Trenton ReynoldsThis is Dabalon. My name is Trent Reynolds, and in this podcast, I have conversations with artists about materials. If you are enjoying this podcast and want it to continue, please subscribe or make a one-time contribution at dabalon.com forward slash podcast. Leave a five-star rating on iTunes and tell your friends. The longevity of this program very much depends on your support, and I thank you. In this episode, my guest is Dennis Jarvis. I had no idea who Dennis Jarvis was when I got a message from him on Instagram a few months ago. He was interested in something I had posted about epoxy resin. We ended up talking on the phone, and I visited his shop in Hermosa Beach. Turns out, Dennis is the founder of Spider Surfboards. He was a pro surfer, actor, director, and a long list of other things. An impressive list of accomplishments by any measure. What I find most remarkable is that in addition to all he has done and been, he's also a really cool guy that is interested in learning new things and willing to take creative leaps of faith. He's producing a body of artwork that combines the materials of a pro surfboard craftsman with some really great ideas and invention. He's creating some beautiful sculptures and paintings. I really enjoy hanging out and talking materials with him. So in this conversation I'm talking to Dennis Jarvis, the artist, I just wanted to make you aware of the fact that this is a very limited representation of who he is and the breadth of his experience. So go Google Dennis Jarvis and Spider Surfboards. Check out his IMDB and look him up on YouTube. He's an impressive dude. Here's my conversation with artist Dennis Jarvis.
Dennis JarvisMy first airbrushes were with a little Binx, I don't know if they're even still selling, but it was a Binx compressor that was the size of a football. And a Binx, I got it at the art store, a Binx airbrush. So I brought surfboards home in my house, literally in my bedroom, my mom didn't know I was doing this. But I used her ironing board and I would tape this, you know, hold the surfboard down on the ironing board and blow it off in my bedroom. And it actually didn't give it a nice clean stream. It would go. So you'd see these chatters. So what I had to learn over a period of time is how do I. and then I gotta time it so the chatter fills in the other part that was missing to get a clean fade. And I got them pretty good. It was a pretty good thing. I probably did maybe 15 like that in my bedroom before my mom kicked me out. But I was making money off it. I wasn't much. I was, you know, 15, 20 dollars for doing a spray that really wasn't that good. But I go, "Wow, that's kind of cool."
Trenton ReynoldsWell, so you started your initial exposure to art making is doing these airbrush paintings?
Dennis JarvisThis is it. Well, airbrushing on surfboards. This is the gun. Airbrushing on surfboards. That's the gun. That's the gun I used a million years ago.
Trenton ReynoldsThat's cool looking. I've never seen anything quite like that.
Dennis JarvisI actually, when I was in high school is where I actually really started enjoying art. You know, I had a really great art teacher too. I think it's important that that the people that are schooling you challenge you. And he challenged the crap out of me. Like there was a guy named Don Funk and myself, and I believed we were the best in the class, but we were getting Bs because we weren't producing. And so he gave me two lines that I carry through my whole life in my business, as well as in the stuff I do. And except for the stuff I showed you today, it might be a little hectic. Simplicity is the key to a good design. And I had him four years. So he beat the crap out of me every four years. And I would only turn in what was acceptable. And the guy next to me, who's probably a billionaire right now, but he would turn in six pieces. But I'd look at him and go, that's just crap. And you give him an A+. And he goes... "You want to make a living? Produce, produce, produce. If you don't produce, you're not an artist." And I was going, "Whoa, okay, so you have to produce because a third of the stuff you do is crap, the other is acceptable, and then the other stuff is great, right? So if you're not putting out enough product, then how can people judge you and give you latitude to mess up every once in a while, right?" Right. And that was, that was... Ultimately, my thought process, again through everything, the simplicity is a key to a good design was based on the class I took in for advertising and so I think I'm really great with logos. I design all my own logos that go on my surfboards, I do a lot of our t-shirts, It's very simple stuff.
Trenton ReynoldsSo in that situation, it wasn't that you weren't creating work. You weren't turning it in because it wasn't good enough. Because I've seen you've got a perfectionism even now, right?
Dennis JarvisYeah, and it's to a fault. It's to a fault. I get stuff, and my son, God bless him, my youngest son has taken on that trait. and so he's been slow to produce shaping surfboards. He'll take forever and then it's not good enough for him. And it's fine, I just destroy the blank. But yeah, even today I have friends that go, dude, I would have bought it the way it was and then I paint white over it. and I hate that part but I don't want something especially with me in the beginning stage of trying to launch something that we've discussed some sort of an art career I have no idea what we would call it at this stage but I have to come out swinging hitting home runs at least half of the stuff has to be where people go whoa that's freaking I've never seen That's killer. Because I believe it's so competitive out there and individuals like yourself that I know has more talent than I do in your little finger, but I think I can do well with what my talent is, right? For sure.
