David Lloyd

David Lloyd is a professional artist living and working in Los Angeles 

and is a graduate of California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). During the past 25 years he has had numerous one-person shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco

and New York and has been included in group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, Mexico and South America. Lloyd’s work is in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Getty Center and many private collections.

The coast of California has always been the artist’s home and the Pacific Ocean, his “church”. Lloyd’s fascination with the natural world has been a strong influence in both his abstract and representational paintings over the years. As an avid surfer for more than 40 years, it was only a matter of time before his two greatest interests came together, resulting in a vast body of work that explores the intersection of memory and dreaming, 

the conscious and the unconscious.

Bliss 101 Gallery and Gift Shop

Bliss 101 is a gallery and gift shop that supports local artists, 

hand-crafters and non-profits through fair trade, good times and giving back.  

Bliss 101 carries art by both world-renowned and undiscovered artists, unique furniture made from reclaimed wood or renewable resources, jewelry, books, music, clothing, kid’s treasures, home decor, bath and body, and eco-friendly gifts.   

Bliss 101’s “art openings” are not run of the mill – there’s the usual wine, cheese and live music, but at Bliss you will also be able to create art yourself, get your kids’ face painted and give back while having a good time.  

Each event highlights and benefits a specific group that positively impacts the community- locally and globally.  Together, you and Bliss will build schools for girls in Afghanistan, plant trees in a depleted rainforest in South America and help local at-risk youth turn their lives around through art.  

Bliss 101 is proud to be part of Pacific Station 

and promises to be a good neighbor and friend in downtown Encinitas.  

We look forward to seeing you soon! 

image by kerri jones.

Kevin Roche, Portrait, Lifestyle and Travel Photographer

Kevin Roche is a portrait, lifestyle, 

and travel photographer based in San Diego, California. 

With an emphasis on beach culture and the coastal lifestyle, 

Kevin brings the best of Southern California to editorial and advertising clients worldwide. His style, characterized by clean and vibrant imagery, 

is uniquely influenced by the tropics and Southern California.

Boatman

Kevin holds a BA in Visual Arts from the 

University of California at San Diego, 

with an emphasis in photography. 

He has traveled and photographed throughout California, 

the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, Fiji, and Indonesia. 

Kevin resides in Encinitas, California 

with his wife and daughter and is an avid surfer.

Glide

Glideredux

Seaside

Sunset Lineup

Swamis

Weke Road

More about Artist Grant Pecoff

End of the Day

This is a painting of some surfers out in Hanalei Bay, Kauai. I love the angle and view of the surfers, they are barely noticeable and silhouetted by the bright sunlight. That is how it is out there... you catch a great wave and as you are paddling back out for more, the ocean moves up and down with the swell, and you catch glimpses of the other wave riders further out also waiting for the next wave. It was one of those glassy afternoons, and the water was alive with color. If you have ever been out in the water at this time you know what I am talking about. If you haven't, try to get out there and in the meantime enjoy the painting!

Summer Waves of Hanalei

It was yet another fabulous evening in the water! My eyes were filled with the electricity of all the colors. The surface of the water was glassy, with no wind chop - a mirror of absolute fluidity. The colors above me in the sky were reflected in the perpetual body of liquid, and I was underneath it, above it, surrounded by it, playing in it. Patterns within patterns within patterns of color and light. I was thinking, "How is this possible?!" A smile lit up my face, my eyes grew wide and I all I wanted was to give thanks to the sky, the ocean, the moment.

Suddenly, a surfer pops up, making the transition from paddling in the wave to riding that wave, totally immersed in the liquid. It was a smooth and beautiful ride – graceful and glossy. In these moments, you just take it all in, paddle back out, and give thanks for surfing the Summer Waves in Hanalei.

Surfin' the Pier

I walked along Pismo Beach for a good hour, trying to allow my mind to let go of the concerns of home and instead open myself to the road ahead. My trip up the coast had just began, and Pismo, being my first stop, was the perfect place to unwind.

With shoes in hand, I strolled on down the beach, my feet welcoming the sand between my toes. There is nothing like that feeling! It was a perfect afternoon of reflection- my eyes gazing down at the sand, then lifting my head to the ocean, and back down again, mesmerized. All I needed now was a board and a wetsuit and the day would be complete.

