Jonathan Sobol has contributed a snowboard to Paint for Peaks for the past 3 years. We caught up with him to find out why he Paints for Peaks.
Q: How did you get involved in Paint for Peaks to begin with?
A: I lost my mother to breast cancer 53 years ago when I was 7 and she 38, and my grandmother and aunt survived it later on. Paint for Peaks approached me and I said yes….. simple. I continue to participate to do my ‘bit.’
Q: Do you take a different approach to painting these snowboards than to painting on more traditional mediums?
A: My approach to the snowboards is more like customizing it, since snowboards have a lot of graphic messaging on them to begin with. I see my challenge as adding my own message to the existing graphic. I didn’t know this at first, and just used the board for it’s shape, but later I realized I just needed to do a small thing to change it completely.
This year’s board is the best expression of that to date. My board has the word ‘pain’ written on it as part of the graphics, and I took my cue from that. The portrait of a woman that I added has a very expressive face which I painted in black and white, and aimed to have it look like part of the overall design.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about Taos/Taos Ski Valley?
My favorite things about Taos are the people, then the land. I’m not a skier, but I hike a lot and do so a few times each year around and above the ski valley.
