Writer: Chris Ahrens
Since ancient times surfing and art have been entwined in a way that it is often inseparable. From South American cave paintings depicting people riding waves to Rick Griffin's psychotropic Eye am the I, surf art has attempted to portray something that cannot be understood in words-the rush of sliding on a moving mountain of saltwater. To many, surfing itself is considered an art, an individualistic expression done on what someone once called a “liquid stage.”
    While I wouldn't exactly call him a surf artist, Andy Davis is a surfer and an artist, who often attempts to express something of the innermost limits of pure joy known only to surfers. His work is his signature-expressing freedom, joy and a certain mystical childlike wonder that we've all felt but could never explain to our parents. We will try to get it right with words, but check the adjacent artwork, close your eyes and dream of glassy summer days. Feels good, don't it?

Risen Magazine: Is surfing an art or a sport to you?
Andy Davis: It sounds cliché' but art for sure. Surfing's been around for centuries, when it had nothing to do with it being a sport. It was just a gift from the ancient Hawaiians that they gave to us. We're lucky that it's still here. To me the best thing about it is that nature provided the ocean.

RM: Were you a doodler as a kid?
AD: Yeah, absolutely. As a little kid, I lost myself in drawing cartoons.

RM: Did you always draw things interesting to you at the time?
AD: Yeah, cartoons, music, KISS banners, Led Zeppelin, early '70s stuff. Little league, soccer, skateboards, all that stuff that I was doing and whatever was in my subconscious, I poured it out-making little scrapbooks and drawings. It's what I felt I was supposed to do.

RM: What's on your wall?
AD: We had a coloring contest in Surfer Magazine. We provided a black and white picture and kids did the rest. With Surfer being international, it really tapped a lot of people, which was cool.

RM: Do ever see things when you're riding a wave that makes you want to go home and sketch something?
AD: Yeah, sometimes for sure. Other times it will be totally non-related to surfing. There are those magic days when you see something. After surfing for many years you think you've seen it all, but something new always happens. It's something to look forward to.

RM: How does it feel to be in the shadow of the Cardiff Kook? (The highly criticized statue of a surfer at Cardiff)
AD: It feels great. I think it's good that it's been here. It's topical, always changing, people are so up in arms, and it's not that big a deal, really. I guess it's how you look at it.

RM: Do you ever do anything artistically that addresses serious issues?
AD: In a lighthearted way. I don't have the answers, so I don't claim to have 'em. Sometimes I feel I want to help out in any way I can. I guess… The way I live my life is what I'm most comfortable with, so that's the way I try to do things. I wouldn't call myself an activist, but I try to do my best, and learn to be a better person. We have four- year-old, we're trying, but we're hypocrites at the same time, so I try not to say too much. [Laughs]

RM: Your work looks joyful; are you a joyful person?
AD: Most of the time, yeah. I