'surf culture award'

poster art JMc • 1st Byron Bay Surf Festival October 2011

Last night, 12^th Feb, was the annual Australian Surfing Awards, held by Surfing Australia, in Manly NSW. The event has been running annually since 1985 and honours great achievers and contributors towards surfing in Australia, such as Peter Troy,  Tom Carroll and Mick Fanning. Amongst the 13 awards each year is, the Surfing performance of the year, the Duke Kahanamoku award, the photo of the year award and also there's the surf culture award. This year the surf culture award went to the Byron Bay Surf Festival!! I was meant to be in attendance to receive the award with fellow directors Vanessa and Mike but unfortunately at the last minute couldn't make it! I had a speech prepared and thought I'd give it some life by shareing it here…

First I’d like to thank the original custodians of the Byron Shire land, the Bundjalung mob in Byron Bay, where we are very privileged to hold the annual Byron Bay Surf Festival. Much respect to the Arakwal people.

I have always believed in, participated in, and been an advocate of surfing and art as positive lifestyle choices. On a warm Thursday night in April of 2010 my friend Vanessa Thompson and I fused surfing and art together under one roof when we ran a small surf film and artshow night at the Byron Bay Community centre. We showed the Dear & Yonder surf film by Tiffany Campbell, artist Thomas Campbell's wife, and also my short film titled Blue Yonder, along with an exhibition of some of my paintings and an accompanying art talk that I did. Our friend, keen surfer and artist Tracey Brown, was in attendance to help with all.

Around 5 months later in September 2010 I was in an old shed on Skinners shoot rd back-bush Byron fixing surfboards when Vanessa dropped by. We brainstormed an idea to create something a little bigger than that first Thursday night event; we called it the Byron Bay Surf Festival!

Not so long after that founding day, Vanessa and I deposited $100 into a Westpac bank account and then 6 months later, in October 2011, and with the help of Tracey Brown and another friend Michael Jahn, plus many more, we succeeded in running the first Byron Bay Surf Festival. 4 years later, and lots more waves and work, here we are.

It's humbling for what we have created to be recognised as a leading and positive contribution to surfing in Australia, by an organisation such as Surfing Australia, for an event that was created from a position of passion. I believe that the Byron Bay Surf Festival as an event and experience, is both enhancing an already existing culture, as well as potentially creating a new and modern culture within the broader realm of surfing. The measure of success comes from the public ...Over 30'000 surfers, shapers, artists, musicians, and culture vultures are saying yes. I strongly believe that when one does something driven by a purpose of passion and creativity, and not by money, that they will be much more fulfilled and successful in that endeavor, because the fire of passion cannot be put out too easily. Ask any surfer why they rise at 5am...

In the summer of 2012 after the second Byron Bay Surf Festival, at the Balcony restaurant, we had a little team pow-wow. I shared a vision with Vanessa and Mike. It was to create a dreamy environment under and amongst the trees on the Byron Bay beachfront with tipis and yurts full of surfboards, art, music, clothing and people! I didn't know the politics involved but i knew Vanessa, Mike and I could pull it off! I could feel what it would create, and I knew the people would come. Thanks to the dedication and commitment of the team, we have created that environment for the past 2 years and are now looking to add new ideas into the future. ...And you’re all invited!!

Thankyou very much for this award, and thankyou God for the waves :)

James McMillan

Co-founder/Creative director

Byron Bay Surf Festival

...below are some memorable images from the very first Byron Bay Surf Festival October 2011

Bob McTavish • opening night Byron Bay Surf Festival October 2011

freestyle&stoke surf sessions • fish crew Wategoes beach BBSF 2011

Tom Wegener • freestyle&stoke surf sessions BBSF 2011

Thomas Bexon • handcrafted spoon surf/swap BBSF 2011

Mark Sutherland art • surf culture now art exhibit BBSF 2011

Andrew Kidman • Byron Community Centre film event BBSF 2011

Eden Saul • freestyle&stoke surf sessions log division BBSF 2011

'start' me up Byron youth centre • Tommy and dancing groms BBSF 2011

tandem exhibition • freestyle&stoke BBSF 2011

Sage Joske • freestyle&stoke surf sesions Fish division BBSF 2011

Hanai Yusuke art • surf culture now art exhibit BBSF 2011

Matt Yates • freestyle&stoke surf sessions log division BBSF 2011

gurfers at Wattys • Leanna, Kat, Maria, Diva • F&S BBSF 2011

 poster art JMc • BBSF 2012

poster art JMc • BBSF 2013

poster art JMc • BBSF 2014

GLIDE • Uluwatu treehouse

My main focus with this painting was to keep it a little more on the minimal side with most focus being on the ink illustration. The original idea for the 'WaveRiding' graphic was dreamed up whilst living in a treehouse at Uluwatu in Bali during the surf season of 2007. Whilst the surf that season was pretty well pumping I always allowed myself some afternoon downtime, away from the crowds, where I'd head back to the treehouse and sort out surfboards, do a bit of reading and just generally doodle about. I was drawing loads of stuff in my journal with lead pencils but what I really wanted was some colour. My friend Ketut was heading into town and knew where to get acrylic paint and so he agreed to grab me the primary colours along with a basic square cut brush. Meanwhile I headed to the Sunset warung on the cliff down at Ulu and convinced Made' to give me a few old 2-minute noodle cardboard boxes to paint on. The next afternoon I ripped up the cardboard giving me around 15 surfaces to release my ideas onto. The painting at far bottom here was the first of the treehouse series from that time, and the painting just below is the final piece from 2012.

The final painting: 'glide' 1050 x 500mm Acrylic, indian ink and spraypaint on ply with resin coat. Byron Bay 2012

The original painting: 'glide' 200 x 120mm Acrylic and ink on 2 minute noodle cardboard box. Uluwatu, Bali, 2007

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.