The surf cartoon art of Andy Steckel

Andy Steckel: a cartoonist with a passion for surfing and surfers | Cartoon: 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.