Trenton ReynoldsBut isn't, don't you see that, isn't that kind of the same thing though? Like you didn't turn stuff in way back when. because it didn't kind of meet up to your standard, right?
Dennis JarvisYeah, for sure.
Trenton ReynoldsI'm not criticizing because I'm the same way, right? There's a certain amount of pride you want to have in your own work. You want to be able to put it up on the wall, and you've got to be happy with it, too. You've got to live with it. But at the same time, there's this...
Dennis JarvisThere's a piece right there that we're looking at that I told you the story of. Right. It was imperfect, even though nobody else would have noticed it, but I noticed it. And I go, somebody who's a critic or more talented or who's used diamond dust, they're gonna see that and go, "This guy's an idiot." So I had to get rid of it.
Trenton ReynoldsBut at the end of the day, you do have to produce, right? So there's that kind of competing motivation. Like with your son, you see him being a little bit too perfectionist. How do you help him through that? Like, do you tell him?
Dennis JarvisYeah, I yell at him. I've tried to. I've tried to. I do. I try, I've tried to instill, at this point in his, you know, quest to become a shaper, you have to go through, you know, 100 blanks to where you can actually utilize the hand, the skill planer. To where it's a usable tool for you, right? And and you can't just pick it up and go maybe some people can I've never seen anybody do it But there's a hand and a foot or a foot and a heel to it and all this stuff So I bought him the blanks just to butch but then he you know, he did okay with the planing part So all of a sudden it turned in oh I could finish the surfboard But then that's where it turns into well that rail is different than that rail and he goes back and does it I go Dude, you know, I have to glass this one. Let's just butcher it get you another blank. No, I have to finish it so he's six months into three surfboards, right? And I need his help, by the way. I need his help. I'm, you know, I'm backed up and I would love for him to be stepping in and be a negotiator for me, but at this stage we really can't, you know,
Trenton Reynoldswe can't have that happen. Yeah, I mean, that is such an important lesson to learn and it can't be forced, right?
Dennis JarvisWell, I was fortunate, for me, I was fortunate enough where I worked at a shop that got a 100 board order. And the shaper there didn't want to shave. Now, I was still a pro surfer, and I was still airbrushing all the surfboards in there. It turned into an actual income for me later on in life. But the shaper in those days, we're talking about the 70s, he didn't want to, the boards were like three and a half inches thick, and the boards that were selling were two and a quarter. So you had a lot of walking with that hand planer. So I was fortunate to where I got to learn on 100 blanks And I could butch him if I wanted to because he was doing the finish shaping. So all I would do is I would get him down to thickness and I would cut out the outline. And I think I got $10 a board. It was a lot of work, but doing 100 of those things, repeating over and over and over again, you get a skill set that you get to take with you. And I didn't realize it at the time, but it turned into a business for me. - Yeah.
Trenton ReynoldsI mean, I've told so many students and I'm trying to teach this to my daughter right now, 10 year, she's 10 years old and trying to learn how to draw. It's like at this stage in your progression, quantity is just as important as quality, right? Like you just gotta put in the hours and,
Dennis JarvisCrank them out, right? Because each time, what I've learned is each time you do, like I'm working in something that you work well with, epoxy. People look at me and they go, you don't know epoxy? No, epoxy is out of my realm in the art space, right? And when it comes to the surfboards, I don't really glass them. So I know how much a catalyst I could put in a polyester resin. I get freaked out, kind of like a mad scientist going, oh, how much catalyst do I put in this epoxy resin? And it turns into this whole thing where I'm freaking out, thinking it's going to kick in 10 minutes. It takes 24 hours for it to actually dry. So I'm in a space that I work really quickly with the polyester resin. This other stuff is just, I hate the slowness of it, because if I mess it up, I have to wait. and and refix whatever it was you know so
Trenton Reynoldsum yeah before before you get to that though let's go back to uh so high school you got this awesome art teachers uh you're at what point do you start uh airbrushing surfboards
Dennis Jarvisit was in high school no it was the summer going into ninth grade as a matter of fact it was the summer going into ninth grade because you must have been doing art before that then well yeah i mean i'd always like my dad was an artist per se he worked at uh Hanna-Barbera, but he wasn't an artist there. He lied to us. He said he was one of the cartoon makers, but we found out later on he wasn't. But he came home with cells, and I thought he painted them. But him challenging me because I would doodle something, and he'd go, that's not that great. And so he was kind of a dick, I would say, pretty much. But he... He goes, "I'll give you 10 bucks." And this is, I forget, this is the 70s, where I'm 13 or maybe even younger. So he pulled out this vase that was round like a bowling ball, but the lip came up like this. And he put it on the table, he goes, "I'll give you 10 bucks if you can draw that." And I'm like, okay, I spent the whole day. He went out. I have no idea where he went, bars or whatever. He came home, and he looked at it, and I go, there you go. I thought I did a pretty good job. And maybe this is why I have some issues. Seriously, thinking about this, this is very therapeutic. He actually grabbed it, and he looked at it, and he ripped it up. And he goes, "You think that's art?" And I went, I was kind of bummed. I spent all day on this because I had nothing else going on, you know? He threw it away, and then he pulled out a piece of paper and he goes, "You could draw a pile of shit, and it's better art than that, and it becomes art when you want it to." And that kind of changed my direction, but I did want to appease him. I wanted him to be stoked on something that I would do. I would always try to get his, you know, "Oh, that's a good job," but he never gave it to me. You know, maybe that's why I'm part perfectionist, right? Do you think that was an ego thing on his part or was he trying to push you? Yeah, so, I mean, we lived all over the place, but when my parents were still living together, we lived in Topanga, and Topanga is a really great break. It's a point break down there at the base of the hill on Sunset. and PCH and he went down there surfing once he bought a Rick surfboard, he went paddled out and I was like super stoked my dad's gonna be a surfer, his waves were perfect and he came back in because the board flipped up, conked him on the head, he threw it on the ground and he goes, "I quit." He got a big dash in his head and he gave the board to my brother who we carried around with us and then my brother tore all the fiberglass off it and I got to watch him shape, you know, turn it into two boogie boards, two belly boards And then he glassed them in the garage. Years later.
