Ocean Artwork » Reviews

New products from Driftwood Timber Surf Co perfect gift for a surfer you know

admin — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:18:43 +0000

Jason and Tina Williams from Driftwood Timber surf have been producing beautiful ‘Surfing and ocean themed’ picture frames, coffee tables, surf art and giftware for almost 15 years now.
Their first creations were coffee tables with unique artwork by Tina painted on the surface.

Driftwood Timber Surf have their own overhead router so custom jobs are not a problem.

Some of the great surf art products are listed below and you can browse and purchase any of these items in our online shop.

Driftwood Timber Fish

These Beautiful and original wall hangings are contstructed from driftwood .
Which gives each fish a unique character of its own.
They look great mounted on the wall of your house or out on the Verandah.
They come in large or small sizes
Click here to purchase one of these items

Timber Turtles

These Timber Turtles come in White wash or natural timber colour
and in sets of four.These can be used for wall hangings or use them to decorate any
part of your house or beach shack.

Original, unique and inexpensive .

Hawaiian Signs

These Hawaiian signs are classic wall hangings for your Holiday house
or great for the front door or anywhere you think they would look good…
They come in three different styles Wahine, Aloha and Hula – Girl.

Large Surfboard Picture Frame

Driftwood Timber surf have a large range of surfboard picture frames.
From Tiny surfboard frames right up to large Longboard styles and this large modern shortboard shaped picture frame.
You can use the complimentary beautiful surf art included or put your own photos in the frame.

Browse through our complete range of timber surfboard shaped picture frames by clicking here

Timber Star Fish

These unique white washed painted star fish are a perfect gift for anyone who loves the ocean.
Mount them on the wall, your front door or as a curiosity piece anywhere in your house.

Customers who have purchased these have mounted several packs on the ceiling of there bedroom…

click here to see more and purchase this item

We have many more items that are suitable as gifts for surfers …

Get in early and make sure you have all your Christmas gifts sorted.

Click here to browse through our shop

Ocean Artwork is the exclussive online agent for Driftwood Timber Surf.

you can browse through more of their products on their site www.driftwoodtimbersurf.com

Driftwood Timber Surf, creators and designers of Surf Art and fine Timber surfboard shaped coffee tables

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:32:17 +0000

Driftwood Timber Surf are producers of fine Surf Art and Timber surf furniture
Jason and Tina Williams started their business in the late 1990′s.
No one had successfully created a surfboard shaped coffee table that looked good and was sturdy and functional, So Jason and Tina set about creating one.
The first coffee Tables were hand painted by Tina with unique and original Surf Art . They were made with metal tubular legs. These tables had a lot of work put into them and Jason and Tina found most people were more interested in hanging the artwork on their walls rather than resting their coffee cups on them.
Since then they have evolved into a sturdy and attractive piece of furniture that any surfer would be proud to own and have in their living room.

As the business grew so did the line of products , Tina produced more examples of fine Surf Art. So it was an obvious move to start producing Surfboard shaped picture frames or wall hangings which have since become one of their most prized and consistent selling products.

After about 4 years in business they decided to invest in their own computerized over head router which gave them the ability to handle custom jobs and orders.

These days Driftwood Timber Surf has become one of the main suppliers of Surf Trophies for contests and has created unique and original looking timber designs for surf trophies for Surfing Australia, Surfing NSW and Surfing Queensland.

You can purchase any Of Driftwood Timber Surf’s fine products from this site or catch them at the Gold Coast markets and sometimes the Byron Bay markets.

Driftwood Timber Surf products are a great idea for a gift or Christmas present that any surfer would be stoked to receive.

Its still not too late to order for Christmas… SO GET YOUR ORDER IN NOW FOR CHRISTMAS BEFORE ITS NOT TOO LATE

PLEASE NOTE: INTERNATIONAL ORDERS please contact us first before placing your order. Some of these products are quite heavy and can be very costly to ship depending on what part of the world you are in.

Ocean Rhythms – Surf movie Classic a film by Steve Core

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:05:00 +0000

Ocean Rhytms is a classic old surf flick shot in 16mm by 70′s surf photography legend Steve Core. With incredible vintage footage of MP, Rabbit and P.T in their primes.
these guys were the original Cooly kids

Steve has recently had the movie remasterd to digital and its now available on DVD .

You can purchase a copy by clicking here on Ocean Artwork
or check out Steve’s new site UtmostSpirit.com.

