Rick Tontz was born in Bossier City, Louisiana in 1970. When his father finished his duty in the Airforce in 1973 the family moved to California. While growing up in Los Angeles, Rick’s connection with the ocean became his escape from the rat race of the big city. Public buses, hitchhiking, rides from Mom and Pop or bumming rides from older friends, any ride to the beach was as good as the next. This strong connection with the ocean later led him out of the armpit north to Santa Barbara where he could enjoy the ocean and a more grounded lifestyle.
In Santa Barbara, Rick studied both Geography and Art, two of his strongest passions which both reflect in his art today. His studies were life long passions which began at a young age by constantly drawing things that interested him. These interests have lead him down 2 creative paths. After studying pottery for 5 years, a close friend and painter turned him on to the idea of marrying his artist abilities with his passion for surfing and the ocean. Painting has been his artistic focus since 1997 using both acrylic and oil and more recently has incorporated mixed media and multimedia techniques.
Currently Rick runs Logan Dzyn, a creative agency which he founded in 1997 and has been involved with many companies in the action sports industry. His clients include Channel Islands Surfboards, where he has been the creative director since 2000, Wavehunters Surf Travel, On a Mission, Spy Sunglasses, Surfer Magazine, Powder Magazine, National Geographic, Red Bull, Nautica Clothing & Footwear, Water Conservation Services and many more…
Most of Ricks paintings today portray the universal surfers’ dream; the perfect wave. Many of his pieces are inspired by his surfing experiences over the last 30 years along the California and Mexico coasts. His paintings are influenced daily by his surroundings. Recently, Rick has been immersed in abstract expressionism and mixed media art, highly influenced by artists like Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollack, Rebecca Crowell and Wolfgang Bloch. Ricks greatest joy in painting has been seeing his dreams through his art, and being allowed to share these dreams with others.
