Anonymous Surf Street Artist BERT Hits Encinitas

Anonymous surf street artist BERT has hit the streets again with his most recent piece titled 'Slater's Hawaiian Pipe Dream' painted 17ft. tall on the Coast Highway in Encinitas.

Inspiration for this piece came after Kelly Slater won the 2013 Pipe Masters last December by beating John John Florence in the final, but took a deeper meaning when the below quote in his autobiography titled 'Pipe Dreams' was found first printed in 2002:

"...competing at Pipe against kids line John John Florence... he is only ten years old, but he is already charging pipe. When he is twenty, I'll be forty, and hopefully I'll have a chance to surf against him." -Kelly Slater in 2002

Slater beat John John almost exactly 10 years after the above quote was printed. Slater was quoted after the 2013 Pipe Masters contest stating that he felt like he was going to win. That he saw signs all over leading up to the contest. "Slater's Hawaiian Pipe Dream' depicts 11x champion and 2013 Pipe Master Kelly Slater as a fortune teller, or seer, staring outwards with a crystal ball in hand containing an image of Slater with the Pipe Master's trophy.

After BERT's successful first solo art show on Oahu coinciding with the Pipe Master's in Dec. 2013, BERT returned to Southern California to paint this final piece of his year long project where he painted one piece of art in the streets for each of the 10 ASP WCT surf contests beginning in March of 2013.

BERT's street art has gained the interest of a variety of surfing professionals and icons including 2013 champion Mick Fanning and 2012 champion Joel Parkinson, as well as 11x champion Kelly Slater who has 2 BERT paintings hanging in his residence. BERT will be releasing a limited edition print of 72 titled 'Slater's Hawaiian Pipe Dream.

This 5 color screen print on archival paper will be available Thursday, Jan. 9th at 11am PST for $70 each at: http://www.t-sherms.com/product/slater-s-hawaiin-dream-print-by-bert

–BERT Art press release