We’re used to seeing a lot of street art these days, both on the streets of our cities and in pop culture. But one adventurous and talented artist has decided to use his unique approach to art creation to put beautiful works where we would least expect them. And his city is a more beautiful place for it.
His name is Sean Yoro, a Hawaii-born surfer who works under his artist’s name Hula, fittingly enough. As you can see, he doesn’t so much rely on a studio, or even city streets to create his “street” art. Rather, he uses a paddleboard for stability as he performs his work along waterways.
For his recent projects, Hula has exclusively been drawn to sea walls. Sure, they might be hard to reach, but they’re visible by many, take on a special aesthetic quality using the nearby water as an artistic element, and I’m guessing they’re VERY hard to remove…except if it floods.
You can imagine that this type of work must be tougher on the body than most painting is. There’s very little sitting, and all the work must be performed while you’re rocking back and forth on the water, so stability is paramount. I’m guessing he has a very strong core!
Before he got his start painting these sea walls for all to see, he was still in the same water-specific realms painting surfboards. He also developed his chops by painting on regular ole’ canvases, too. But he’s garnered the most attention with this far more unique project.
As you can see, Hula has an eye for places that most people would never consider as a possible canvas for art, which lends itself well to his love of surfing and the water, as well as his obvious talents in using the water and rocky and concrete backdrops as the platform for his art.
Believe it or not, many of these pieces are located throughout New York city, which gives the city a natural and enchanting beauty on the city’s industrial spillways and water walls. He’s gotten no complaints from residents or authorities, because his work really does beautify the city.
Hula said about his desire to bring a piece of his home Hawaii to NYC: “This piece was inspired by the silence beneath the surface of the water, when all you can hear is your heartbeat as everything else fades away. It’s one of the many places I call home.”
He’s got even more pieces on his Instagram at “https://www.instagram.com/the_hula/”, where you can see how diverse his portfolio of work really is, though it all contains a common genetic reflecting his heritage and the style of art that is native to his homeland.
He also prints of his work, should you not be in the NYC area or elsewhere to appreciate his adventurous approach to art firsthand. Just getting his supplies and self out to these locations via a paddleboard seems to be a work of art unto itself, but his works endure for all to enjoy…Until the water level rises!