I envied the surfers lining up for the next wave. To feel the gentle rocking motion of the ocean while you sit on your board waiting for the set to come in… well, it can’t get much better than that.

I wanted to paint this painting big, lending to the expansive nature of such a scene. The pier is silhouetted by the sun, which is about to set… and the surfer arrives ready for an afternoon session.

 

Crossing the Lagoon at Torrey Pines

Low Tide at Tower 7

Sunset at Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. I was driving down Pacific Coast Highway and my breath was taken away by the golden light of the setting sun over Cardiff Reef. This was a day when the tide was unusually low exposing more of the rocky reef than normal and the setting sun bounced off the water and bathed everything with a soft warm glow. The shadows were long and purple.

I was drawn to the soft light of the sun contrasted by the crisp edge of the exposed reef. The unusual height of the lifeguard tower rising over the sunken beach added an exaggerated perspective. The light reflecting off the steel safety railing and decking around the tower illuminated the turquoise colored fiberglass and I was immediately attracted to paint it. The colors and contrasts of Tower 7 work together to create a balance, a harmony. This harmony is what makes Cardiff so special.

3 Sisters of Gualas

I stood there, my mouth open, my eyes following the towering weather-beaten trunk to the top. The head of the palm exploded with feathers of fronds. Coconuts dangled, waiting for an unexpected wind, or maybe an athletic local to pluck them from their nest. I could only hope for a gust of wind (unable to see myself climbing a forty foot palm for a coconut), to cause this nut to drop, allowing me to crack it open and taste its sweet insides. Three palms swaying together in the breeze, like a family of sisters watching over one another - riding the wind of life.

I wanted to paint these palms with no other distractions; no ocean, no jungle, no clouds, etc. To treat them as icons of the Caribbean islands. I chose the red background to give the simplicity of the composition a punch, vibrancy. The blue of the fronds adds just the right amount of drama and spontaneity; taking the obvious color of the palms and dispelling all of our known identifications with it. The yellow trunks keep within that same idea and provide a stark complement to both the blue of the fronds and the red of the background, again helping to emphasize their iconographic feeling.

 

Jungle Twilight

Self-Realization at Dusk

Grant Pecoff Painting with Joy, Passion and Freedom

How amazing is this world we live in?  Are we awake?  In our fast paced lives we often overlook the beauty and life that is all around us.  We no longer see it in the trees, buildings, the people at our sides, or even in ourselves.  Many of us are living "inside the box" - restricted by limitations we've placed upon ourselves, without even noticing.  We are numb, our senses asleep.  My paintings are a reminder, a call to wake us up to the vibrant life that is all around us. By traveling the globe and painting new cultures, places, and perspective, I recreate that beauty, that reminder in color that inspires each of us, and wakes us up.

The style in which I paint is inspired by my experience of freedom as a painter.  Before that point, painting for me was exciting but also suffocating.  I felt that the work I produced had to emulate the work of others before me, had to replicate reality.  I was squeezed into a box by my own limitations and restrictions.

Then, one day during an oil painting class at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, I abandoned my preconceived ideas of the scene I was working on.  My painting was set free!  The trees were no longer green - I made them sunburst orange.  The lines of the building were no longer neat and proportional, I made them curved and dancing.  I was overwhelmed with freedom and creativity.  The box I was painting in didn't just expand - it vanished.

Since that first taste of freedom as a painter, my days have been about traveling the world and painting the spectacular beauty I see.  The streets and countryside of Old World Europe, the heart of the Caribbean jungle, the lively markets and tantalizing spices of Morocco, the dramatic coastline of California, the adobe architecture and vast landscape of the Southwest, the waterfalls and lush green of Hawaii and the endless aqua seas of the Bahamas have been my studio.

 Enjoy my paintings; I hope they bring you joy, passion, and freedom in your life.  And wake you up, to experience the world - out of the box.