Trenton ReynoldsAnd that kind of pulled me into the surfing world, I guess. So you had a lot of art in the family. You started getting attention from friends, like, oh, you could do this. And then you got an airbrush. You started airbrushing surfboards. Then you get into making surfboards?
Dennis JarvisYeah, so I would, so... You got hired by the shop to do the airbrushing. Well, I was doing it for a lot of shops around here, but the shop that I was working at, that's where I would get most of my clientele because they would go, "Yeah, I want some color on it." And they go, "Okay, we can't put the color on that you want." And then I go, "I can do it." So I was like, "Oh, I'll try it. Give me a shot at it." You know, so the art on the surfboards, I wasn't a pro at the time, but I was, you know, a pretty good surfer. I was, you know, winning some amateur events and stuff. And I really love Gene Simmons and Kiss in that era. And I actually drew his face on the bottom of my surfboard. And all my friends would go, we can paint that on my board for me. And so, you know, they come over with some beers or whatever and I you know This is later on and I painted on there But that's kind of when I it really took off and turned into where I I became The guy that would go people would come to for art on their surfboards the actual manufacturing of surfboards and shaping a I was on the tour, traveling around the world, and I was in South Africa. There's a place called Safari Surfboards. And my shaper had made me these boards that were super thick. And so I wasn't actually able to perform. I was sitting way too high on the water. So I took the worst board into this place. I go, hey, if I give you this brand new surfboard, I wrote it twice. aesthetically pleasing surfboard that we've ever seen, but you know it was working way better than the one that I had. And right nowadays the consumer, the consumer knows the nuances of all the details of the surfboards nowadays. They're talking about the volume or the rail and this. In those days if you made a blob you got away with it. It just had to be pretty. You know they were, they weren't foil, there wasn't this whole thing, but there was a whole you know, boards were pretty, but you could get away with making some pretty ugly surfboards. And so that got me into shaping after I had, I think I did that. And then when I came back,
Trenton Reynoldswe got the 100 board order and then I realized that I could do it. So that, well, that must have given you a tremendous advantage, just being a surfer yourself. You knew what worked and then being able to, basically you had a You were the tester right so you got to go out and ride these it was
Dennis JarvisIt was paramount that I needed that you know I mean I needed All the nuances that go into it you know speaking of how you're saying you know produce well for me the issue was that it was so costly to buy a blank so I would just be able to produce for myself and Right? And I knew how to glass, so I glassed my board. So I got them for materials. That's what I'd have to pay for. And then all of a sudden I have a full quiver and I don't have any more money. So then it became something where my friends would come to me and go, "Hey, you could make me a board." And that was key, right? Because if I'm making it for myself, that's one thing. But if I'm actually making it for other people, maybe making, you know, 20 bucks on the shape job, But you gotta get it, you know, finished boards. Before I was roughing out 100, and now I'm doing finished work on my boards I roughed out. And that was kind of key too. And then hearing what they would say, wow, the board works good, the board works good. And then, you know, because I was a good surfer, people that were good surfers were asking me for, you know, to build them a board or whatever.
Trenton Reynoldsthey really got like neurological damage from from working with poly resin so so they got kind of a bad rap I think how did you avoid getting screwing up your brain?
Dennis Jarvisyou know at the place I was with we had great ventilation you know I probably have worse ventilation in here than we did there but when I do it I have a air outtake fan up there for it And wearing a mask, you know what I mean? We have respirators that we'd wear. And I still have a, in fact, I think it's the same respirator I had from 1979. - Is it a special kind of respirator? - No, just regular respirator with the two things on the side, you know?
