Nov 12, 2025
An artist drawn to the water
Before the surfing moose, there was a skateboarding bear. Nearly 20 years ago, artist Jonas Claesson drew his first shredding animal for a friend on a whim. Today, wildlife wanders into nearly all of his work: Zebras get barreled, mountain goats carve, and wombats hang ten. Often the animals take up a tiny portion of the frame, resting and watching the horizon, dwarfed by the vast skies and coastlines that remind you what hitting the water is all about.
What draws us to Jonas’s art is that balance of movement and calm. His ink lines and watercolor landscapes capture the thrill of chasing waves and the connections we make with nature and each other along the way. Time speeds up and slows down in these little scenes of shared experience and every moment is worth protecting. It’s the same philosophy that guides Arc’s work.
“I hope my art inspires people to spend more time in nature and to appreciate what a gift the natural world is,” Jonas tells us. “If it can remind someone of how good it feels to be outside, to jump in the ocean, watch a sunrise, or just listen to the wind, then it’s done its job. I think art can reconnect us with that sense of wonder and gratitude for the simple, beautiful things that nature offers.”
Jonas grew up outside Stockholm and started surfing as a teenager on a rocky beach in Stenstrand that required a train ride and then a bus ride to reach. He moved from Sweden to Australia in 2002, lived by the shore, and never left. “Surfing has always been a compass in my life,” he says. “My art is deeply influenced by the sea and the time we spend in and around it.” He creates his art today from a beach town north of Sydney, where he still catches as many waves as he can.
This lifelong connection to the water shapes both Jonas’s work and his choice of partners, spanning clients like Patagonia and Columbia and conservation groups like Surfrider. “I feel really lucky to have collaborated with brands and organizations that care about the planet as well as business,” he says. “It’s rewarding to know that the work I create can support messages and companies that are trying to make a positive impact.”
As our way of saying thanks and a reminder of the adventures in store, anyone who reserves an Arc Sport this holiday season will receive a limited-edition signed and framed art print of your boat, drawn by Jonas in your selected color. Like the moose, otter, and pelican in the piece, we hope our all-electric, high-performance wake boat brings you and your loved ones together on the water in the new year.