Meet Southern California Artist Robb Havassy

Southern California artist Robb Havassy has quickly become one the leading creative voices within the surf culture, having created art and collaborated with many of the surf industry’s biggest brands, most prominent collectors and most impactive environmental and socially conscious non-profit organizations. Most recently Havassy has created and published "Surf Story", an incomparable, 440 page collection of surf art and surf stories by almost 100 of iconic artists, writers and surfers.  “Surf Story” the book is one part of a multi-media, grass-roots movement of creative and iconic surfers which includes art installations, exhibitions, video documentaries and live public artist’s studios featuring some of the greatest surf artists in the world.



 Onetime international fashion model for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Christian Dior and Armani,  Havassy, began his artistic life in 1996 at 26 years of age, after receiving a beginner’s art kit as a gift.  After graduating with a degree in Psychology from UC Irvine in 1993, art was the last thing on his mind.  Until that point, Havassy’s artistic expressions had been limited to taking photographs during his world travels as well as painting his surfboards.    As of 2010, after fourteen years and more than 2000 paintings and drawings, the success that followed Havassy’s first small scale works has been manifold, garnering him both national and international acclaim.  His brilliant use of color as well as his eclectic mix of style, motion and inspirational subject matter has  created numerous avenues to pursue his creativity.  Havassy’s art has grown to include not only traditional paintings, but sculpture, photography, film, apparel, furniture and architectural design.  In addition to being one of the surf culture’s most celebrated and collected artists, it is his refreshingly original depictions of women, landscapes, flowers, children and animals, that have garnered him the most attention.  Sports portraits are also something Havassy is known for and include epic likenesses of Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, to name a few.  Havassy’s work was featured as the official cover art for the 2005 AT&T Pebble Pro-Am, one of PGA golf’s most popular events and one known to have featured some of the world’s most prominent sports artists.  Having a passion to make a positive difference in the world, Havassy has balanced his commercial success with a devotion to social and environmental concerns. Over the past decade and as of 2009 Havassy has helped raise more than $150,000 in philanthropic contributions with his continuing support of and collaboration with the Surfrider Foundation, Heal the Bay, Surf Aid International, numerous wildlife preservation groups as well as dozens of other domestic and international non-profit organizations.  For more info:  HavassyArt.com and SURFSTORYPROJECT.com
A

Introducing internationally known artist, Erica Nordean

Native to the Pacific North West, Erica Nordean is an internationally known

painter recognized for her stunning depictions of horses and horse racing, as

well as haunting landscapes and vibrant still life.

At 18 Erica began her relationship with racehorses while attending school.

Working with horses throughout Washington, Erica was a fixture at such

lauded locales as Longacres and Emerald Downs, where she was an exercise

rider for various stables.

Throughout her college years, Erica says, “I was taking all the classes, but art

was all I liked. I finally decided in my late twenties that I really wanted to be an

artist.” Primarily self-taught, Erica has taken many courses at the prestigious

Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, studying a variety of artistic styles. She says, “I

found out that drawing came so naturally.” In her mid thirties, and confidant

that she was on the right path, Erica embarked on her career as a professional

artist and never looked back.

Erica Nordeen’s art career took of in 1998 when she began showing at

Kirkland’s Gambados Gallery, where her paintings were enthusiastically

received. Since then, Erica says that as a painter, “It has been like a tunnel

where all the doors fly open.” Through her pure determination, and love of

shape and image that began early in life, she has adapted her love of horse

racing into a spectacular profession.

With a powerful presence in the horseracing world, Erica’s paintings have been

shown at Del Mar, Churchill Downs, Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Bay

Meadows racetracks. Her art hangs in galleries from Hawaii to Saratoga

Springs, New York. Most recently, Erica’s paintings have shown at the

prestigious Del Mar Thoroughbred Club where she was the 2010 featured

program artist.

“In a world of literal-minded racing painters and patrons, Nordean is

one who dares to flirt with the abstract. Her horses are unmistakably

horses, but they have a vibrant, native feel…” Jay Hovedy, Daily Racing

Form, 01/02/2003.

Meet Australian born artist Pete Tillack

Australian born artist, 

Pete Tillack was drawn on an adventurous seven-year trek,

which took him around the world and was lead by his desire for the waves and the diverse cultures. Tillack encountered countless societies and lifestyles that lent a hand in helping him become more aware of his own self-explorations, direction and personal growth. Tillack's work is heavily influenced from his emotions and experiences from traveling and is infused with the feelings of serenity thru ones environment.

