"Art Nouveau Harley-Davidson"

Oil on Canvas 27 1/2" x 42"

This piece has been knocking around the studio for quite a while. Intrigued by Alphonse Mucha's use of heavy delineation to flatten the figure, I decided to see if I could update it with the help of my Ultra Classic Harley-Davidson and my model Stephanie. The painting was quite a departure for a staunch realist like me. It is certainly unique. That 1997 wine berry and charcoal paint scheme on the bike was a knockout. I learned, too, that I am way too lazy to own a bike with white walled tires.

"Harley-Davidson"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 8” x 10”

So much for taking it easy after my operation.  The painting you see here may prove to be what is known in artistic parlance, as a "unique" -  a unicorn, dodo bird, an Ivory-billed woodpecker, the last of its kind.  I don't know what possessed me to undertake such a painting other than my love of motorcycles and needing to ramp up the wow factor after my being away from the easel.  Do I like this painting?  Most definitely.  Would I do another one? I'm not sure.  Although I am delighted with the finished product, the application of paint was tedious; observe, mix, dab, repeat.  No subtle glazes and bravado brushwork, merely precise placement of just the right color. Wearing an opti-visor and using 1/8th inch filberts and a lining brush is really not my thing.  I am and have always been about the creative process, not necessarily the final product. If the process is good the resulting product will follow suit.  Perhaps that is why I like painting people and animals. There is room for the brush to interpret. Maybe painting inanimate objects isn't in me.  I have always been a figure and portrait painter.  I like my work looking back at me as I go along.  OK, maybe oysters don't exactly gaze out of the canvas, but you get my drift.  So enjoy the Harley.  Which is all I can do with my own Harley - look at it, as I am not allowed to lift it off the side stand for another 4 weeks.  I couldn't have had my appendix out in the dead of winter.

"Harley Davidson Softail"

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Oil on achieval, museum quality 1/8" panel - 6" x 6"

In the words of Monty Python: “And now for something completely different!”- I give you the "Harley-Davidson Softail." What many of you may not know is that I am an avid motorcyclist. I started out on a Yamaha RD80 when I was 14, hill climbing in the field behind my house, then on the street with an RD250, Honda CB360 and Suzuki GS850. A vintage Vespa was my sole form of transportation during my "starving artist" period, and the fascination with scooters has lasted up to the present. I recently got rid of my totally restored 1966 SS180 and am trying to make room in the garage for a pair of GTS 250s. I got bitten by the Harley-Davidson bug back in 95 and my poor wife has been a Harley widow ever since. There are few things more beautiful than the classic lines of a Harley. If I could keep my bike inside my studio, I would. My computer name has been Hogadams for years.
I went to the Mid-Atlantic Motorcycle Show this past weekend and the place was teeming with a dazzling array of chrome and steel. From old classic scoots to high dollar customs there was much to see and photograph. Painting the reflections through the red windshield of this Softail was fun, as was the sparkling highlights of a thousand lights bouncing off the highly polished chrome and deep black cherry paint.

As I type this it is 21° outside. Even riding a dresser with electric handgrips and an electric vest, I am afraid Betty (my Ultra) will have to be content with my visits to the garage to stare at her beauty and polish her chrome. I hate Februarys...sigh.