Ric Reitveld
Rick Rietveld, a Southern California native, is best known for his achievements as an artist, innovator and entrepreneur. Since he began surfing in 1971, Rick has been heavily influenced by the surfing life-style. Many of his creations are thematically related to the ocean or contain surfing- related imagery.
Rick’s amazing artwork has brought him widespread acclaim and tremendous success in the surfwear industry. In 1995 Rick co-founded his own Art Driven surfwear company, RIETVELD USA, featuring Rick’s graphics and illustrations. His product lines and other artwork are published and marketed domestically and internationally.
After studying at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Rick co-founded the popular surfwear company, MAUI AND SONS in 1980 where he performed as CREATIVE DIRECTOR for the next 10 years. Rick’s designs included full color illustrations for advertisements, artwork for t-shirts (graphic and illustrated), logo design, visual merchandising, and packaging. His personal creations, the Maui Cookie logo and the Sharkman remain among the most recognizable company icons in the surfwear industry. After leaving MAUI AND SONS, Rick contributed artwork to many of the top surfwear companies before co-founding RIETVELD USA. A retrospective look at Rick’s art recognizes that his creations are consistent with Rick’s own style, and are not subject to the current trends, earning Rick the reputation of innovator and elevates his art to the level of “collection” status.
Rick’s award-winning illustrations are widely acclaimed in the domestic and international surf industry. In 1998, Rick was commissioned to create and design the poster and t-shirt graphics for the prestigious Triple Crown of Surfing. He also received a Certificate of Excellence from the Print’s Regional Design Annual for his famous t-shirt design, XXXtra Strength. In addition to his contributions to the Triple Crown, Rick has designed the artwork for Quicksilver’s Eddie Aikau and G-Land surf contests, Other honors include the 1988 OBIE Award in Clothing, Apparel and Accessories and the 1986 Orange County Advertising Federation Award of Excellence for the series of illustrated advertisements which appeared in Surfer and Surfing Magazine. Rick’s work has been published in several publications including: Stoked; a History of Surf Culture, by Drew Kampion, The Surfinary, by Trevor Cralle, and The Glide; Longboarding and the Renaissance of Modern Surfing, by Chris Bystrom. Rick’s art and articles have been featured in magazines such as Surfer, Surfing, Pacific Longboarder, Action Sports Retailer, Interview, Beach Culture, Nalu, Surfers Journal and Heavy Water.
When in the water, Rick likes to drop in on old ladies and unsuspecting rookies. "In a way, I feel like I'm doing them a service...life isn't always fair on solid ground...why should it be any different in the water...right? Little kids...parapalegics...out there everybody is after my wave...out there I'm everybodys daddy. Take my wave and expect a spanking!" Aside from surfing, Rick trains Dachsunds for professional racing and works as a test case for new experimental, yet-to-be-approved medications for the pharmacutical industry.
Ric Reitveld Prints