Living life with few lulls

For Glenn Martin, the most important thing in life is freedom. It’s why he paints.

“There are no boundaries. It’s open. What’s nice about paintings is that they don’t wear leashes,” Martin said.

It’s also why he travels. A surf artist for the last 30 years, Martin has created and sold paintings pretty much anywhere you can imagine from Europe to the South Pacific. When he’s not painting, he jets between his home in Dana Point and one he’s building in Nicaragua.

Martin is not unlike much of the surf community, which tends to move with the ebbs and flows of life, never stuck in a single place too long. On Saturday, surfers will celebrate the work of Martin and other well-known surf artists at The Light Gallery’s “Surf Revival” exhibit.

The Costa Mesa gallery will sell dozens of paintings and custom-designed surfboards from 7 to 11 p.m. Artists featured include Dave Dickey, Spencer Reynolds, Heather Ritts, Big Toe and Phil Roberts. Some items will cost $50, others more than $10,000.

Gallery Director Steven Borts is especially stoked that surfing legend Rory Russell will make a rare appearance.

“This is a pretty big deal because he never comes out here from Hawaii,” Borts said. “There’s a pretty big buzz going around.”

Russell, the inspiration for many of Martin’s paintings, is best known for his pipeline surfing during the 1970s at Oahu’s North Shore. The surf icon will sell his lightning bolt surfboards which helped popularize the sport in its formative stages.

The Hawaii native sounds amped about the buzz his appearance has generated.

“It’s really neat,” he said. “I was just a little kid that grew up on the North Shore. We didn’t have any TV in those days, so the only source of the entertainment was the ocean, and she taught me well.

“What’s really interesting is how the art world has accepted surfing,” Russell continued. “Many artists are inspired by surfing.”

Martin and Borts are looking forward to the event, even though they’re not sure who will show up. Either way, there should be a pretty heavy crowd of the who’s-who from the surf community there.

“It’s a crapshoot,” Martin said. “It’s like musicians. One starts playing and the rest join in.”

Past surf exhibits have seen tremendous turnouts, and considering the buzz surrounding this weekend’s event, Borts isn’t worried.

“I’m excited about this show,” Borts said. “It’s going to be one of our best shows.”

But despite all the marketing and hype, Martin, like most surfers, is a simple guy with a simple plan.

“We’re low-key,” he said. “We just live life.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Surf Revival,” an exhibit of paintings and surfboards

WHERE: The Light Gallery, 440 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa

WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday

COST: Free

CALL: (714) 642-7899