DAVE GAYDA

I was born in 1961 in Surrey, England, the third child of Aleksy and Patricia Gayda. My Polish father settled in this country after spending four years in German prisoner of war camps during World War II. At the age of 20 I joined the London Fire Brigade and have worked in the East End of London for the last 25 years.

My passions in life are surfing, wavesailing and painting. I have been fascinated with the latter as far back as I can remember, spending most of my school years in the Art rooms. I think surfing has always been in my blood, but the opportunity to discover the sport only happened in my early 20s.

My love of firefighting, during my early years in the brigade, inspired me to produce several paintings based on my experiences. One such painting, published by the brigade, was used in a smoke detector campaign in the early 90s. However, most of my work revolves around the sea.

In 1993, a year after my father died, I married Jayne, and before long we had two beautiful children, Aleksy and Megan.

My children, growing up on beaches and in the sea, both share our love of the ocean. Aleksy, at the age of 12 is a sponsored wavesailor with a very promising future in the sport. Megan, his younger sister, is following quickly in his footsteps.

During the last few years I have focussed my passion of painting on my love of the sea and waves. Sometimes it feels that I am surfing as I brush the surface of the canvas. My paintings have now been displayed and sold at a number of galleries and exhibitions, and have collectors both in this country and abroad.