Shane Egan

Always a nature lover, always an artist and- since the early sixties, always a surfer. Shane Egan is a part of a rich Oz surfing history.

Seventies surf decal, airbrush artist & surfboard designer Shane Egan was born in Sydney, Australia in 1952 and raised among the bushy waterways of Pittwater, behind Sydney’s Northern Beaches. His father was a pioneer diver and his mother a gifted artist. In 1958 the family moved to Narrabeen- New South Wales’ surfing epicentre.

Based at Narrabeen and Warriewood Beaches, Shane and younger brother Dale (inspirational, standout surfer of the 70’s) cruised the strip between Palm Beach and Manly in their psychedelic painted Austin A40.

In the latter part of the 60’s Shane began designing surfrider club logos, t-shirts and surfboard decals. After travelling up and down the coast, selling hand drawn decals, Shane settled at the Coolangatta end of the Gold Coast in 1972.

Having learned the professional art of silk-screen printing and making a freelance living designing Surfboard decals, in ’73 discovered his affinity with the Airbrush.

By the end of the 70’s he had designed or hand colour separated virtually all of the NSW and Qld board decals and air brushed for many of the legendary board shapers up and down the Oz coast.  Shane also made his presence across the seas producing many early board decals for the NZ surfing community.

While the Gold Coast grew Shane became more attracted to the frosty shores of New Zealand and exotic Bali. As a nomadic surf artist & board designer he had the honour and pleasure of working with many of the great shapers and characters of that era including Joe Larkin, Keith Paull, Peter Drouyn, NN Col Smith, Barry Bennett, Chris Crozier, Ron Wade, Peter Crawford, Brian Austin, Peter Townend, Richard Harvey, Michael Peterson, Bob McTavish, Mark Richards, Gill Glover, “Rabbit” Bartholomew, Geoff Darby, Don Burford, Neal Purchase and Alan Byrne, in Australia, and Kingsley “KKK” Kernovske, Paul Shanks and Bob Davies, in New Zealand, to mention just a few.

Inspired by the writings of Tolkien and blended with a surfing life, Shane created a distinct style of art he describes as Surreal Fantasy and is always in perfect harmony with nature. From coastal tree-houses to futuristic palaces on remote, swell-drenched headlands; fantasy characters doing battle with tube dragons; space surfers riding gravity waves and sultry mermaids looking wistfully into empty cylinders- this was the Utopian Dream of the 70’s.

In 1985, Shane made a committed move to the South Pacific Islands with wife Chrissy (daughter of Kirra’s surfing/sailing legend Johnny Charlton) and here they raised their son Chas and daughter Hayley. Living on the beach in front of a pass in the fringing reef there’s still not a day goes by when Shane doesn’t check the surf.