Trenton Reynolds- A special kind of filter? Like you gotta get the vapor filter versus the particulate filter?
Dennis JarvisI'm now going to get the mask, the dubious mask.
Trenton Reynolds- Yeah, it looks like every other mask. Well, no, that looks kind of, it's cooler looking than the ones I've gotten.
Dennis Jarvis- Yeah, it needs new cartridges, but it's the same one that you use when you're painting auto parts and stuff.
Trenton Reynolds- And you've always got that on, no matter what? - No. No, I mean... Which is, what's the most hazardous stage? Is it the sanding? Is it the applying?
Dennis JarvisWell, if you're saying it was the fumes that caused these individuals to get sick and ill, then that would be probably the most. If you're wearing a good mask, and here's the thing, if you go on Instagram and you look up some of the top glasses out there, a lot of them aren't wearing... You know anything you know they're not wearing a mask They're not wearing a respirator most of them aren't because they're in a hurry to get it done And you have great ventilation then that you're really not getting hit with it too much And that's a key is you know you have a good blower system where air intake is blown in slightly And you have the outtake it just pushes it into a certain direction And you can actually feel the wind like you could take dust and drop it and you'll watch it go this way sanding dust
but
Dennis JarvisI think the, you know, I mean I try to wear gloves all the time when I'm working with acetone because when I was a kid I didn't wear any gloves. You know, I mean it was, it was just, I was doing repairs at one time in the back of a car just to try to make some money and, you know, and you're working with the resin and there was, I don't even think I used acetone, I just wipe it on my shirt so it's sitting on my hand, like this paint is, sitting on my hand, the resin getting, getting, getting Drawn into me, right? But I made it through you know, and then there's no part of me use gloves I got if you look I got gloves everywhere. So we I use gloves all the time One thing that when I did open my shop in 1983 as I told myself I was gonna not be a so most of places where I shaped I there was a glassing shop in there so you did smell something like when you walked in here you probably smell something my wife comes in here she goes oh like if I've been working with reddish go oh my gosh it's so harsh I have to get out here I'm like I don't even smell it but most of my shaping rooms that I worked at before I was in a place where they were glassing surfboards and I never noticed And I was working with fiberglass so much, I never got the itchies. For some reason, my body would not get it. So usually, if I take fiberglass now and rub it on my arm, it'll stick in me and I'll get those little red bumps. But when I opened my own shop in 1983, I told myself I'm not going to be around that glassing smell, right? I mean, I have my own little space. So when I opened my shop, it was 1,000 square feet. 400 square feet was dedicated to me shaping and airbrushing. And then the front part was all my retail. And it was just a tiny little spot, but I had a window there where people would come watch me shape their surfboard or airbrush it. And the thing is with my airbrushing is a lot, some people use, I use acrylic water-based paint. And the only thing that I've ever, in my whole life, the only thing that's ever caused me issue is there's two kinds of pain. It's naphthol crimson and there's titanium white. And I remember I was shooting a whole bunch of naphthol crimson, right? And so the whole, like, that is poison, right? And then the titanium is really bad for you as well. But I was spraying it and I was just wearing a regular mask, like a particle mask. And it was red, but my heart started flipping. Right? It was going and I could feel it. And it only happened when I used that crimson red. It was the weirdest thing. And so I started wearing this, if I was ever working with that, because it wouldn't make it through the particle 'cause it would stop, right? But there was something else that was in there that would get through into my system. And I knew if I had red to do I was going well this sucks. This just sucks. That's scary. It was scary. And so I stopped doing that. I tell other airbrushers that they go I'm not feeling good. You used some nathal, didn't you? Or you're using your titanium because it is titanium. There's there's stuff in there, right? Low amounts, but it's enough to cause you to to have issues. When you were
Trenton Reynoldsdoing like the visuals on the surfboard, Was it usually suggested or kind of dictated by the client, or were you coming up with your own designs and people were just buying what you produce?
Dennis JarvisOn my own boards, it was me coming up with my own designs. The other people would go, I want blue flames. I think in my whole career of airbrushing, I've only had one board that was a full abortion, but the guy still loved it. Like, yeah. It was spraying with the little binks, right? And I didn't, the water wasn't, the paint wasn't thick enough. So it actually bled underneath the tape really bad, even though it was a hand cut flame job. And I went, crap, what am I going to do? So I took a paintbrush. and I painted the black pin line was three-quarters of an inch and try to make a pointy at the end and the guy thought it was the greatest thing in the entire world but I went I can't charge it for that he's like oh no man I love it I'm going okay I'll give you a deal and he goes okay so I gave him a discount on it but it was really just He loved it. That's the thing. It's like, it's arbitrary, right? You never know.
You never know.
