Bill Ogden Biography
First published in the early 1960's, Bill Ogden has made an indelible impression on the surf art community. Called, "one of the most influential and imitated surf artists of all time", Ogden's work can be seen in magazines, rock posters, and various other commercial art. It was during the 60's and mid 70's when Ogden became known for his original nouveau style of graphics, lettering, and figures; a style known as "the Southern California look". Some of his more well-known works during this period include four full color illustrations in the L.A. Free Press for Timothy Leary, a series of calendars for the The Sound Spectrum in Laguna Beach, and the art for the classic surf film The Forgotten Island of Santosha.  Also during that time Ogden's art could be seen every month on the back cover of Surfer Magazine as the main focus of an ad campaign by the Jantzen swimsuit company. From the mid 70's to the early 80's Ogden traveled and painted oils on location in Hawaii, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Peru. In 1980 he published one of the first posters of the "above and below water" concept now being used by many Hawaiian and Southern California artists. During the 80's Ogden perfected the "master's techniques", creating large works on canvas by layering oils. One piece, The Wizard Merlin, took 3 years and 30 layers of glaze to complete. In 1997 Ogden was prominently featured at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach for which he designed the poster and T-shirt. His art has also been used by companies such as Volcom, Burton, The Triple Crown of Surfing, as well as a twenty design signature series by Quicksilver.