Flanked by Allora by Laura owners T.J. Harlin, left, and Laura Dinning, fine art photographer Bobbi Bennett was welcomed at the Montecito boutique for the launch of her newest project, Stoked Surfboards. 
Bobbi Bennett is stoked by her surfboard art. 
The Stoked Surfboards show brought out the groms, too. 
“Sexy Palms” mounted on a Channel Islands Surfboard. 
Stoked Surfboards suits model Kelly Greyson. 
Kelly Greyson is on board with Stoked Surfboards.
The surf mood was definitely up on a recent Saturday evening at Allora by Laura, the chic women’s boutique on Montecito’s Coast Village Road.
Owners and collectors Laura Dinning and her daughter, T.J Harlin, were hosting the launch of fine art photographer Bobbi Bennett’s newest project, Stoked Surfboards. With music, a full bar and food service by neighboring Los Arroyos, the store was rocking a Hang Ten vibe.
The over-the-top and out-the-door crowd was as colorful and varied in age and styles as the surfboards on display throughout the shop.
For the last two years, Bennett has been using surfboards to marry her longtime love of surf culture with her practice of using resin finish in her art.
Inspired by surfing icons, board shapers like Steve Brom and Santa Barbara’s Al Merrick, and companies such as Channel Islands Surfboards here and Rockin Fig’s in Huntington Beach, Bennett hunts for surfboards of all sizes to use for her photography.
“It’s a very labor-intensive process and takes weeks to find boards, figure out the right image and then send it to Los Angeles for the finish of a thick shiny resin,” she told Noozhawk.
The finished boards can be mounted on a wall or stood upright. Although her art may be inspired by the ocean, the boards are not meant to be used in it.
One of the highlights of the collection — which was garnering the most buzz and highest price tag — was donated by Montecito resident Bruce Johnston of Beach Boys fame.
Johnston grew up in Santa Barbara and surfed many local beaches, including Miramar. He commissioned Bennett to design a long board that included a photo of himself as a child. She added an additional photo of her own that she took at Rincon.
The surfboard has a special significance as it was found after the 2018 Montecito flash flooding and debris flows. Johnston signed and donated it for the party.
Bennett’s exhibit runs through July 18 at Allora by Laura, at 1269 Coast Village Road. Click here for more information about Stoked Surfboards.
— Judy Foreman is a Noozhawk columnist and longtime local writer and lifestyles observer. She can be contacted at news@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.