Below is a the original review published in TRACKS in 1975
written by the one and only Martin Tullemans

Steve gets it all Flowing.

Ocean Rhythms is not only a current up to date look at hot radical surfing – it is a refreshingly entertaining surf movie: something very different from the stereotyped overseas formula for a surf flick. Certainly it is not as slick; without the mandatory Pipeline water footage and other effects which we have been accustomed to from the Hollywood of surf footage: Hawaii.
It largely owes its popularity to the fact that it is about Australian surfers surfing their own waves and ripping tem to its. You can’t help but get the feeling that was expounded years ago; that we’re tops now! For once a surf film maker has given an audience what they have been wanting; an honest in depth surfer’s movie featuring Australia’s best surfers on their favourite home surf breaks.
Definitely value, this one, as there is a variety of surfers and great surf breaks filmed from unreal positions as well as photographically stimulating approaches to keep you hanging on the edge of the seat. There is some Bells footage in there, an unreal reef sequence with P.T., Rabbit (the bunny in the burrow) and Ian Cairns where the film’s maker Steve Core was able to get a look straight down the length of the tube that is pretty full on.

Terry Richardson at his home break blowing people out with his cutbacks into the tube as well as some Bali material of a short trip. Rabbit rips up Duranbah, Burleigh, Kirra and carves great hunks at Uluwatu, often sliding into deep caverns and attempting radical moves which he pulls off frequently.
There are some crowd loosener-uppers tacked on to the opening moments in each half of the film of a zany W.C.Fields slapstick and a Woody Woodpecker enhancing the entertainment and assisting as valuable cutaways to keep you interested as pure surfing is a bit heavy to sit through continuously.
Michael comes on in the second half riding some outrageous tubes at Kirra and Burleigh which he carves up casually with a fierce radical aggressiveness that completely put his true ability in clear perspective.
Peter Crawford’s individual surfing style and ability on his circus machine at Dee Why and the incredible backside moves of Col Smith complete a well balanced overall picture of contemporary Australian surfers.
The coke contest section is a great statement of the radical surfing of the times, with everyone ripping, slicing, shredding, powering and generally going for it something fierce.
Martin Tullemans

Sneak preview of new clothing label ‘Sirens of the Sea’

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:13:09 +0000

‘Sirens of the Sea’ is a brand new clothing label from Pro surfer Samantha Cornish and her partner Kate.

Ive been working on surf shots with Sam a bit this year.
So when she rang me late last week and asked if I could come up to North Stradbroke to get a few shots of her new designs. I thought why not??

Sam and Kate had lined up 3 beautiful local girls Ella, Josie and Stacey for the shoot.
As well as being lookers, these girls are all hot surfers..

These tops and hoodies are just the beginning of what the girls are hoping will be a much larger range in the future.

Their website and official launch of the brand will be in the next few months.

In search of Michael Peterson a Review by Martin Tullemans

admin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:26:21 +0000

The release and premiere of the movie ‘Searching for Michael Peterson’ truly struck a bottom turn in my heart.
It was not your usual pump up the hydraulic plumbing macho fluid stuff.
Sure the rip tear and lacerate of ‘MP’ the father of modern high performance surfing was……. oh yeah baby!!!…. Show me the money!!! But it also had a humanity and respect for Michael’s condition that set it a cut above.

Jolyon Hoff the producer needs to be applauded and congratulated for the sensitive rendering and the depth of historical research he went to.

I might take a walk on the wild side here myself. My mate and ‘brother in arms’ MP….. we used to hang out, play chess and rap at his factory where he rented me a small room for my darkroom work in 75/76.
Michael had a much stronger strain of a mental condition that I myself have had to learn to manage with discipline and application. I only have bipolar disorder which quite a few highly talented and respected surfers and artist’s high profile people have.
I regret to this day that I could not convince my film associate Chris Bystrom to get medicated. He had three major things go wrong in his life before his untimely head on with a semi trailer.
Michaels condition paranoid schizophrenia; we knew nothing of at the time. We just knew he was as quiet and introverted as a ‘library bookworm nerd’ on land and did a complete out of the closet Clark Kent to superman switch once he hit the surf.
From my own experience, mental conditions are handed down the family tree line of some emotional pain or hurt of the parent/ grandparent/ great grandparent that has not been trashed out through the heart centre
releasing it.

I could have given you the standard reportage of the play by play film story rehash but I have just come back from a week of tai chi and meditation in the Noosa national park..I did not want to clutter your minds with more of the usual information overload rehash bash.

