about Jesse Miller
After living in Hawaii for six years, in 1997 he came back to San Diego, to continue to paint. He soon got a job with the City of San Diego as a lifeguard and worked the beaches in San Diego for 10 years spending most of his time at either the reefs in La Jolla or Blacks. That let him find a lot of inspiration by spending his days at the beach. But even while life guarding, he continued to paint, and always worked on improving his paintings and capturing the next great image.
He has shown his work in several galleries in Hawaii and California. Currently he has work in The Corner Frame Shop and Art Gallery, in Leucadia, CA, Peter J Art Gallery in Newport Beach, and Pangea Outpost in Pacific Beach, Birdrock Surf Shop in La Jolla, La Jolla Kayak by La Jolla Shores, and Scan Furniture store on Miramar Road. He also shows his paintings at various art shows around San Diego, and North County.
Almost all his work is inspired by what goes on like 500 feet in both directions from the shoreline. Any shoreline. He has spent his life up to now surfing, and that plays a big role in what he sees in life, and what he wants to show others. Not just the act of riding a wave, but the whole culture surrounding it. There are millions of great surf shots published every month in magazines and on the web, so he looks to what goes on before and after surfing for inspiration. He wants to show what people who surf see and take for granted every day. Its a beautiful thing.
Jesse Miller was born and grew up surfing in in San Diego. He always wanted to go to Hawaii where the water was warm, and the waves were good. When he started thinking about college, he learned about Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and couldn't imagine going anywhere else. BYU-H is a small university in Laie, exactly 10 miles from Sunset Beach. He looked at all the programs they offered, and the Fine Arts program looked good. Before that, he hadn't ever really thought about art, much less producing it. But, once he got to school, he threw himself into everything head first. The surf was everything he had imagined and more, and the art program was exactly what he hoped for. He started out like any beginning art student would, but persisted and practiced and by the time he graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art degree, he was winning awards in the college art shows.
Jesse at work and play
These two pictures are of me from the surfshot.com website. In 2003 I bought a my first real longboard, from Stewart, and went to Windansea. The surf was small and pretty junky, but I had my new board, and went out. It was Jan. 23. It was a pretty forgettable session, but later that night, I saw these two pictures on the internet, and it just made my day. The surfshot.com website is the greatest report for San Diego. I see it almost every day, and to see myself on it was cool. Thanks to them for having such a quality website, and for making me feel cool for a day. Check it out it out if you are going to surf in SD
"Pinecone"
This isn't a painting, but a snapshot of my last day lifeguarding at Blacks. In the summer of 2007, we (the lifeguards at Blacks) built a little shack on the cliff above the surf spot, so we can watch the water from up there in the shade. It turned into a great environment. This shot was taken during a little south swell that hit on the Labor Day weekend. The surf was so fun that swell. And really crowded. But later that night I came out of the best barrell I have ever had in San Diego. It was so long and fun. It was a perfect way to end my summer season working as a lifeguard. I would like to thank the city of San Diego for letting me go there for many summers and get paid to have this view.
My self portraits look different than most other artists. I love these paintings. Not because they are great paintings, but they help me have great memories of some really fun waves. I remember both of these sessions from the early 90s at rocky Point. I had so much fun living in Hawaii, and though its been quite a while since I’ve lived there, I still miss it.
I am lucky enough to have an awesome family who love and support me. And they often give me good inspiration for my paintings.
Michelle and I where we lived on the North Shore at Sharks Cove. The greatest place in the world.
I made it on surfshot again. This was a really small day that looks better in the photo than I remember it. But I still think it is awesome, because it is me.