Born into a family of surfer artists it was inevitable that I would become an artist.

My parents were introduced to each other by the worlds most famous surf artist ever, Rick Griffin, whom went to art school with my mom and pop.

 My dad worked for Dewey Weber and Hobie shaping and glassing surfboards before becoming an animator for Disney.

 My earliest days were spent on the sand and the memories of my dad glassing surfboards in our Manhattan beach garage and The smell of surfboard resin wafting through the air, will be forever ingrained into my being.

At the age of 7 my parents decided to move to an off-grid hippie community in the hills of Northern California. We lived in a 16x16 ft cabin in the woods that my dad and his friend built in 3 days. Our windows and door were sheets of plastic stapled to the wall and we had no running water, electricity or phone. We lived for 3 years in the cabin, while we all built, what we called the big house. Our families carbon footprint was near zero. We ate from our huge garden and raised chickens and goats, selling eggs and making goat cheese that we sold to neighbors and stores.  Thru skateboarding and punk rock, I stayed connected to the surf/skate lifestyle and constantly drew pictures and logos of my imaginary skateboard/surf company. I lived there until the age of 17 and at that point, my nights of drawing with only the light of kerosene lamps and candles were over, I packed my bag and moved to Topanga Canyon (the road to Malibu).

 After many years in the Valley/Malibu, Hollywood area my artistic style started to develop and I moved to the coast of S.F.

S.F. is where I decided art was to be my permanent mission to accomplish what I needed to do in this life and I never turned back. I started tattooing and worked for skateboard company’s, T-shirt company’s and record labels doing album covers for some of the biggest and best punk bands in the world.

My paintings now bring together my love for all of the lives I have lived.

 Cosmic psychedelic Images of nature the ocean and its relationship the stars and spirits.

I generally work in watercolor and then create colorful frames made from all recycled materials.

Materials I use generally are Vans shoeboxes, recycled cardboard and discarded house paint found at garage sales or from the return section at the local hardware stores.

I currently find myself living again in the foothills of Northern California painting, silk-screening and doing ceramics full time.

I have been tattooing for 31 years and currently own Alameda Tattoo, in its 13th year of business.

Thank you for your time, I am stoked to be here

Cheeeeers!

Eric Reed