About the waves
Every wave you will find in this corner is 100% handmade and, therefore, unique. Even if I tried, it would be impossible to recreate the same piece twice.
A wave starts with a dream and a base - driftwood or frame. While mysterious driftwood is given by the ocean, the weathered-looking frames are tailor-made. The actual creation then begins with defining the shape of the wave, which is always a spontaneous process built on instant visions and desires
Once the shape is decided upon, I start modeling by hands - the most challenging and time-consuming stage. Day by day, up to a week, a wave is born. Here, thousands of hours spent in the ocean come in handy as they transform into the intuition that guides me: make a lip a bit heavier, a wall thinner, or a foam thicker…
I apply premium gypsum and work on it while its fresh, later one, when fully dried, it starts the sculpture part fir endless details and hours.
Then the piece gets polished and covered with a base coating that will protect gypsum over time. Snow-white and pristine, the wave is ready to be painted and the buzzing noise of an air compressor breaks the silence. Weightless colorful dust starts settling on the clean surface as the wave is gaining its personality.
One last touch - a generous layer of epoxy - and the colors spark, making the wave gleam and shine in the light, just like water would.
About me
I'm Johny Vieira, 32 years old, currently living in Santa Cruz, Portugal. After starting to surf, 20 years ago, ocean became a place where I constantly seek inspiration, fun, and energy. It is in the ocean where I feel at home and useful to myself.
Surfing also became a bridge to and a platform for the world of creating. I clearly remember that unusual morning, almost 6 years ago. Still sleepy in bed, I found myself looking at a picture frame and imagining a wave curling out of it, and that was the exact moment when the search for the perfect wave begun.
With a limited array of artistic skills, from scratch, I had to figure out the way to incarnate my idea. The process flowed naturally, though - it came as a relief following an extreme obsession with perfect waves, tirelessly voyaging across my mind.
In this project, I aim to create hypnotizing barrels, long walls and churning breaks through simple lines, crystalline colors and minimal design, where nothing distracts you from the wave itself thus allowing your imagination to surf.