The reason Michael Peterson is so revered is he followed his heart and walked the talk. This is highly unusual today as in this entertainment world we let the great actors and general James Bond cats walk our own talk for us.
In Michaels day to be a surfer was really going against the grain as society still had be straight and conform to normal rules from the post second world war fallout and baggage. Michael’s behaviour if you read Sean Doherty’s book will reveal the clues on the things that caused his body and mind to be afflicted with the fear at every turn and step. If you do have such a condition as some of us big monkeys that swing from surfing’s tribal tree do.
Join us get medicated, and manage it. No shame be game. After all, they nicknamed MP the MONK for the long gangly killer ORANG UTANG paddler arms and the primitive psych out vibe that THE MISSING LINK was capable of.

We all owe a debt to Michael for BUSTIN DOWN THE DOORS of plain average surfing performance and showing us a standard of excellence and possibility.
A man of vision and courage!!.
His buddy and mate from 75 /76; MARTIN TULLEMANS surf photographer from 72 to 2003 on active tour of duty.
Now merely a pelican or sea eagle gliding and sliding on the winds above the jackals , hyenas, lions, tigers, kelpies, pure bred Aussie mongrels and barrel chested, pot bellied, chook legged, wave hogs on long lumber thrashing it out on the hydroscape.

BEFORE YOU GO FOR A SURF THINK THESE WORDS ‘SORRY MATE’, SHARE AND SOUL THEN MAYBE LIFE WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL WORLD AND A PARTY ONCE AGAIN IN THE WATER

MARTIN TULLEMANS

Check out more of Marty’s classic photos below and in our shop.

Click here to Purchase this print

Click here to purchase this print

Michael Peterson, Classic old Collectible autographed photos of MP taken by Legendary Photographer Marty Tullemans

admin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:03:47 +0000

Michael Peterson or MP as he was known, was the best surfer in the world for three years in the early seventies.No arguments there!!
Every contest he entered he won.
He was, without a doubt the most dominant force in surfing at the time.
Unfortunately the demons that taunted him made him less than appealing to the power brokers in the fledgling Pro Surfing circuit.
Michael shunned the limelight and was only keen to take the money and run… in return he was shunned by the pro surfung world and elbowed out into pasture.
With the new film called “In search of Michael Peterson ” being released recently the interest in his life and times has resurfaced.
Here at Ocean Artwork we are proud to offer several linited edition prints of MP, taken by legendary surf photographer Marty Tullemans.
These are classic portraits that capture the character of the surfing legend.
For a limited time we are able to offer these prints autographed by the man himself..

You can see the photos below and read Marty’s thoughts and description below each picture.

These are excerpts from a recent interview I did with Marty.

Pro surfers from the early seventies.

“Back then it was all a bit mystical because everybody was on some sort of weird substance and we were all young virginal people just on hamburgers and beer and they (pro surfers) were all right out there west of far east.
It was way different to today..
It was like well; today they’re just like rock and roll stars but back then they were way bigger than that!!
Because they were leaders of a tribe of a cultural revolution…
It was the early seventies and we were doing something that was just like… society couldn’t handle it.
If you surfed you were a rebel..
“What you don’t work 9-5 ?”
What you break the rules? And take time off, play hooky and go surfing?
Your one of those… FERALS!!?
It was like if you were a surfer you were a bit of a rebel, outside of society’s norm.
And to be really good at it! Well….Hey man…..you were a Bad ass!!

The surfing industry It was very crude very primitive back then but there was also a lot of discovery, there was a lot of new ground being broken.
Everybody had their little place and everybody was good at something and everybody respected each other’s individuality where as today everybody’s just paranoid about how good their facebook web site looks.” Marty Tullemans

Click here to purchase this print

“The was the first photo I ever had published it was one of MP at Sunshine Beach doing a little graceful glide off a bank of white water. They ran it as a half page in TRACKS.” Marty Tullemans

Click Here to Purchase this print

“This shot was taken at the Pa Bendall memorial.
One morning Michael pulled out the rocket tail or the Christmas tree as Tommy used to call it.
He was having a trip on the job the glasser had done on the little fangs in the rocket tail
It was bit of an iconic shot of Michael because he was the one trying a lot of different things.
A lot of people thought he was way out and different ..But hey! what people don’t realise Michael had the wide point behind the middle of the board..Way before anyone else cottoned on to it.
And because of this he was able to fit in more turns and more agility.
Because the other guys were staying with the old tried and proven school.. MP was breaking new ground and doing different things..because he was experimenting and not scared….and whatever else they disliked about him he had performance streets ahead of the pack because he used his brain and was prepared to be different and be an individual.” Marty Tullemans

