Artist Ed Obermeyer’s booth has been a fixture at the annual Neptune Festival Art and Craft Show for years. Obermeyer said he’s lost count of how many shows he’s participated in but insists it’s over 30.

Last year, he arrived at the festival site at 5 a.m. to avoid road closures from the Grand Parade and Neptune’s 8K race. He had several hours before the show, so he suited up in his surf gear, grabbed his waterproofed camera and went off into the waves to get the shot of a lifetime.

“As luck would have it, the weather was perfect with minimal light, offshore winds and a clean waist high swell,” Obermeyer said. “Getting a clear shot when you are treading water for hours and everything is in motion is no joke.”

He snapped many shots looking toward the beach through the glassy waves and barrels with views of the art tents, hotels and Surf and Rescue Museum.

Obermeyer is this year’s Neptune Festival poster artist, and his design was inspired by one of those early morning photographs.

“It was a serendipitous gift mother nature delivered,” he said. “I still can’t get over how it happened.”

His illustration features his abstract and pattern style in a painting that shows a breaking wave as seen from the shore at the predawn hours of last year’s Neptune Festival. The painting shows the sky transitioning from cool blue to peach with Obermeyer’s trademark figure-eight swirl patterns.

“I wanted the viewer to feel the power and clarity of the ocean at that time of the day as well as the presence of Neptune himself on the wall overlooking the scene of the art show on the Boardwalk with the hotels in a line,” he said.

Obermeyer taught art in Virginia Beach Public Schools for 34 years, and his subject matter has focused on the oceans of the world. His style typically includes intricate patterns created from dots and lines.

“Ed has been participating in the Neptune Festival Art & Craft Show since almost the very beginning, and we absolutely love his beautiful surf style, with incredible attention to detail,” said Kit Chope, Neptune Festival president and CEO. “The story of how this piece of art came to be during last year’s Neptune Festival is especially fun. We are just thrilled with how it turned out, and we can’t wait to see it showcased on the boardwalk this year.”

Posters can be purchased online at www.neptunefestival.com or at the Neptune Festival poster and merchandise booth on the Boardwalk at 24th Street during Boardwalk Weekend. Obermeyer’s booth can be found on the boardwalk at 30th Street.

The 51st Annual Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend will be Sept. 26 to 28. The festival will include the art and craft show, International Sandscultping Championship, volleyball tournament, concerts, Dock Dogs, Grand Parade, Family Fun Zone and many more family activities.

If you go:

What: 51st Annual Neptune Festival Boardwalk Weekend

When: Friday, Sept. 26 to 28

Where: 2nd-35th Streets on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk

Info: Go to www.neptunefestival.com for full schedule

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