Dennis JarvisYeah. You don't. Like, that's... My friends will go, that thing you're doing is so awesome.
I hate it.
Dennis JarvisRight. You're an idiot. You can sell it. Give it to me.
So, anyhow. So, uh...
Trenton ReynoldsMaking surfboards, do you love it? Like, over time?
Dennis JarvisYeah, I do. I love the challenge of, you know, I say this to a lot of people, that every week I learn something new when I'm in the shaping room. A new way to do something that needs to be done, right? So the consumer is so educated now that they know when you're not following... the protocols of the top-selling surfboard guys, right? So even in the 90s when we were doing 12,000 surfboards a year, and I had 15 ghost shapers, the consumer didn't really understand. You could just kind of keep putting them out because the label is what they wanted. They wanted to buy the spider board. "I gotta have a spider board," because our team was huge, right? But nowadays, I shape all my own surfboards, right? I don't have any go shape, it's just me. So I try to, first of all, my name's on it. So I take all the time it takes to get it to where I need it to be before it goes out to a glasser. But, um, it's, the consumer is very educated. They'll go, well, there's not enough accelerated rocker in there. This is not the volume I need. And they, you know, the rail feels too fat. They didn't do that back in those days. But nowadays, so I have to be on... Point when it comes to that and I'm very quick at what I do like I'll take 30 surfboards And I could rough them out which is about close to finish What 80% of the people put out on the floor and then I go back and I spend another 10 to 15 minutes Do it dialing in where the edge breaks where the fins are all this stuff and even the aesthetics like I'll spend five to eight minutes per surfboard Actually marking where the logos go which is very very ADD lame of me, right? Or, you know, very, oh, it's just, it's so bad. I wish I could give that stuff up, but I just can't. But I enjoy it. I enjoy when I learn something new. I enjoy, I think about six months ago, I had a blank that came in And the cut on it was off and the blank was crooked. And I just spent four hours. I go, if I'm really good, I should be able to fix this surfboard. Board's ugly. Like anybody would look at it and go, that board's ugly. So I did, I took my time and I knocked out the bumps and the cricks in it and did all that I had to do. And it came out and it was really, really great. And I went, Now I've proven to myself that I'm actually as good as some people have said I was, right? So I said, "Okay, I did it. I could do that." So I could do anything, you know, when it comes to surfboards. I do enjoy it. I don't enjoy it when... When it turns into a complete job. This summer was... hectic trying to find glass shops because everybody was so busy and all of a sudden I walk in there and it's repetitive, right? So that's the thing about having ADD, ADHD, whatever that is, I have that. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do all the things I do. I take everything to as far as I could go in that moment. Right, I'll take it as far as I can and then I go, okay, well I'll let that dry, now I gotta go over here. Now my next thing is I gotta do this. But when I'm in a shaping room and I'm just shaping weeks after weeks, You know, it is very repetitive because I do the same moves on every surfboard because that's To be consistent to know where your where your flaws are you have to do that and for you know for to keep it speedy and that became that you know getting up and coming in going into the room and the room was hot then and and And just doing the repetition just beat me down. And then it also slowed me up for what we're looking at right in here. I couldn't do this because it was so busy.
Trenton ReynoldsSo one of the first conversations I had with you, you talked about you're at a time in your life where you want to transition into doing more artwork. and that that's where you're, you said something, I'm not gonna remember exactly what you said, but something like that's where your heart is. Like that's where you really wanna get back to something. What was it that, what is it that's missing? What's not in surfboard making that is not fulfilling?
Dennis Jarvis- I don't think the average surfboard manufacturer gets, the financial gain that they should. You know, I mean, surfboards are still, the guys that are doing the grunt work aren't getting, you know, they can make a good living. They can't make a great living. And if I spend time on a surfboard and do this killer airbrush, a buck 25 is about tops you can do 'cause it's a writable, expendable thing, right? It's gonna go on the water. You could break it in half, 125 bucks. You might be able to get more, maybe if I'm doing it with gold leaf, But you're kind of stuck there. If I do the same thing and I could do it on a canvas and then do some cool finish on it, you know, I mean I'm seeing guys, you know, and it really isn't just about the money, but it would be nice to have an offset income that is something that I'm passionate about, right? So if I'm doing the same thing and I put it on a canvas or a board, you know, an art board, the, you can actually create a living if you can create the story around yourself or somebody else helps you, which is the thing that I noticed. That's the other thing we talked about was it really isn't about It is about the art, but the art had to become something to somebody that matters before you became who you were, right? So there's something about the story. Like even if you go to, you know, going back to even Warhol and all that, you know, just the weirdness of that when you became, like I watched a thing on him and... He was just this hack guy doing stuff and all of a sudden he became the stories about him became bigger than him And then he was just turning out crap basically, but people bought it and it was you know, so When I went to New York it kind of spurred me on there's nobody doing in my opinion I don't know I haven't seen all art in the world but doing what I'm trying to do with the direction that I'm going because it is beach
surf
Dennis Jarvisyou know, logically the art has to back it up, but I've seen artists that are selling $150,000 pieces that I look at it, and I'm not an art critic, and I go, "Why do they get to do that?" Well, there's this great story that went along with it, and the great story is this person was in the African jungle, and this is this, and this, and this story kind of carries on, and rich people like to tell that story again, so that adds value to it if you have a great story behind a piece.
