Surf Artist Jay Alders

 I was recently introduced to Jay Alders' work while staying at a beach house in North Carolina.  The owners of said house were obviously big surfers with photos of the local surf and beaches as well as surfboards and other "surfer" related items decorating much of the house.

In a couple of rooms however there were prints of various paintings that really stood out to me.  Not only did they reflect the laid back vibe of the locale we were in as well as the surfer dominated culture there but also elicited an emotional response in me.  I found them to be beautiful, powerful and sensual in their colors and curves--a near perfect reflection of what the ocean, beach and waves can be to human beings.

Fortunately each of these prints was nicely notated in a corner with the artist's name, Jay Alders.  The Jay Alders.com website contains a great portal through which you can see his work (in addition to the paintings shown here).  Alders works in a number of mediums--canvas, wood, photography, digital, etc. and he has worked with a number of musical artists as well as surf/ocean/water related non-profits in the past.  Check out his work...if you like the ocean and/or some sweet art to peruse, I think you'll enjoy it.  I'll be getting a print some time to hang in my house myself.
 
  
 

Final Group of Nissans at SEMA 2013

Well, this is it...

A fairly weak showing for Nissans and Datsuns at SEMA 2013.  While Nissan has introduced a number of new models in the last 24 months none of them have really captured the interest of the aftermarket.  The Altima, Sentra, Rogue, Versa, etc. aren't exactly high on the enthusiasts wish lists.

Hopefully that will change in the next 12 months or so with a new Titan, a next generation 200SX model, a hybrid GT-R, a new Z and others.  Though I am surprised there weren't some modified Nissan Juke's there as its small displacement turbo and radical styling seem targeted at the culture SEMA represents.  At least there was one Titan and a short course Nissan present.  We'll take what we can get.

3D Vinyl Wraps...

Well, that took longer that I would have expected...

Taking vinyl wraps to the next level, 3D versions are now available.  OK, so it doesn't look like the various aspects of the wrap are flying at you or anything but it is a way to give depth of field to the look.

With vinyl wraps getting better, cheaper and quicker all the time, how long before auto companies merely produce cars with a "plain" coating that is super rust resistant and then offer you one of thousands of custom wraps from the factory?  Then the dealerships could make money off these customers every few years when they want to refresh their wrap or change its look.  Would be a boon for used car dealers as well as they could "rewrap" a car to give it a fresh look for sale to a new owner rather than spend hundreds if not thousands on "reconditioning" trade ins.  Hmmm....

3D Wraps Now A Thing...