Click here to purchase this print

“Michael actually asked me to take this photo..
He was the original ‘bad boy’ or as Rabbit called him the “Black knight” of the contest scene.
He was the one putting the hand brake on ‘professional surfing’ moving forward because of his lifestyle image.
There was a professional event on in Hawaii and all the invites were sent out months before and Michael got his the day before the contest started in Hawaii and he received it in Australia.
I used to rent a little dark room next to his surfboard factory in Appel st Kirra.
So he called around and said
‘Marty come and get this photo I want to write a letter to TRACKS’.
So he wrote the letter and they ran the photo.
In the letter he had his grievances about why his invitation was sent by surface mail and not air mail.
In other words it was a polite way for the contest officials to …
aaaah well…. all the boys who were ‘bustin down the door” didn’t want MP at their event, because he was dragging the image of surfing down
because all the mainstream journo’s immediately would go on about all the negative issues around Michael and what he used to bring to the table.
Whereas Michael raised the bar for all of them in terms of performance and they’re claiming they busted down the door??
Hey Fella’s get it right!!
Hey get it in the house !! ha ha
Michael raised the bar and because he raised the bar you guys had something to bust the door down with!!!!” Marty Tullemans

Michael Peterson makes Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas look like Alice in Wonderland.

MP’s life story is part circus, part car crash and purely extraordinary.
It’s an intoxicating and addictive tale for anyone who has ever felt like a fish out of water.

Souled Out Surf Film Festival – A SWEET AND SOUR SMORGASBORD OF SOUL AND SOLD OUT SURFING

admin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 23:15:14 +0000

The first time I saw Tim Bonython was at the North Cronulla pub, I think it was 1979…… He was travelling around Australia with a projector screening his super 8 films.
One of my mates christened him Tim ‘Monty Python’. Not exactly a compliment on his comedic abilities but more a jealous dig because of the interest his girlfriend was showing in the young blonde, film maker from ‘out of town..’
Tim would talk live commentary through the super eight screening. The footage was raw and entertaining.
It’s funny what you remember after all those years ago. What comes to mind is the running battle Tim had that night, with a hair that kept working its way onto the projection light all through that screening.
Around 30 years later and Tim is one of the most accomplished film makers in the surf industry.
“Indefatigable surf video-maker from Sydney who worked his way into surf movie making in the late 1970’s and early eighties by showing home edited Super-8 films at Local pubs.”
Matt Warshaw – The Encyclopedia of Surfing

I went along to Tim’s new ‘SOULED OUT SURF FILM FESTIVAL’ and left the theatre feeling stoked and itching for surf……. Which is exactly how you want to feel after a Surf movie…right?
The festival consists of three segments.
The first section is a compilation of beautiful scenes, sunsets and waves shot by Tim Bonython.
I loved this section it showcased the visual arty side of surf films…. A lot of film makers will over do it with this sort of stuff boring the viewers. But this was done just right..Enough to entice the audience to stay glued to their seats and wait for the next section, without being too long and starting them yawning…..
The second film of the festival ‘Surfing 50 States’. Is a video journal of two Australian Surfers, travelling through every state of America.
This is not your classic ‘all time’ surf movie…but it is a lot of fun. It brought back a lot of old travelling memories for me.
The best thing about this film is the warmth and hospitality of the American people who take these crazy young guys in and help any way they can.
A Classic Fun Movie!!
Check out the trailer below.

The third instalment and finale of the Festival is a film by American Teenage Wiz-Kid film making sensation Cyrus Sutton.
Called ‘Under The Sun’.. The movie is a comparison of two Australian Cities, which are less than an hour’s drive from each other. The Gold Coast (Surf Industry, Skyscrapers, Big City Ideals) and Byron Bay (Surf Industry Hippy Trippy, Feral, country vibe, soul surfing community).
See the trailer below and read Marty Tulleman’s review below that.

Dan Howard

‘A SWEET AND SOUR SMORGASBORD OF SOUL AND SOLD OUT SURFING”
The movie struck a bottom turn in my heart. Not since the days of being a grommie stoked on the ‘once in a blue moon’ surf movie show when it came to town, was the vibe and buzz of surfing so refreshed in me.
Admittedly an overdose of too many corporate surf DVDs had me burnt out on the whole overdone surf company, surf brand promo, advertorial, shonky DVD thang.

