The story behind: Boris' Janis Joplin surfboard commission

I count myself as being very lucky to be able to make a living off doing what I love and using my skills, but it’s projects like this one that really boost my work satisfaction up to a new level! Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the nitty-gritty technical aspects of creating a commission - how am I going to paint it, what will I use as reference, how am I going to pack it for shipping, etc, that I need to be reminded that what I’m doing isn’t just painting a picture (or in this case a surfboard artwork), I’m helping someone create something that is special and meaningful to them… that I’m part of something that is much bigger than just my painting - This project was a great case in point!
Boris asked me last year if I could help him create a custom surfboard artwork for his partner Jess for their anniversary. Jess is keen surfer and the board had to be 100% functional and custom made just for her. Logistically I couldn’t hand-paint the board itself, as I’m in Australia, Boris is in Canada and the board was being shaped in the US - so we settled on me hand-painting the artwork and digitising it, then it was printed on a surfboard inlay mesh by the great folks at Inlayz Australia, posted to the US where is was glassed into the hand-shaped board by the team at Rusty. I sent Boris the hand-painted artwork of Janis Joplin which he had framed and gave to Jess along with the surfboard for their anniversary.
Everything down to Boris’ choice of Janis Joplin and the quotes and song lyrics we added were meaningful to them both and I feel like during the process of helping Boris find the shaper, painting the artwork and hearing more about Jess and Boris’ life together, that I’ve been a part of something pretty darn special!
This is what Boris has to say about the project:
“I truly can't express how grateful I am to Fieldey for the amazing work she did on my partners surfboard. I couldn't have found a more perfect person to help with this anniversary present. Every aspect of the process, from the designing of the image and the text, to sizing the inlay and shipping it to the shapers, completely exceeded my expectations. Fieldey not only helped me design the perfect graphic for the board, but she also talked with the shapers directly to coordinate all the construction details. I was communicating with her from the other end of the world, and she was still always available and went above and beyond at every step. The end result is a work of art that is even better than what I originally dreamed up. Thank you so much, Fieldey!”