Pamela Neswald makes her home in Pukalani, HI, on the Island of Maui. She has been painting images of women surfing since 1998. Using a style of narrative expressionism, she hopes to share the adventures of surfing with surfers and non-surfers alike. "Surfing is a metaphor for all of life's challenges, triumphs and questions."
Born on Long Island, New York, it took Pamela only three years to make it to California. She grew up in the northern area of Malibu, near Zuma Beach, where she learned to love the ocean and respect the athleticism and grace of surfing. Figure drawing has been a part of her life since she first drew stick figures, c.1966.
Pamela graduated from Malibu Tutorial High School in 1980. It was not too far up the coast to Univeristy of California at Santa Barbara, where she received her bachelor's degree in Studio Art. She graduated in 1985 and became a wife and mother in 1986.
From 1986 on, Pamela's art was strongly influenced by the miracles and responsibilities of parenting. In 1988, the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where she embarked on the "Pot Drawings." Other work included figures in oil and on paper, often relating to pregnancy and birth. This theme continued through a move to Michigan in 1993 and was expanded to include large abstract pastels with organic forms.
When Pamela returned to California in 1995, she went back to figure drawing for a few years. The ocean called and when she took up surfing in 1998, the figures began surfing, too. Pamela likes to say that the figures in her surfing paintings are in a dynamic relationship with their environment. Perhaps this is why these paintings have remained her focus for the past six years. Pamela has been locally, regionally and nationally recognized by publications and collectors from California to Florida. She has been featured by (the original) magazine, Surfer Girl, The Surfers Journal (2000) and the book, "Stoked! A History of Surf Culture" by Drew Kampion as well as several important newspapers in the SF bay area..
The artist recently moved to Pukalani, on the island of Maui to surf warm water and have a happy life. Currently, Pamela continues her surf imagery, working mostly in oil on canvas. She is represented by Maui Hands Galleries, Butterflies gallery, Lahaina and Upcountry Fine Art in Makawao.