Cyrus’s balance of the mix was way cool. A tasteful collage of characters, from both sides of the free riders and the spono-ed brigade with equal airplay.
IN APPROACH AND ATTITUDE kept it fair and diverse. His varied textural usage of effects, angles and the kiddie like animation assured the ‘take the piss factor ‘ was alive and well. Rasta’s soul surfing was state of the art .
The historical use of surf photographers slides and archival footage made it a panoramic sweep of town and country lifestyles of Byron and the SOLD (Gold) Coast..

A very solid nine out of ten.
Martin Tullemans

The Festival is now moving to South Australia then W.A. Check out the session times and details here

Wooden Surfboards.. Wood is alive! Foam is dead!

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:10:50 +0000

We’ve all heard the claim ‘He could ride an ironing board or a door he’s such a good surfer’.
In Taj Burrow’s Video from a few years ago called ‘Fair Bits’. Taj, Kelly and a few others surf an assortment of wooden crafts such as doors and even a coffee table!
It seems that in the last 1-2 years there has been resurgence in riding these old style wooden planks. (Not so much the coffee tables! Ha ha ) They look just like the old Hawaiian wooden boards from centuries ago. Basically these boards look like a plank of wood with a rounded nose and rails.
And incredibly, there are guys out there ripping on them!!!

Heres an amazing shot of a guy in Barbados in the ’80s riding a piece of ply

It’s a different style of surfing that’s needed, especially with the boards that have no fin. But it really seems to be catching on with surfers all over the world getting into it. Of course there are subtleties in the design that aren’t obvious to the average punter.

You have to admit there is something so aesthetically pleasing about a wooden surfboard.
Balsa, Hollow ply, or solid wood of any variety, It doesn’t matter………when you pick up a wooden surfboard it feels …as Tom Wegener says “Alive!!”
Tom Wegener is a surfboard manufacturer from the Sunshine Coast who has been experimenting with wood in surfboard construction for several years and seems to be having a lot of success with a type of wood called Paulownias . Which is readily available in Australia, does not absorb water and is recyclable.
Tom uses any sawdust and woodchip waste that comes from the construction of these surf craft as mulch in his veggie garden. The leaves of the tree are edible and are being used to feed to cattle.
Yes, Tom is an environmentalist.
Patagonia Surf put together this 4 part video series, which is amazing to watch. It’s all about his involvement with wooden surfboard shaping.
The surfing in these videos is incredible, especially the surfing and style of one Dave Rastovich and Tom doesn’t do too bad himself, with a few long nose rides
In particular he talks about the different styles of wooden boards, single fin longboards, hollow boards and the traditional Alaia design.
Part 4 is my favourite
Check it out below.. Enjoy.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Bustin Down the Door or How to lose all your teeth in Hawaii

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:01:09 +0000

‘I was held under water, pounded round the back of the head, then pulled up and pounded in the face. They knocked all my teeth out and flattened my nose. I had cuts all over my eyes and lips.
I finally blacked out and that’s when one of them gave me a giant backhander and brought me round and ordered, ‘Swim to the Beach,’ and I just said, ‘Ah that sounds like a good idea.’

excerpt from ‘Bustin down the door’
Biography of Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew
Author Tim Baker

Rabbits book ‘Bustin down the Door’ has been out for over a decade now.
Its a classic story about Rabbit’s life and his journey through the birth of Pro Surfing

In his book Rabbit tells the story of his vision of professional surfing from a very young age.
The quote above is taken from a chapter called ‘Hawaii 1976-77′

The season previous (75-76) Rabbit, MR, Shaun Tomson and a few others had charged the North Shore (in particular Pipeline) like no others before them. And had returned home triumphant heroes after taming the massive waves of Hawaii.
In true Brash Aussie style Rabbit, in his article for an American surfing magazine, proclaimed the ‘changing of the guard’ in the surfing world.

This did not go down well with the Hard core Hawaiian locals and resulted in Rabbit’s beating.
Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew enjoying a much mellower surf at his beloved Snapper Rocks in 2008

‘I was just a naive kid. I must have appeared as the absolute enemy trying to steal the last vestige of their heritage….. surfing.’ Wayne ‘Rabbit’ Bartholomew

The article was called ‘Bustin down the door’. You can purchase Rabbit’s book here on Tim Baker’s site

Recently a movie has hit the cinemas with the same name.
Its a fascinating documentary of that very same season and tells the story from all points of view.

See the trailer below