Surf Artist

Fernanda O'Connell

Growing up in the high density environment of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Fernanda always dreamed of living by the sea and enjoying a coastal lifestyle. She dreamed of a different life where there was freedom, the sun rising on the water and waves to be surfed. From the time she began bodyboarding at 11 years of age, it became clear to her that the ocean would provide the focus in her life. In her teens she began planning to surf around the world. She was particularly attracted to Australia where she met her future husband, also a surfer. Together they have travelled to many different surfing destinations including South Africa, Tahiti, Canary Islands, Brazil, Portugal, around Australia and several times to Indonesia. They have also spent a season working and surfing around the coast of Sumatra.

Fernanda is driven by that childhood dream and she draws inspiration from all her travels and the people she met along the way. Her love for the ocean is reflected in her paintings and her aim is to bring to canvas perspectives of the sea that only a surfer could explain. Painting surf and seascapes is like the realisation of the dream, a logical extension for the passion of the sea. To create texture and movement in her works, Fernanda likes to uses mixed media such as acrylics, impasto and oils. Fernanda is also a Christian and part of the proceeds from her paintings are donated to a foodbank program in her local Highway Christian church, a baby orphanage in Uganda's wartorn northern region of Gulu and a bible college centre in northern Brazil.