Save The Waves is excited to announce a new partnership with Erik Abel as our first “Artist Ambassador.” A long time artist and surfer from Ventura, California, he now resides on the Oregon coast with his wife and partner in do-gooding, Nellie Abel. You may recognize his work for Save The Waves from this past June’s Life Is A Wave event art, the Lobos Por Siempre campaign t-shirts, or his Patagonia Cause T from 2013. His focus on fundraising for ocean-related nonprofits allows him to use his creative talents to support causes he believes in and Save The Waves is proud to have his support and engagement.
Examples of Abel’s work can be found through his Facebook page, Instagram feed (@abelarts), and his own website abelarts.com. He is continuously trying to redefine his style through playing with different mediums and utilizing his ever present sketchbook. His personal art tastes veer toward the abstract, but he also cites well known surf artists like Rick Griffin, Bill Ogden and Phil Roberts as inspirations.
Far from being selfish with his talents, Abel has worked with numerous other successful non-profits in addition to Save The Waves, both at home and abroad. Heal The Bay and SurfAid were two organizations that quickly bubbled up when asked who he has shared his talents with in recent years. Project Wave of Optimism, in Nicaragua, was another partnership he referenced as being loads of fun and rewarding.
When asked why Abel chooses to partner with non-profit causes he responded, “Working with them is just a way for me to give back. I feel that the act of creating art is a selfish endeavor and being able to align myself with companies within the surf and ocean realm that make a difference and fight for the environment is a way to support what I care about. It’s a win/win situation when I can use my artistic vision to help raise money for these companies.”
In the future, Abel will continue to design the event art for Life Is A Wave as well as developing a line of unique commemorative prints for the existing and future World Surfing Reserves. Stay posted for those prints this holiday season!