OCEANSIDE — Oceanside native Jeffrey Calkins always has a pen and paper handy.
While a chef by trade, Calkins, 53, is an artist at heart, and can often be found sketching at his family’s small dining room table, which now serves as his de facto work station.
The kitchen-table studio is surrounded by stacks of paper filled with intricate and often humorous depictions of scenes from everyday life, including campouts, monster truck rallies, restaurants, skateboarding and surfing competitions, among others.
Despite only recently returning to work as a cook after undergoing back surgery two years ago, Calkins’ art production remains prolific, whipping up sketches in just minutes whenever he’s not cooking for guests at El Camino Country Club in Carlsbad.
“If I get an idea, I jot it down or draw it real quick,” he said. “It could be an object, person or title. The more I put on the paper, the better I feel. I don’t just scribble. I get to the point and try to be as detailed as possible. When I finish a project and I’m detailed as possible, it’s rewarding for me.”
Calkin primarily works in pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic, and pastel, and describes his artistic approach as meticulous, meant to evoke an emotional response, especially a smile or a laugh.
“If I can make the viewer happy, at least give them a smile or a giggle, that’s part of my goal,” he said.
Calkins comes from a long line of artists. His grandmother, Gloria Calkins (formerly Killingsworth), painted backgrounds for Walt Disney animation in the 1940s. His father, Jerry Calkins, was a designer and illustrator who later became a well-known surf photographer.
After working as a roofer, Jerry Calkins shot photos for Surfer magazine and Breakout, filling thousands of Kodachrome slides with action shots of legendary wave riders Joey Buran, Tom Curren, Witt Rowlett (Witt’s Carlsbad Pipelines), Dale Dobson and Donald Takayama, among countless others.
The family also counted surf journalists among close friends, including former North County Times editor Robert Yehling.
Jerry Calkins died two and a half years ago after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease, with Jeffrey and his mother doing their best to care for him at home despite his rapid decline. After his death, more than 200 surfers attended a celebration of life in Oceanside.
“It was like a 1980s surf reunion,” Jeffrey Calkins said.
Calkins grew up on the beach and surfed competitively at Carlsbad High School alongside future pro surfer Taylor Knox and Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White. He had sponsors and competed regularly before chronic ear issues closed that chapter for good.
“I was almost a pro surfer, pro bodyboarder,” he said. “My doctor said if you want to keep your hearing, stay out of the ocean. I was 17. My career was over.”
Calkins’ art career has included murals in private homes, holiday window paintings and a 1993 logo design for an Oceanside mako shark tournament. He once submitted 200 single-panel comics to the San Diego Union-Tribune, pitching a series he called “The World Around Us.”
Influenced by Norman Rockwell and Gary Larson’s “The Far Side,” he hopes to publish a coloring book or art collection and said a company in Hawaii has expressed interest in bringing him out for an ’80s and ’90s surf film project.
He lives in Oceanside with his mother and his daughter, Jasmine, 22, who recently completed forensics training and hopes to become a police officer.
Today, he balances cooking with creating and still aims to make viewers smile.
“I can do my art all day long, every day,” he said. “I’d like people to recognize my work and see the humor I can produce.”
Follow Calkins on Instagram at @jeffcalkins71 or contact him at [email protected].
