The surf cartoon art of Andy Steckel
My name is Andy Steckel. I was born in Pennsylvania and grew up on Long Island, New York, but I have lived mostly in Northern California.
I spent many summer days bodysurfing at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, New York, with my younger brother and older sister.
I loved the weightlessness of flying for a few seconds and then lying in bed that night, still feeling my body bobbing.
I also loved watching the surfers glide off Robert Moses State Park Field 5.
I tried it myself a few times as a teen but never had a good balance, and I soon happily returned to the more comfortable shallow pool.
I moved West for school and spent 30 years as an environmental engineer working on air pollution regulations in San Francisco.
I retired in 2017 and started drawing cartoons about things that interest me, like the ocean, nature, climate change, and sometimes politics.
I am 63 and still love bodysurfing when I make it to warm waters back East or in Southern California, and I get my breath taken away once in a while by the surfers at Mavericks.
But mostly now, I spend time drawing, gardening, and playing with my one-year-old grandson.
I draw on an iPad using Procreate, inexpensive software used by many cartoonists and illustrators.
I’ve been published by a few small venues, including Bay Area organizations working to address climate change and homelessness.
I spend about two hours every morning thinking and drawing before the rest of the house awakes.
I don’t plan to publish my cartoons in a book, but I enjoy drawing them and showcasing them on websites or magazines that might consider them useful content.
Surf Meeting
Surfing Shark
Beware of God
Hanging 10
Desert Surfing
Rediscover Climate
Snow Globes/Climates Collectibles
Tropical Newton
SPF 10,000
Jonah’s Outgoing Message
Summer Intern
Words and Cartoons by Andy Steckel | Bodysurfer, Environmental Engineer, and Cartoonist