Waterbird • Bali

The new Waterbird 5.10 model version 1 liked the waves in Bali and the cows in Bali like the new Waterbird. Swell was up between 4-8ft whilst I was over there, and I even scored a 10ft day at Uluwatu outside corner and the Bombie. Best waves I had on the WB V1 were at Canguu 4-6ft. She went really fast and also loved playing in and around the bowl especially the day I surfed with Joel Fitzgerald and his wife Crystal at Echo Beach. We all had so much fun. Yeah surfriding roolz!!

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Waterbird • James McMillan • Darcy Surfboards

I've been riding Stuart Darcy's Surfboards for 7 years. Last year he gave me the opportunity to create my own model based on the boards he'd been shaping me and that I'd been riding and testing for a period of around 3 years. The board below is a result of working with him on this design that I wanted a particular feeling and performance from. Darcy understood what I wanted and so together we came up with this design and my new model, the Waterbird, which I also created the logo for. Testing it in Bali now...

 

Razzy!!

This is a picture of Raz Bin Sam of Blaze Fire Music!! He's a musician from Byron Bay. Raz is holding his two new framed prints, 'Hometree' and 'Spiritus'. Just after i took this photo Raz put on his headphones and did some musical work and then took his new art home and hung it on a wall. Stoked to have my art in your home Raz. Thankyou :)

Byron Bay Surf Festival 2013

Here's the new logo art that I painted and designed with my friend Craig from Local Images @ Cronulla Beach in Sydney

surprise from Jo

This was pretty funny...After I posted the image of my SOLD painting 'creation', below, I received the following correspondence, via my website, from Jo, the lady that bought it. Hahahaa. Thx Jo :)

Hi James,

I just read the post on your blog about your piece "Creation".  I couldn't post a comment on your blog so I thought I'd so here. I'm the lady that bought this painting, and I often find myself looking at it and just smiling.  It's also become quite the conversation starter amongst my visitors.  I'm sorry I took away this piece of inspiration from you, but not THAT sorry :)

Jo

'creation' inspiration

I had this painting of mine hanging in my bedroom for 18 months and I'd gotten used to seeing it every morning. I'd climb out of bed and as I walked past it I'd read the word 'creation'. Reading that word every day was so inspiring as it would really ground me into my day and remind me of this creation in which we all live and how awesome the most simple things in my life are the best. I hope the lady that bought this gets as much from it as what I did. Thankyou new owner :) www.jamesmcmillan.com.au

Yeeew!

My youngest son bodysurfing behind Snapper Rocks

Heavens sold

A favourite painting of mine that I completed in 2010. Came to me in a dream. Been in 2 shows and never sold. Then surfing out at Belongil one morning in Spring this guy Nathan whom I'd just met that day says he's seen it and might want it for his new house in Sydney. Four weeks later I shipped it down there with a mate of his. There's a few of you that liked it. Standard for me is to wait 12 months and then create some hi quality prints of it for sale.

'the quiet life'

Greenroom Japan 2007

This is a photo that a friend of mine from Japan sent me a little while back. I did this wall and a few pieces  for the Greenroom Festival in Tokyo.

skull car

secretsk8

This spot is in town at the back of a park filled with pine trees. I used to take my groms there when they first started skating and we called it the secret skate park cause no one was ever there

Boxing Day Byron Bay

Woke to the peak of an easterly groundswell. At 7.55am a 10ft+ 5 wave set rolled through my local break. No chance of getting out unless you had a chopper. 10 mins down the road I surfed some nice 4-6 footers...Kuni Takanami got the shot below of me in a little green womb.

My Asym

When I first got on my new Darcy assymetrical I was kind of trying to think my way through each wave, because I was on a 5'8 quad on one rail and a 5'10 keel on the other rail. A full-on mindtrip. During one paddleout trance I had a nice revelation come to me...I went back to Feelin' it. And then I got it. Darcy calls it the daytripper. I call it the schizo. It's weird and very fast and I love it. See how it goes in the overhead east swell coming on Christmas day...

Pinch more salt

Some shots from the night. Was Huge by the way. All the usual stuff we love to look at, listen to, eat and drink, in an unusual place...The Darcy Surfboards factory in Currumbin. Well done to the Darcy family who didn't sleep eat or surf much at all while setting this all up. The whole purpose was to raise enough coin for 'Surfing Wantoks' to ship a container or two of surfboards, food, furniture and other goodies up to Papua New Guinea and into communities that need it much more than we do. They raised $10,000!! Mostly in beer sales I'd say, and a bit of art got sold too. Surfboards to be auctioned online...

Pinch of Salt

Hanging works last night and painting one of Darcy's surfboards right now for their Pinch of Salt event at Darcy surfboards factory this FRiday night 2nd of Dec. Bands, art, puppy dogs, music, other stuff...

Nimbin roadtrippin

Once a year the boys and I go west into the mountains, as opposed to, once every couple months, going south for waves. The first night we slept on the banks of the Uki river, woke at 3am and climbed Mt Warning. After that we headed to a not so well known spot high in the mountains near Nimbin. Found Gold.

Darcy asymmetrical & Rash wetties

Got this new asymmetrical from Darcy Surfboards. Darc is well known for his high-performance shortboards, but if you peek behind his shaping bay curtain he's got all sorts of amazing alternative craft. And the best part is, they actually work. This beauty is 5'10 one side and 5'8 the other. Riding this board is a bit of a mindtripp but as you naturally adjust to it's schizophrenic character you begin to use the 2 different boards as 1, to your own advantage. I'm lovin it. And I got a couple new suits from Rash wetties Japan. Soft Japanese rubber really does feel good.

C Sea See group artshow/gig thingy

The girls from REAL creative design hosted one of their artshow/gig/party nights last month. I made some paintings for the show using paper, pencil, acrylic and spraypaint. I put them up for sale cheap, at $50 each, as I was hoping to give $100 of the money to New Earth Tribe for the local bread run that they do in Byron Bay for low income families. So if you would like one of my paintings at a good price, and for a good purpose, please email me at macjimmymac@yahoo.com. Thx :) Took some pics of the bands too...

'the first kiss tree of life'

'flowers for the girl next door'

'he liked clouds cause God made them'

Common Ground interview

A couple days back, rad surfer and film maker Johnny Abegg from Common Ground website asked me a few Q's about surfing, art, life and the Byron Bay Surf Festival. Follow link here for full interview and pics.

Finished

'the garden (below)'

'welcome'

'searching for greenland...again'

In Prog

There's 9 in total. 6 in progress. They'll be hanging at Retrospect Galleries in Byron Bay for the month of July

Byron Bay Surf Festival

I just finished this commissioned artwork for The Byron Bay Surf Festival coming up this October 21-23. I think you all should go. There'll be surf markets, artshow, music and film by Andrew Kidman, and some kind of surprise with an alternative surf event. Ill let you know more as I know more.