Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexx Bishop.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been obsessed with art. Since I was a child, I recognized the creativity and subjective, out of the box thinking it allowed. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I realized what a rat race really was when I looked around at San Jose. Ultimately, living there strengthened my passion for searching for a job outlet that would allow me to feel more myself. When I moved to San Diego in 2017, I felt myself come to life. I felt like my color pallet had expanded along with my mind, soul, and energy. I had an insane surge of inspiration just by moving to this colorful new city!
I began pursuing my art doing paintings of personal things people loved such as pets, landscapes, quotes, etc. After spending as much time as I possibly could at the beach, the idea of doing my artwork on surfboards started to appeal to me. My favorite style of art is just pen and ink drawing and more specifically drawing small details and intricate designs. I thought this would translate well onto a surfboard and I would be able to create something inspirational!
Since the price of using new surfboards didn’t seem like a feasible option, I threw the idea out to the Ocean Beach community for me to come pick up any unusable surfboards people were looking to discard. The purpose was going to be to up-cycle them into artwork. I had seem this done many times, but I was really excited to put my own artistic style and spin on it. I began collecting old boards in early 2020, and then they sat. Between my 9-5 job, my commissioned paintings, and my personal life, the surfboards had to take a back seat and I would just need to get to them when I had more time.
Fast forward to March of 2020 when The Corona Virus turned our world upside down, I found myself furlough and with a LOT of free time. I worked on a couple of surfboards with the mindset I would be back to working my inside sales roll eventually, so I was very deliberate in enjoying my long days of drawing and creating. The more I would post the surfboard artwork on social media, the more positive responses and commissions I was receiving.
In June, I was officially let go due to COVID. By this time, I had a LONG queue for surfboard art, and although I was nervous about stepping outside of the “norm” of not having stable, continuous income, I was determined to make it work.
At this point, I am all in; I live and breathe my very small business. I am constantly putting art out on social media and spend every spare moment planning and drawing upcoming projects. A lot of time is spent getting to know my clients and understanding their personalities in order to reflect that in the artwork. I am so dedicated to getting the color scheme, artwork, customization, and precision exactly right for each of my clients.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
At first, it was a struggle to acquire and transport the surfboards. I have always been adamant about the fact I wanted to up-cycle them, and I never wanted to go out and contribute to the consumer mentality of buying brand new boards for art. My aim has always been to keep these beat up boards out of landfills, and ultimately be able to turn trash into treasure.
Some of the boards I have acquired have been left behind by people on the side of the road. I have found some of them abandoned in alleyways, and have even found some in dumpsters. They were trashed or left behind because they’re damaged, so instead of leaving them around to litter the earth and be rendered useless or too expensive to repair, I have restored them to be in usable condition for custom artwork. It is typically a lot of work to clean and de-wax them to get them into a good enough shape for creating artwork on.
When I first began, I went around in my boyfriend’s sedan picking up one board at a time (which was all that could fit in his car). Eventually, I would rent a U-Haul van for the day and drive all around San Diego trying to get the boards on the same day, as long as people from Craig’s List and Offer Up didn’t bail on me. After months of this, I bought my own minivan so I am now able to transport the boards to my home and to the post office.
For the most part, I am a one-woman show. There are many behind the scenes tasks to do however, that my boyfriend takes on himself and it ends up really helping my process move along quickly. Some of these tasks include preparing the board for art by cleaning and sanding it, and then after the art is done it needs to be sealed on the board with a clear topcoat to protect it. Following this step, there is a photoshoot to capture the details of the artwork, and usually that is in different locations so the photos don’t always look the exact same. I am thankful to have him doing these tedious things so I am able to focus more on creating my art.
Please tell us more about your art.
Each board takes about 30-35 hours in total. All of the artwork is hand-drawn by me, and I like to add as much detail as possible to personalize it to my client. I love symbolism and I always figure out how to incorporate specifics to make each piece one of a kind.
Getting to know exactly what it is my client is looking for is so important to me. To do this, I start with a consultation in order to align myself with their artistic vision. I love in person interviews where I can get a feel for the energy I want to bring to the board or to feel the vibe they are going for.
In each artwork, I find a way to incorporate geometric shapes or mandalas wherever I can. I do this because I love their representation of how everything in our universe is connected, and how our survival is contingent upon the strength of others around us. Every single mandala I draw is different, and I don’t plan on ever having repeats. This makes each mandala special to that one particular board.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My goal with each board is to build a real, genuine human connection. By connecting with others, I create space to learn details about what they like or don’t like and use my creativity to channel their passions into artwork. I have heard from many people they can see my passion show through my artwork, and I think it’s because I take the time to get a full view of what it is my clients want to see and hang proudly in their home. At the end of the day, I just want to bring beauty into other people’s lives and I want them to feel special and heard.
With more and more people in the world and bigger and bigger businesses booming, it’s important to me to still connect on a personal level with other humans. It’s important for me to use my passion to bring happiness to others.
Success to me is someone loving my art enough to hang in their home and want to stare at it everyday.
Pricing:
- $1,000 Plus shipping
- Free delivery for anyone in San Diego
- **This pricing is good for the remainder of 2020
- I️ am booked for the rest of the year but starting to book for January 2021.
Contact Info:
- Email: xandiegoart@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/xandiegoart
Image Credit:
Sean Gresham
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