Meet Pepa Ivanoff | Artist, Surfer, Traveler

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pepa Ivanoff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pepa, we’d love to hear about a book that’s had an impact on you.
I read a passage from the book 365 Tao by Deng Ming Dao every morning, and have done so for around 10 years now. This little book accompanies me on all of my travels, and is part of my morning routine. I love Deng Ming Dao’s philosophy of Taoism, as it resonates most closely with my life and lifestyle. One of my favorite quotes from the author is “Creativity is my most natural way of living. It is the way I interact with this world.” and I could not agree more with this sentiment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My artwork is both inspired by, and a result of, my nomadic surfer lifestyle. I have chosen a life less ordinary in pursuit of my creative passion, and in doing so I have made my art my life. What I create, is who I am.

My unique style is a blend of analog and digital artistic techniques. My art and my life is a constant and evolving exploration of travel, culture, nature, design, surfing, photography, tarot, colour, textures, textiles, taoism, and all things tropical.

To date, I have painted 288 murals and countless pieces of custom artwork that are on display in residential, commercial and retail settings in 8 countries: USA, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Aruba and Panama.

Life has bestowed serendipitous opportunities before me that I have followed around the world, and all that I have learned, created and collaborated on along that journey has made me who I am.

I would like to inspire other to follow their creative passion and create a life that is a work of art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Leucadia has been a home base for me for almost 20 years now, so that little beach town is my go-to in SoCal. I would recommend riding a bicycle along Neptune Ave for the beautiful architecture, plants and ocean views, and dipping down to the 101 to browse the stores and stop for drinks and delicious food.

My Leucadia routine includes a morning visit to Tom at Leucadia Donuts, a quick grocery stop at Just Peachy, surfing at Grandview, delicious tacos at Fish 101, Juanitas for burritos and Orange Bang, Le Papagayo for Bloody Mary’s and brunch on the patio and coffee at Pannikin,

If you ride your bicycle in the alley behind the Surfhouse, you can see one of my murals. And if you venture down to Encinitas, peep my other mural inside Station Salon.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many incredible people that have supported me on this creative journey that I don’t think I will be able to name them all here…

To Gra and Di from Morrison Media for hiring me at my first job out of design school when I was so young and so naive. To Grant from Quadrant for being a Mentor early in my career. To Guy for being my best friend. To the McVay family for adopting me. To Brooke for being my rock. To Max for being a stupid panda. To Nicky for always believing in me. To Juliana for always keeping it real. To Vestal for being my design mentor. To Ingrid for getting me started on murals. To Jen for towelie walks and Caribbean adventures. To Emilia for always making me laugh. To Jennifer at Herwaves for her confidence in me and my artistic style. To Kristen for creative collaboration. To Carlos for being my Bb Fiu Fiu.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported and continues to support me and my art. I would not be who or where I am without you.

Instagram: @pepallama

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pepallama/

Twitter: @iampepallama

Image Credits
@sambatothesea (leopard print mural with surfboards) @ambassador_of_stoke (Ashland Mural) @peteyhobz (sun mural) @mona_vegas (Keep it Surfy)