Trenton ReynoldsYou know, there are artists like Marcel Duchamp that kind of played with this idea that the context is what made the art, right? Like, you put a urinal in a gallery, and now the urinal's art, right? Yeah. And hearing you talk, like, that is so fascinating to me. I hadn't really thought of that. Like, a painting, when it's on a surfboard in the water, is only worth $125. Yeah. You put the same painting on a canvas on a wall, and you can sell it for... Close to the same amount of time, yeah. Yeah, you could sell it for... Whatever you could sell it for. Right, right, right. There's no peak on that. If I were to take the size of a surfboard and put that on a canvas basically the same size and up on the wall, you can't even... It's got to be more than 120 bucks, right? Oh, yeah.
Dennis JarvisI mean, the pain alone, people would realize, you know, you got invested whatever you put in. And that's the thing. And so they don't, people don't realize that. And that's the whole thing about when you ask me the question is, you know, moving on into the ebb of my life, whatever that is. I've always loved art. I love looking at art. I'm really compelled to see bright colors when they're conflicting. Like I like a bright orange and a really fluorescent green together and they just fight. You know and if it's done artistically, it probably becomes my favorite spot. You know my favorite thing. Guys like yourself, who can draw the likeness of somebody probably better than the actual photograph you were given to draw of because you know their character inside. I have a lot of friends like that. That's not me. I'm not that guy. I can't be that guy. I can be okay with that. Like I can capture likeness, But I'm not gonna be able to take it to where you could. So I have to know my limitations. And my limitations are, I'm good with color. I think I'm good on a lot of other levels. And just, we're talking about mediums that we're working with. I think I'm good except for the epoxy I'm learning. It's a learning curve for me. But I think when it comes to the things that I want to do to reflect who I am, as what our conversation is about, is I have to stay true to what I know.
Trenton ReynoldsWell, it's interesting just the idea of voice, right? What is voice? It's not just the content. It's partly, you know, there's an aesthetic, there's a color sense, there's the materials that you use as part of that voice, right? And it seems like I'm hearing you saying, like, it seems like you're not dissatisfied with the artwork that you're making from your whole life. Like, the artwork you've been doing, you like the materials that you're working with, you like the color schemes, you like the content, meaning the types of imagery you're working with, but you're... you're dealing with wanting to change the context, right? You're wanting to take your creativity and your energy and your production from the context of surfboards and the ocean, right, and bringing it into a space where people can engage with it in, you know, as art rather than as like a functional object.
Dennis Jarvis- I think that I would like, you know, we all want to be patted on the back, right? - Sure. - And so somebody sees a great surfboard walking down the beach, then they maybe go, well, I want to order one of those from Dennis. Well, it's really nice. I have a little piece, one of my first test pieces with epoxy, just to see the layers on it and see if I could work on it. It was that image that we're doing over there. It was a small one. It was this big. And I did it, and it came out great. I was going, okay, this is great. But I was getting ready to huck it, and my friend was in here helping me clean. And he goes, I want that. I go, sure, take it. So he took it and he cleaned it up and put it on his mantle next to these other really great pieces of art. And I look at that and I go, "That's freaking killer." My goof off is, I think, better than what theirs is. And he agrees, right? It was just literally, I just laid down colors and taped off and did this and I looked at it and it really is, you know, I go, "Okay." And people love it. So everybody likes to be patted on the back. So, "Oh yeah, my friend came in and he saw it, it looked great." I like that and if you can if I could just do this yes, I love surfboards I love my retail world. I love designing t-shirts. I just just that I think I I don't love the actual Things I love the challenges right people are driven by different Purposes some by money somebody else. I just love the challenge You know, I wanted to be an actor so I was an actor. I was did probably 50 national commercials I was on TV. I did movies I did this and then I realized I was sucking as same thing with our ability as artists, right? I realized I was a terrible actor So when I did that movie Point Break, I was hired as an actor but I didn't end up getting my part. But I worked for nine months behind the scenes on how to make a movie. And I go, dude, I'm a filmmaker. I'm not an actor. So I still had my store so they were taking care of me, feeding my family, taking care of myself because it was the 90s. And I went, wow, this is awesome. And I know I can do that because I can actually build it and make it happen. So I went on to make some films, and it was fun. And then I realized you can make films for fun, or they're very lucrative. You become successful. But again, it's the story, and the product has to be... from A to B to C has to be great, you know, as you're going through the storytelling and then you get to do the next one and the next one. So it's it's a it's striving for the challenge. I challenge myself to make a short film which we won awards with. I challenge myself to write a screenplay which we you know and I've done a few. The challenge is what kind of drives me. And at the end, I would be very wealthy if I was driven by the money. And it's that way with smaller things too. Like a guy will go, "Hey, I want the surfboard." And it cost me money to actually make the board, but I know that having it in his hands is going to be good for my business, so I go backwards on that. So it's an investment in marketing.
