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In honor of Jeff Anderson and the camaraderie created by his love for art, family, and friends,

each month on the 23^rd

I AM SNOWBOARDING is highlighting one of the  art pieces along with the artists who created it.

This month’s featured partnership is:

“the Radient Legend of Mammoth”

Photo: Ryan Boyes, Laguna Beach, CA

Fine Art: Ben Brough, Costa Mesa, CA

Photograph, Acrylic, a soundtrack, and a few tears over Giclee on canvas

25 1/2 x 38 1/2 in (64.77 x 97.79 cm)

2009

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This photograph of Jeff Anderson was created by Ryan Boyes in Mammoth Lakes, California, 2003. Captured with a standard Polaroid.

Ryan Boyes: “Billy and I were posted up at the Red Bull house in Mammoth early January 2003. Jeff rang up Billy and explained how his first Burton Pro model had just arrived. Within minutes Jeff charged through the door holding his weapon under one arm. We all circled around… one by one, checked the weight, flexed it, examined the tip and tail profiles, looked down the side cut and stood on the board; improvising where we’d mount the bindings. A right of passage with any board, perhaps maybe more of a ritual before riding. It was our introduction to the first ever Jeff Anderson pro model. Jeff was glowing and I could see Billy was proud of his younger brother. Thumbs up!”

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Collecting the polaroid image for the project was a wonderful task. Ryan had given the small photo to Jane and she had it among other photos at  her house in the desert. With Levi in tow, Torrey drove two hours east, and on a beautiful Fall afternoon spent several hours pouring through Jane’s scrap book of photos and memories and hearing many many stories about Jeff and Billy.

The photo was brought back to Orange County, scanned, enlarged onto canvas by RYNo in Lake Tahoe then sent back to Ben Brough to add his work in Costa Mesa, California, October 2009.

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Ben Brough: “When I got the canvas in the mail I was like oh shit I gotta paint on this thing and mess it up? It was this great photo that I just wanted to hang on my wall – Jeff looking so stoked on holding his board. And it took me awhile. I put it in the studio and sat and stared at it for a couple days before I started working on it. Then, the night I started working on it, it was weird… I had my iPod on shuffle – which has I don’t know how many songs – but every other song was a song off the Basquiat soundtrack. When we were kids Jeff took me to see the movie and he turned me on to Basquiat. It was just a really great bonding time with him just being… young and free… with all these dreams and ideas for the future…. and while I was painting… the soundrack kept coming on and I kept getting goose bumps like someone was in the room with me. I just started like totally crying when I was painting… not cause I was sad I wasn’t happy I wasn’t sad my eyes were just leaking..  The John Cale Hallelujah song was playing. It was the end credit song of the Baquiat movie and I just felt like Jeff was there. I’m a pretty spiritual person and I definitely felt someone in the room with me – Jeff was in the room with me. It was like he came and was hanging out. It felt great… it really felt great.”

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In February 2010 when the I AM show traveled to Tokyo, “the Radient Legend of Mammoth” was used by Volcom for a t-shirt highlighting all the tour stops of the exhibition. Select sizes of these shirts are available for purchase – email info@AR4T.com. All proceeds go to the JLA Fund through The JLA Project. Now Japan..Japan was an extremely memorable trip… but that’s for another day.

Please check back next month for more stories about the making of I AM…

Ben - Boyes - Blacky - I AM - Mammoth Nov 2009

ABOUT BEN BROUGH

Ben Brough is a self-taught American artist working in the traditional style of painting and collage. Born in California, raised in Hawaii, Ben started his focus on art when he traveled the world as a surfer, logging images in one of his many journals that he’d always keep close by. Preferring to make art with a childlike scraw, embracing humanistic emotions with a goal of raw mythical impact. Ben has shown his art in galleries worldwide. His art has been made iconic through the world of graphic design, his original paintings are a must have for any contemporary art collection.

In honor of Ben’s upcoming solo art exhibition, photographer / filmmaker Jesse Fulton spent several evenings with Ben in his studio quietly taking notes. What emerged is a beautiful commentary on Ben’s art and exciting prelude to the art soon to be on display. Please view the extended version which includes an interview with Ben at www.AR4T.com/blog.

“A Million Charming Creatures,” Artwork by Ben Brough runs July 31st through August 15th, 2010, at 210 AR4T SPACE, 210 North PCH (between Broadway and Cliff), Laguna Beach, CA. The opening reception, on Saturday July 31st, from 7 to 10 pm, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact 210 AR4T Space at 415.690.6180 or info@AR4T.com.

ABOUT RYAN BOYES

Ryan Boyes grew up in Wrightwood, CA and moved to Mammoth in his late teens to finish High School. Like many hippy kids, he had big plans of moving out west to pursue his dreams. Except for Ryan, moving west actually meant going east to Montana where he lived off and on for the next ten years, eventually scoring a dream job as the snow team manager at Volcom.

After many years of admiring the work of other photographers, Ryan picked up a camera and starting shooting. With a keen eye for detail that shows in his work, Ryan’s passion for getting the best shot and his dedication to photography and snowboarding go hand in hand.

Currently Ryan stays true to his hippy roots by living in Laguna Beach, California and takes long bike rides with his beautiful wife Bonnie.