FELICITY PALMATEER. THE WATER DRAWER.

you might remember lovely pro surfer felicity palmateer from back in the days when we just started smile at your sister. she is still surfing and shining. but in the last three years she was not just drawing lines on waves.

hej felicity, you've been one of the first girls we portrayed. what happened since then?

since then I have been traveling around the world competing full time on the ASP women’s star series trying to qualify for the women’s world tour. I have finished one spot shy of qualification for the last two years and as a result I got to compete at the back end of the women’s world tour in 2011. right now I’m in Europe, road tripping with friends through France, Spain and Portugal competing in the last star events of the year.  it’s been really exciting to experience new cultures and trying to infuse that influence into my art. I’ve been exploring a few different techniques along the way as well to try and broaden my art.

that sounds great. we found this beautiful paintings that you've made. please tell us more about your whales and turtles.

I mostly paint in inks and watercolours and I draw a lot of my inspiration from the ocean. whales are my favorite things to paint. they are so beautiful and graceful the way they glide through the sea. I love the fluidity in their movement through the water and I think that transcends into the way I use my inks and watercolours.

what are your favourite materials to use? 
my favourite mediums to use are definitely inks and watercolours because I feel most comfortable using them. my dad is really skilled in pottery and lately I’ve been experimenting with clay and finding ways to bring my ocean influences to ceramic pieces.

a few years ago I made about six plaster casts of the patterns in the sand at a local beach just down the road from my house.  I mixed the plaster at the beach using sea water and then gently poured it over the sand in such a way that it would create a montage of individual moulds. the plaster set really quickly and in no time I had six nice little moulds of beach sand.

so four years on I used these moulds as inspiration and texture on the mugs I made.

is there a strong connection between your surfing and your art? 
surfing and art go hand in hand. when you think about it surfers are constantly drawing different lines on a wave. the wave is like the canvas and you are the painter free to do what ever you like.  noone can tell you what to do and in that moment that wave is your piece of art. it’s very creative and really interesting to watch other people draw different lines to the ones you would have drawn on a wave.

most of my inspiration comes from the ocean and I use watercolours and inks because I think they best translate the fluidity of the ocean onto the paper. After a bit of practice I now like to use ceramics. I found working with clay incredibly hard at the start but once I got the hang of it I enjoyed making the mugs. the effect of the sand and the ocean turned out really well. 

have you ever thought about making an exhibition?

I have always wanted to have an exhibition. maybe one day when I’m home and have a big enough body of work with both inks and ceramic pieces I will have an exhibition. 

if some of you girls would love to have one of felicty's whales hanging in your rooms just take a look through her mugs and paintings on facebook and tumblr. she is able to customise orders too and she would be very flattered if you'll contact her via email. 


portrait photo megan villa
surf shot morgan maassen