be challenging to remember a name. But a face is virtually unforgettable. Artist Letty Nowak has discovered a way to portray the surf community through portraits of faces from the industry. The recognizable expressions of co-workers, icons, athletes, visionaries and legends line the walls of her exhibits communicating the personality and life of our industry through art. The exhibit has been shown in various galleries and spaces across the country including the Hurley HQ in Costa Mesa, CA. We touched base with Letty to learn more about what inspired her to create this particular collection of artwork.
What is your connection to/background in surf?
My connection and background to surf was growing up in my parent’s surf shops. We owned some of the first surf shops in Southwest Michigan so I was brought up in the industry even though the only waves I had experienced were those behind a boat or if we were lucky- sometimes on Lake Michigan. A lot of our family vacations were spent in Orlando for the Surf Expo so it was always right there, but not close enough to ever surf. I finally had the opportunity to learn in Costa Rica and the rest is history.
What was the inspiration behind this exhibit?
The inspiration behind this exhibit was to bring the surf industry into my art career. I had been focusing on portraits for over ten years as a professional artist with this project actually in the back of my mind for 6 of them. I slowly worked towards it and eventually the path was open to make it happen.
How did you choose who in the surf industry to do portraits of?
I had some incredible help from Greg Noll in the very beginning stages. He did some introductions and I started taking my first photographs. This started an on-going list of people. Now I sometimes ask my subjects what I asked Greg Noll- who they think would be good for this project and why. I have learned so much about people that I may have not discovered through this which is giving the Faces of Surfing a lot of depth. I also have met a handful of my subjects through my own travels- some of whom have ended up being pretty influential.
What are your goals for this exhibit?
My goals are to eventually finish the project with 100 paintings of people from around the world which make up the Faces of Surfing. I also want the paintings to exhibit from California to Australia as I finish each set. Giving back through these paintings is also important to me and I have recently had some great meetings on how to make this happen. And maybe even most importantly, keep growing and pushing myself as an artist through each of these portraits I paint.
