Massive San Clemente mural puts spotlight on women surfers pushing bounderies

Though in black-and-white, the mural is meant to capture this shining moment for women in surf history.

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Women’s surfing is off the charts, with athletes pushing the level higher and higher. More surf fans, men and women, are following the females on the elite World Tour as they compete at the highest level.

And the building-size artwork that is nearly finished on Hotel Miramar in San Clemente pays homage to the world’s best who are in town this week for the Lexus Trestles Pro, the same surf spot where the LA28 Olympic venue will be held.

Artist Julie Engelmann, who lives in Northern California’s Half Moon Bay, was working on finishing touches this week of the portrait featuring the six female surfers: Caroline Marks, Molly Picklum, Sierra Kerr, Erin Brooks, Sky Brown, and Caity Simmers, most of whom call Southern California home.

The building’s canvas is 20 feet wide by 30 feet tall. Its painting took just over a week.

The mural is a collaboration with Red Bull Media House, which recently put out “Now Days,” a film that showcases the six surfers as they travel to remote places across the globe searching for perfect waves.

“It’s just such a cool time to capture this moment on a wall, and they’re all gonna become legends,” Engelmann said. “They already are.”

The movie, released earlier this year and produced by Surfside resident and former pro surfer Jodie Nelson, showcases how the women are rivals in the water, but have a camaraderie and respect for each other outside of the ocean.

“It is such an inspiring film and there’s never been anything made like that in women’s surfing,” Engelmann said, noting that the last all-girls surf film she can remember was “Leave a Message” released in 2011.

In t”Now Days,” the surfers take turns talking about each other while they travel the world for three years, searching for powerful waves and remote surf breaks in areas such as Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, Fiji, Tahiti, South Africa, California, Hawaii and El Salvador.

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“This time in women’s surfing is like none other right now. The progression is insane. The women have just excelled so much more,” said Engelmann, herself an avid surfer. “There’s more progression on the women’s side than there is on the men’s side right now. It’s just such a cool time in women’s surfing, and I was so inspired by the film that I really wanted to capture this moment in women’s surfing, and basically put a picture of this time, right now, on a wall that’s forever going to be there.”

Already, Marks, Brown and Brooks have been by to sign the mural, putting their own added touch to the piece.

“It’s really cool to have this mural here in San Clemente celebrating a group of generational talent that’s changing the sport of surfing,” said Marks, who moved from Florida to the beach town a decade ago.

“Now Days” represents the idea that “our time” is now, she said.

“With surfing continuing to grow and being on the Olympic stage, there’s such an exciting opportunity to make the sport more inclusive and inspire the next generation,” she said. “And I think that’s especially cool for San Clemente. The world stage is coming here in two years, so it’s really special to see the city celebrating surfing and the athletes who are helping shape its future. San Clemente has such a cool connection to surfing, and it’s awesome that the town is going to be part of such a huge moment for the sport.”

Simmers is showcased above the portraits riding a deep barrel, in her relaxed style as the cave of water bends over her body, while Kerr is shown boosting a big air above the wave, one hand grabbing the rail of the board, the other in the sky.

Each of the surfers’ country flags are below their portraits, no doubt several future LA28 Olympians among them.

It’s not the first ode to surfers painted on walls in the quaint beach town, with a mural project adding several in 2020 when surfing first made its debut in the Olympic Games.

Already, Marks and Simmers have surfed for Team USA, Brown earned bronze in skateboarding and is hoping for a double qualification with surfing, and Picklum surfed for Australia in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“It’s just a really cool time,” Engelmann said. “We also wanted to give a nod to the Olympics and these are all very high candidates.”

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