Trenton ReynoldsI don't know, seeing what you're doing now, interesting to me to think, one of the things I love about it is that you're using these materials that you've used your whole life in a particular way, right, to make objects. You've been a sculptor and a painter your whole life, right? Yeah. Basically. And you're using the same materials, or a lot of the same materials, and then... And it's a different kind of conversation too, right? See, I'm trying to reconcile all these things and I guess maybe they're irreconcilable to a certain degree. I mean, people are complicated, right? There's different motivations and stuff. So it's not just about the money, but it is kind of about the money because money represents Success, appreciation, all of that. Appreciation and respect. The pat on the back is also a $100 bill or whatever, right? Recognition. But so it's not just, I mean, maybe not even primarily about money as much as it's about these other things that have to do with it. to do with recognition about...
Dennis JarvisWell, for me, the reason I was... The reason I got the job as an actor is because I had a business that was feeding me and taking care of me. So when I go into auditions, I knew the people I was auditioning against. We're all surfer dudes, right? So they're in there, and these guys have nothing going for them. So they're like, I need this job. And I'm like... "Dude, I don't freaking care about this." I'd actually had that attitude and they'd go, "I like that guy." So I started working with this production company that they would actually go, "They like me so much even though I suck as an actor." I probably, I quit my lucrative commercial career
Trenton Reynoldsbecause of surfboards.
Dennis JarvisYou know, it was a fun time while it lasted, but, and I don't regret any of it, you know, but looking at the future, you know, and we are talking about materials, so moving on to the materials, so I did that piece that you and I, you know, you helped me cut out, That's the first, I mean, I don't think I've ever seen anything like what you helped me do yet. You know what I mean? And hopefully it comes out great. I don't know how I'm going to do the bond on it, but you know, a thin piece of fiberglass and then, and I have great ideas if this works out, by the way, we're going to be doing a lot more stuff together, literally. A thin piece of fiberglass turning into, I mean I look at it as an animated piece of abstract art, right? Is something I haven't seen out there and I love art so I look at all the art everywhere and I try to go where can I fit in? And that's where I'm at. It has to be the materials that I'm using. Right? Because I can't just work with acrylic paints and get any kind of notoriety. So I have to go back to what I know. And how do I turn that into something that people would like to purchase or at least Give me a pat on the back.
Trenton ReynoldsWhat do you feel like you've learned since you've decided to take this chance? Yeah.
Dennis JarvisIt's freaking been hard. Okay, the stuff I know is not hard. The stuff that I know is second nature to me. But I've been caught in a quagmire with these images, you know, the pixel series here, because I'm out of my realm. I don't want my perfectionist... Working with epoxy and the other things that I don't know that well has been, I remember, I think I coined this, but I don't think I did. I don't know where I heard it, but fear is lack of knowledge, right? So I'm fearful. My son was fearful that he doesn't know how to hold a planer. I'm fearful that I'm going to do something that's really freaking dope today. and then I'm going to wreck it. And then when I wreck it, I have to destroy it because I can't let anybody see the wreckage that I just did. And so that's it. And then just the time it takes to work up the gumption to challenge myself to start to work on another piece, like that one right there, you know, it's like, It's been sitting there three weeks. And I had to go, okay, I have to just do it. And I have to go for it. And so I go for it. And when you're in an element that you're not familiar with, it becomes taxing to try to finish it. And that's where I'm at right now. It's hard. It's very hard.
Trenton ReynoldsCan you describe a time of triumph? Like in this, since you've been trying to do this. Totally. I can tell you.
