Peggy Oki
oil paint on canvas, 2018
16” X 20”
Peggy E. Oki is an American skateboarder, surfer, artist, and environmental activist. She was an original member of the Z-Boys and competed with the Zephyr Competition Team in the 1970s. She was the only female member of the Z-Boys.
Since her skating days with the Z-Boys, Peggy Oki went on to UC Santa Barbara to study environmental biology, eventually receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Painting at The College of Creative Studies (UCSB). (She got around campus, primarily by skateboard.). The theme of her paintings reflect the landscapes, seascapes, and marine mammals that she loves. With her more recent activity of rock climbing, she includes images from her climbing trips to Joshua Tree, SE Utah, and Yosemite National Park.
Still surfing, now for over 40 years, she’s travelled to Fiji, Mexico, South Africa, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Japan, and Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand , Australia, and Costa Rica.
She has a greeting card business representing her artwork, teaches art and her Whales & Dolphins Ambassador Program, and occasionally freelances in graphic design. As a fine artist she’s exhibited in over 40 group exhibitions, and more than a dozen one-woman exhibitions.