Florida artist carves new life into old surfboards

Art is finding new homes in man caves and beach houses around the world

At the edge of the Everglades, 12 miles from the Gulf, is an artist whose colorful recreations of damaged surfboards and no-longer-appreciated trophy fish mounts are finding new homes as wall art in man caves and beach houses from Texas to Switzerland.

Jake Jones is the founder and artist behind Fresh Fish Gallery of Naples, Fla. A former graphic designer, he has moved on from creating art on a computer to carving and painting it by hand.

His carvings are of fantastical aquatic motifs of mermaids and sea creatures that he cuts into old and damaged surfboards. His fish are brightly colored in bracing shades of auto paint.

Faded taxidermied fish are reborn with a day-glo brightness. They shimmer with colors associated with muscle cars of the ’70s. A shark looks even more fearsome in Corvette red. The sail on a salvaged marlin is painted a Challenger’s plum crazy purple.

“I am not really a paint-onstretched-canvas type of guy,” says the 49-year-old former bodybuilder. “I’m at my happiest when I’m in my driveway playing my music and doing my thing.”

After an office job in Ohio, which he describes as “stuck in a cubicle doing digital art,” Jones moved back home to Florida. Two years ago, he saw an ad for a beat-up sailfish for $50. He removed the old paint and refinished the fiberglass mount using bright lime green auto paint. He advertised it on Craigslist under “Furniture.” It sold for $1,000, and Fresh Fish Gallery had a start.

No longer confined to a cubicle, Jones works out of his home studio that is close enough to the Everglades that there is a black bear who rummages through his trash.

Jones says he knew he had found a successful niche with his art when he got a visit from a buyer who was outfitting a 2,500-square-foot man cave. He purchased 23 of Jones’ carvings and painted fish.

It usually takes Jones a week to two to fulfill a commission, and fees range from $750 for a half surfboard carving to $2,500 for a full board and the repainted fish mounts. The surfboards have become the most popular items.

His craziest commission was a request for a Slovakian flag, hibiscus flower and palm tree. “But the four words that an artist wants to hear with a commission from a client is ‘Do your own thing.’ ”

“If I can create something that I love and a customer finds interesting enough to purchase, then that’s my happy day.”

To see more of Jake Jones’ work, visit freshfishgallery .com.

Courtesy photos Jake Jones is the founder and artist behind Fresh Fish Gallery of Naples, Fla. Octopuses have become a favorite design for surfboard carvings.

When potential customers ask Jake Jones to paint their trophy fish mounts realistically, he recommends them to a taxidermist.

Depending on the complexities of the design, a surfboard carving by Jake Jones costs from $1,000 to $2,500. He has customers from Texas to Switzerland.

A turtle swimming through seaweed is a popular design for Jake Jones' surfboard carvings.