The Artist
In the salty, industrial boat sheds of Newport Beach, CA you will find the work
of Scott Richards, also known as Slightly Choppy. A painter, collector, designer
and surfer. Scott’s work is a culmination of these activities that come to life
through his artistic process. He currently lives with his wife and kids in Newport Beach,
California, but his story was very different than it is now.
Growing up just outside of Detroit, Scott was an early surfer on the Great Lakes and his exposure
to the surrounding industrial elements - factories, barges, gritty crust and miles of rocky shorelines - inspired his intrigue for pure rawness. Scott’s interest in surf culture eventually brought him to the California coast to surf and explore his passion for visual documentation. Most recently, Scott has been Creative Director for iconic surf brands while exhibiting his artwork in Los Angeles, New York, Honolulu, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris and Barcelona galleries.
A student of art history and graphic design, Scott is influenced by hand drawn typography, bold color combinations, natural fibers and textures and the surrounding environments the likes of which can be found while traveling to third world locations where hand-painted signage is still common.
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“On my travels, I love seeing the friction between urban man-made objects and organic environments. My favorite are the unconventional hand-painted signs that local shop owners create. You know what it is, but it’s quirky. It’s really off, but you still understand the essence of it.”
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Scott also draws inspiration from aged doodads as he needs there to be history and a bit of patina in everything he does. By disregarding newness, Slightly Choppy artifacts are perfectly imperfect an undeniable trait that makes each piece beautifully unique.
With his hand-crafted, painterly process of art and design, Scott creates timeless pieces that honor surf culture’s past, present and future.