The Inspiration Behind the Artwork

Surf Artist Toby Ray

 As the light dances upon the moving water it creates a kind of magic which never fails to captivate me... 

surf art in cornwall - toby ray

 

I grew up in the South Devon village of Wembury, a stones throw away from the sea. My Childhood was spent in and around the ocean and nearby river Yealm. I was in my element out on dads boat or catching fish in the rockpools at Wembury beach. I'd often sketch these fish, copying (badly) photos from nature books at home. I'd copy Garfield cartoons and butterflies and birds. In fact looking back all i did was copy stuff. I started bodyboarding when i was about 9 or 10. That led to surfing and the rest is history. My addiction to the sea grew ever stonger. It wasn't until after my final year in high school that i started to draw and paint the waves that i was always surfing. I picked up some soft pastels and found them perfect to blend all the changing colours of the sea. Really not having a clue what i wanted to do with my life, I enrolled at Plymouth Art College undertaking an extended foundation course. It opened my eyes to a multitude of art practices. Photography, printmaking, fashion, sculpture etc but painting was what i really settled on. At this stage i hadn't even used real paint before apart from a few goes with dads watercolours............... 

Off season I work from my garden home studio in St Eval, but when the weather is fine you can find me painting and selling my wares at the Treyarnon Bay Youth Hostel where I have 'The Art Shack' overlooking the bay. See you there!