When Drew Brophy was a kid, he was a doodler. At the age of four, he painted his name on his very first surfboard and from then on, his love for both has been an integral part of his life. Growing up, he would doodle waves, dragons, flames and other cool stuff on his surfboards, skateboards and pretty much everything he could get his hands on, including his Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars. They are, after all, a canvas of sorts.

Brophy recalls that his friends clamored to have him draw on their shoes as well. What could be better than Chuck Taylors made better with original art? Fast forward to the present—about three years ago Converse sponsored Brophy’s how-to video, “Paint Pen Techniques with Drew Brophy,” that included a section on how to customize your own shoes with the water-based paint pens that Brophy uses for a majority of his work. That sponsorship led to the idea of putting Brophy’s art on production shoes.

Brophy lent about two dozen of his designs to a new line of Chuck Taylors that was unveiled this month at retailers including Nordstrom, Journeys and online at www.converse.com. To celebrate the unveiling of the shoes, Brophy made personal appearances at three Southern California Nordstrom stores to autograph shoes purchased and to encourage kids to express their own creativity by helping them to customize their own shoes. The collection is a special edition that will be available only through the summer or as long as supplies last.

The shoe line isn’t the only project keeping Brophy busy lately. He has also recently announced the publication of his new book, “How to Draw with Drew Brophy,” a book of step-by-step lessons on how to draw some of his favorite subjects. The book includes information on techniques as well as inspiration and tips that make creating art a very user-friendly pursuit—not at all as intimidating as on might think. One of my favorite quotes from the book, “Tip: Don’t worry about making your drawing ‘perfect.’ Just do what feels natural to you.” The book will definitely appeal to creative kids but contains plenty of inspiration and confidence-building pointers for adult aspiring artists as well.

Brophy has been a professional artist for more than twenty years and currently works out of his storefront studio in the Los Molinos surf district in San Clemente. Through the years, with Brophy’s hard work and determinationto make a life doing what he loves—with the help of his wonderful wife and partner Maria—he has made a career and name for himself as one of the most famous surf artists of our time. He has become world-famous for putting his designs on everything from clothing, guitars, cars and canvas to every kind of “board sport” board you can think of. And, when you ask him what exactly his job description is, he sums it all up by saying, “My job is to make things look cool.”

Log on to www.drewbrophy.com for more information on all of Drew’s projects, products and to order a copy of “How to Draw with Drew Brophy.” At only $8.95 it is a great value for any aspiring artist who enjoys Drew’s style.