Dennis JarvisI am triumphant at the time when I was elated and I'm still elated because I have finished pieces that just have to have the glazing put on them. They're done. Like, I love fruition. Boom, boom, done, thank you, move on. And I have... You know, I wanted, I was supposed to do a show three months ago. That's how far back I am, right? But it's because I'm afraid that this stuff isn't going to be wowing somebody to the point where they go, whoa, we want to put you in our gallery. It has to be, I have to be at that level, right? because at my age I'm not going to be able to have another shot at it. It's not like I build this thing and I could fall down and then build it again. It's like I have to come out and swing it. So those pieces that I have that you see there and I have a bunch in the other room, they're done. That felt so good to go, okay, and wrap it in plastic and get, you know, when I'm doing my epoxy pour, I'll be fine with that. But then I come in and I get my butt kicked when I'm having issues like this, you know, and I'm like, that just takes all that Love and pride I had of finishing back down to like you suck But you've got the result knowing that it's possible right and yeah, it's in there. Yeah. Yeah, so that's a series within itself you know, that's the elliptic series that kind of goes in its own thing and then a friend of mine Dave Diaz, who was working with Resonant, and we were going to do the show. We are going to do the show together. I don't know where it's going to be, but he, you know, he started seeing my stuff, and he goes, "You're pretty scattered, huh?" I go, "A little bit, you know, because I really enjoy doing all this stuff." But he goes, "Well, you need to break it up. You know, you need to break it up into your thing. You know, you got, you have, okay, so this is your series for Elliptic here, and then you're doing your, what do you call it?" I go, "It's a pixel series," which is, surfers, right? And he goes, okay, yeah, they're abstract pixels. And then the other pieces over there is, and you have these, and it's an elliptic abstract 3D paintings, right? Or whatever it is. And he goes, now you have these, and then what you can do is just make sure you have a little series in each one of these. And then whatever one hits... That's when you chase. So that's kind of where I'm at right now. So I've got the resin elliptic things done, just need to be clear coated, working on the pixels, and then the other one's going to be the most fun because it's... Even though the frames are really difficult to build, and I did have help with some of those, That's going to be something out of my element, but I think I'm going to nail it with that. So a lot of those will be done with pour paint, you know, using Floetrol and other things that I'm not really familiar with, but I'm really good with colors. And then also I have a spin machine right there. And then I also have a, you know, a countering color that fits inside that open space on the elliptic. So whatever ends up, so it's not just finished once that happens. There's a moment where I have to set it down and go what's the color that I want to accent this whole piece with and It'll fit inside that open space So if it's if it's orange is the thing well, it's gonna be green right because I just said I love those conflicting colors So yeah, I mean that's it You know is the fact that I actually did I actually Cried almost when I finished that one piece there because it was beating the crap out of me so much like I standing into it so I They're done with fiberglass and then different colors of resin on top, and then a clear coat of sanding resin, and then sanding into them to give that denim effect, you know, the distressed effect, carrying into the fiberglass, so the fiberglass comes through as you're sanding into it. So the fear I had when I was doing that was, "Crap, what if I sand it too much? What if I blow it? Oh my gosh." Because I already spent so much time and energy and money on that, I would have died. But the fact that it came out exactly how I anticipated, I got verklempt. I was like kind of walking around here going, "I did it! I did it!" "I freaking did it! My wife will be so proud!"
Trenton ReynoldsThat's awesome. But the little I've seen, the little we've talked, I'm excited for you. And now even more, getting a little bit more about your history and seeing the trajectory. You're stepping out. It's a big, big... It's scary. It is. It totally is scary. But you've got some awesome work already done and awesome work coming. You've got some really... Great ideas. So I'm excited to see the things you have a back. Yeah Okay, it's not worth much money, but yeah
Dennis Jarviswell And that's the thing is guys like you if I can And and I'll be honest like I've had other people that are very much more talented me like yourself and they come in And they see it and they've kind of given me the same kind of thing and it makes me super happy You know, I think oh "Dude, this is killer!" I'm like, "Really? 'Cause your stuff you do blows me away." So it does give me inspiration to think that I'm not just chasing down a gopher hole, right? You know, 'cause it could be that. Last thing is, you know, you said, when you take away, I said it's hard. But when my wife did come in and I finished a couple of pieces and she goes gosh You've been working on that for a long time like that piece I told her the drip painting Three months because I didn't know color combo on it and I just kept doing it and doing it and then I go how do I finish it and then And it's still not done. But When she came in she goes God, you're gonna be we're gonna be able to sell this painting for a lot, huh? you you put you got a lot of time in this thing and I go I I wish that it worked that way, but there's filmmakers that you can't even tell what they made. They don't look pretty. You could put, like, I could shape a surfboard,
Trenton Reynoldsbut if it doesn't work, it's not really worth anything.
Dennis JarvisIt's not the amount of time you put into it. It's what people take away from it. right they don't know how long it took you know i have a my whole thing is about timelines right so they have no idea how long you spent to do the thing unless you have a time lapse
Trenton Reynoldsphoto of it well i have every confidence that you you're going to be accepted so i'm i'm happy i'm i'm looking forward to being you're coming to the opening i'll be at the opening we'll be we'll be
Dennis Jarvisdoing stuff together though
Trenton ReynoldsThank you, Dennis, for making time to record this conversation. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the new work up on the gallery wall. And I will get the word out to all you listeners as soon as the show is announced. Thanks for listening to Dabble On. I'm glad you're there. I will have another conversation for you soon.
So come back.
Trenton ReynoldsAlso rate this podcast on iTunes. Go do that now. and make a donation on the website and tell friends and family and be happy.