By Elizabeth Goldman
Staff Writer
Most artists paint on regular canvases, but junior Valentine Pean paints on recycled surfboards. Instead of throwing old surfboards away, people can give them to Pean, who takes old, broken boards and transforms them into art.
In the past year, Pean has painted animals on about 20 fiberglass boards.
“[The surfboards I get] are put to use again rather than just throwing [them] away,” Pean said. “ [I turn them into] pieces of art instead of [leaving them as trash] in a landfill.”
Last year, Pean was outside painting when she saw her neighbor throwing away his old surfboards, and it gave her the idea to paint them.
“At the time I was painting, so I had paint and I [thought], ‘Oh that could be really cool,’ so I took [the surfboards], painted them, and I really liked how it turned out.”
After she painted the first surfboard, she posted a message on the Nextdoor app asking for old or broken surfboards. She collected about 20 boards from people who were going to throw them away and painted octopi, fish, giraffes and more.
“So many people messaged me, so I have a collection of a ton of surfboards to paint now,” Pean said. “I like to keep it ocean- themed because I think that looks the best, and if you were to use it as a decoration in a house in Manhattan Beach, it goes along well with that.”
Many people admire her work and inquire about buying her pieces, but Pean would like to paint a few more before selling.
“[Selling my work is] definitely something for the future,” Pean said. “People are always really impressed, and it’s motivation [for me] that people really enjoy it, and it makes me feel like its worth something.”
The surfboards not only represent Manhattan Beach culture, but they are the perfect platform for her art work, according to Pean.
“I think there is a lot of value in [the art], and I’ve seen how people in Manhattan Beach react to them,” Pean said. “I like using recycled objects rather than just a plain canvas. It’s something more unique.”
For aspiring young artists, Pean says to just keep working and never give up, even when it gets challenging.
“Just keep at it,” Pean said. “Even if sometimes [it doesn’t] turn out as good as you hope, just keep at it. When I first sketch it out, or when I do the first coat of paint on my surfboards, it never looks good, but then as I continue and add more layers of paint, it [turns] out really good in the end.”
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