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| Losness’s Monsters |
The Lounge Feature |
Words by: Carolyn Ridings
Twenty-five year old pro surfer Mike Losness regularly stars in Taylor Steele’s flicks and scores major kudos across the board in U.S. mags thanks to his undeniable panache and style. But not many people are aware that Losness is a man of many talents; he regularly dabbles in photography and music, and is starting to make waves outside surfing thanks to his very distinctive artwork. Losness’s big bold animal faces and landscapes tackle the natural world with supernatural ferocity and simplicity – and utilize some very surfer-centric tools! Incorporating fibreglass and resin to traditional paintings on canvas, Losness’s creations featured in his first art showing earlier this year. Mike’s since contributed his talents to a gig hosted by The Love Movement, where celebs decorated Tom’s shoes for charity auction (Tom’s is a philanthropic Argentine shoe co. that donate a pair of kicks to a kid in need for every pair purchased). His MySpace profile, Losness Art, is also gathering its share of admirers, and Mike also just released a signature GFH long board skateboard featuring his artwork too.
But while his artist endeavours seem to be gathering speed, Mike’s firm that his next move is to focus full attention on the ‘QS. A stellar third place result at this year’s U.S. Open signalled a return to competitive form for this former NSSA champ, and Mike has his sights firmly set on making the ‘CT – a feat perfectly plausible given his boundless brilliance on a board. We caught Mike mid-bounce between WQS events to get the scoop on his marvellous art monstrosities + his goals for the future.
Q: What’s been happening?
A: I just went to the Shetland Islands and got a fun right point break, then I
was in Santa Cruz for the Cold Water event. I made the quarters before heading to
Brazil for three days for another comp, but lost out first heat. Just got
back and I’m heading over to Hawaii.
Q: Sounds mighty busy. How's the WQS going for you this year?
A: It’s going pretty well. My goal was to make the top 200 so that next I would guarantee a spot in all the big events. I placed third at the U.S. open and a 9th at the Cold Water classic in Santa Cruz, which got me up to 121 in the ratings.
Q: Didn't you have your first art exhibition recently too?
A: Yeah I had my first art show at the end of April this year. It was a real hit. A couple hundred people showed up and the party went late night. And I sold three pieces of art so that was cool too.
Q: How did that come about?
A: Well I did the show with three other people and they actually came to me and invited me to be a part of it. At first I was nervous that might art wouldn't be good enough, but the
people who came really enjoyed it. It was fun talking to people about certain pieces I was showing, what they were and how I had made them.
Q: Can you describe your painting style for those yet to see your work?
A: Yeah most of my stuff is done on canvas with acrylic and tempra paint along with some spray paint. Also I include chunks of fibreglass and resin to add depth and dimension. I like to call it ding repair art because I feel like I’m doing ding repair on a surfboard, but
creating art on canvas is actually what I’m accomplishing. Most of my
early pieces were all of animal faces.
Q: Did a Google search to find examples your art on the web, but stumbled on a pretty amusing bio on the Body Glove UK website which reads, "Mike's a former NSSA National champ who's known for being extremely photogenic." Wanna tell us what that's about?
A: Well the only place I have my art up on the web is on MySpace; my MySpace name is
Losness Art. And as far as the Body Glove thing goes, they are my main sponsors
and most of what I do is photo shoots for magazines and videos. I guess they
think I’m photogenic. Awesome!
Q: Do you think art will ever gain priority over your surfing?
A: I think it will always be a hobby for me. My surfing has kept me
so busy lately that I have not had any time for painting at all. I think I’ve
only worked on two paintings in three months and they’re not even complete
yet.
Q: Any artists you really admire?
A: I really like the greats of the French impressionism period. Also I love Andy Warhol screen-printings. The Mick Jagger collection is insane. I like all types of art. Lately I have
been into stuff like Andy Davis (surf related art).
Q: Do you find time to paint on the road?
A: Sometimes I paint on the road, but only if I’m really bored and the waves suck. The last time I did that was in Portugal, I just did some pastels of the Ericiera town square. They’re not that great, but it was fun to do and it killed some time.
Q: You're a bit of a closet musician too - had any memorable jam sessions lately?
A: I wouldn’t consider myself a musician but more of a struggling guitarist! I like to play the guitar on the road. Last memorable jam was with Timmy Curran in Tahiti in February on a boat trip we did. Timmy is now the famous jammer. He rocks! (Ed’s note: Tim just scored support slots for Foo Fighters during their recent U.S. tour)
Q: Ok, sounds more cheesy than a Pizza Hut stuffed crust, but do you think the creativity behind your artwork, music and surfing all kind of feed off each other?
A: I think that the creative side of most of the things I do comes from my life experiences. Getting to travel really opens your eyes and your mind to different cultures and walks of life. At times it can be very inspiring.
Q: So what's next?
A: I’m off to Hawaii to hang out and hopefully get some good surf, then to Fiji for a trip that Surfer magazine and Adio shoes are putting together. I can't wait; I haven't been to Fiji in years!
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Tags: The Lounge, Sport
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