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ATLANTIC CITY - For most people, dark, gothic imagery and the bright, sun-splashed world of surfing aren't a natural mix.

But Ryan Buterick and Frank Consoli hope their Graveyard Atlantic black-and-white prints and T-shirts are unique enough to grab people's attention - and maybe some of their cash.

Buterick, 28, and Consoli, 30, met while waiting tables at a restaurant in 2000.

Consoli drew. His artwork featured gothic influences from horror comics and scary movies. Buterick read local history and wrote creatively for himself. They bonded over their mutual love of surfing. They eventually lost touch, but reconnected in 2006 and started Graveyard Atlantic.

The men say their imagery of surfing is perfect for those riding the waves in New Jersey.

"We have a cold, dark and short surf season," said Buterick, of Stafford Township. "It's not sunny and happy like California."

In southern New Jersey, the good waves for surfing come after the summer vacation ends, when it's colder and it becomes dark earlier, the duo said. They started combining images that included surfboards, waves and an unnamed skeleton character, who could be interpreted to represent death, in their artwork.

"We like doing it low key. We realize it's not for everybody," Buterick said.

Buterick added the local-history twist to Consoli's gothic and surf designs. Buterick suggested incorporating the Jersey Devil into one print, the Powhattan shipwreck of 1854, one of the worst in this state in terms of lost of life into another print, and the Mansion of Health hotel in Surf City, Ocean County, which burned down in 1874, into a third print.

All of their images can be transferred by silk screen onto T-shirts for $30. They also sell less- expensive screen-print shirts with artwork already on them for between $10 and $15.

Their prints and T-shirts can only be found at Auntie Anne's Pretzels Shop, 135 Michigan Ave., part of The Walk here. Consoli, a Galloway Township resident, is a part owner of the family business. Buterick works in the sales department of an elevator company.

Maggie O'Neill, president of the Ship Bottom Merchants Association, does walking ghost tours of Beach Haven. O'Neill is a fan of the Graveyard Atlantic T-shirts. She's worn them on tours, in her private life and has given them as gifts.

"I adore their stuff, quite frankly," said O'Neill, a Long Beach Island resident. "I have had so many people comment on them. They are artistic and unique."

Besides visiting the pretzel shop in person, the Graveyard Atlantic artwork can be seen at www.gyasurf.com

Contact Vincent Jackson:

609-272-7202

VJackson@pressofac.com

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