Mau Domingues is the artist behind this year's colorful limited edition print for Small Business Saturday. Every year Leucadia 101 works with an artist to capture the spirit of our town in a print that is coveted by local savvy shoppers. Make sure to spend $50 at any participating Small Business Saturday business along N. Coast Highway 101 on November 24th. Mau's image features Leucadia's iconic Cypress, California poppies that pop up each spring, and friendly neighbors biking, walking dogs, and surfing.
Mau has been on our radar for some time having designed works featuring lively Leucadia, Cardiff and Encinitas imagery for years, which you can check out on his website (www.maudo.tv). We are looking forward to seeing more from Mau as he is inspired by our funky coastal town. Read on as Mau tells us where he drew inspiration for this year's original take on Leucadia.
Mau Domingues' Artist Statement:
How did you wind up in Leucadia?
My wife led the way, she grew up in Cardiff and we lived in Brazil and LA for a while but ended up coming back here to be close to family and friends.
What are some of the aspects about living here you enjoy?
I enjoy so many that is hard to point out all of them. But I love the greenery and old school greenhouses, the ocean proximity and the constant good surf, beaches-all of them! The food and the people are amazing, there's great fresh fish, beer and Mexican food everywhere.
I love chatting with strangers and seeing friends around town. Parks, skate parks, dog parks are all just 5 minutes away. The Botanic Garden is one of my favorite places on Earth, and being able to go over to the meditation gardens on a slow day is almost surreal to me. I could go on and on; the sunsets, weather, the sound of the cargo train passing by, moonlit swimming in the summer, amazing local surfboard shapers...Some of that I depicted in the 'Leucadia' work.
How did you become an artist?
During college when I was studying Industrial Design I fell in love with photography, illustration and video. I found out a way to put it all those activities together, that was Animation. I got a internship before graduating and never stopped, I've been doing Animation, Illustration, and Design for 12 years now. I always tried to keep painting and art shows parallel to my commercial career, it's a tough balance but when you finish a hard project or see someone super stoked to see the work is really heartwarming.
Where do you plan to visit on Small Business Saturday?
I love to swing by Bing and Surfy Surfy and see all those beautiful surf crafts, then maybe I'll grab a beer and a meal after that, now deciding where to do that will be another tough decision.