"As I grow with my work, my focus and purpose becomes more defined, adding a greater compassion and drive to not only my art, but my life. My subject matter is mainly focused on the environment where I usually include a body of water to represent its importance in my life. I hope you not only enjoy the artistic beauty of the piece, and are drawn into its serenity, but ultimately understand the statement that I am trying to convey, that we

need to look after this so we don't loose it!!!!

"Nothing is as healthy or can replace a deep breath of fresh air and the serenity only nature can give."

A self taught artist, Tillack pursued many independent studies in such places as, Italy , France , Central America , South America and South Africa . As well as participating with other artist in bringing together many high profile public pieces. Pete has filled many respected roles such as, Coordinator/Moderator for the San Diego Art Institutes program "The Gathering", to being selected to serve on the Arts Master Plan Citizen's

Advisory Committee for his local city. Tillack's technical analysis of contrast, and his regular use of monotone colors, are what is used to dramatize the silhouettes and reflections shaped by a sunrise or sunset. This gives his wonderful creations a depth that draw the viewer into each piece, and lures them into an experience, transcending them to a peaceful disposition -"their personal journey."

"Through my travels, I have managed to do many jobs, but none have given me as

much satisfaction as being an artist. To express myself and create with passion, while being able to positively touch and influence as many people as possible, is more than any job has ever given me and it is the deep connection people have with my work that inspires me to push harder. To paint what is in my heart and with the love of creativity is a challenge, and that is why I love it so much, if it came easy, I would not have the drive

and passion to push further."

Artist Susan Wickstrand

Born in Chicago, and raised in La Jolla, California, artist Susan Wickstrand graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Susan acknowledges her roots in traditional Romantic subject matter by creating landscapes that are often moody

and mysterious, and are at once familiar, yet somehow distant and inaccessible. Light plays a primary role in portraying the emotional content and character of her work, and this focus on the effects of light is further emphasized by her addition of a layer of translucent beeswax to the surface of many of her paintings and most of her collages. 

A brief description of this

unique wax process ensues:

Encaustic painting is a technique developed in ancient Greece, and can refer to any process that incorporates the use of wax manipulated through heat. Beeswax is the oldest known pigment binder. The Greek word, “Encaustika” literally means “burning in”. Typically, in this process, pigment is added to molten bees wax and in some cases resin, a hardening agent,

and then applied to a rigid surface like a wood panel. After each application, the object is subjected to the burning in process, which consists of passing a heat source over the surface, causing fusing and bonding of the painting.

Susan has been a professional artist for over 20 years. She’s exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Italy, San Francisco and San Diego. Susan’s artwork has been featured in numerous magazines and periodicals. Susan has worked with master photographers; Art

Brewer and Jeff Divine on recent collaborative collages. Susan’s artwork can be found on the walls of ABC’s Emmy winning comedy, “Modern Family” and NBC’s show “Parenthood”. Her artwork can be found in both significant public (Medtronic Corporate Headquarters in Northridge & Copa d’Oro bar in Santa Monica, CA) and private collections. Her artwork is

owned by the likes of Eddie Vedder, Gerry Lopez, and Art Brewer.

Rip Curl Global has selected Susan as their “Artist of the Search” for 2012, and her collaged artworks for them will soon be appearing on bikinis, board shorts, T’s, flip flops and bags. Susan is represented by Pacific Surf Gallery, Cardiff, CA. Susan annually donates artworks to: The Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Coast Keeper, UCSD Longboard Luau, The Waterman’s Ball, Bright Future Fulfillment Fund, and the Rell Sunn Aloha Jam, Vans Triple Crown. For

more information on Susan can visit her web site at: www.susanwickstrand.com or her blog at : www.susanwickstrand.blogspot.com

Coming Soon Bliss 101

We are thrilled to announce the opening of Bliss 101 

at Pacific Station  687  South Coast Highway 101

in Encinitas, California.

Supporting local artists, 

hand-crafters and non-profits through fair trade, 

good times and giving back.


Art, furniture, jewelry, books, music, clothing, kids stuff, 

home decor, carbon neutral gifts and gatherings.


*COMING SOON - END OF JANUARY