Remember When...

..you were different, a rebel, or thought it was cool to wear a Harley shirt?



From the Pre-Evo era. I bought this one at the Orange County M/C swap meet around 1979-80.





A friend of mine (not pictured) had this one. This design was being sold around the same time as the one above. In case you can't make it out, it's a big Harley tattooed arm squeezing three little cartoon (and not very flattering), Japanese dudes. Their hats read, Honda, Suzuki, and the other either said Yamaha or Kawasaki ? (from the Harley Porn photo page)





I thought this one was funny and wore it until it was a tattered rag. I believe it's dated 1988. Acid wash and graphics certainly date it.



I'm sad to say, I pretty much stopped wearing factory shirts about 10 or so years ago. It felt like it went from cool to bandwagon way before that. I just don't dig to be lumped in with the stereotype image of today's Harley rider or how corporate or marketed it's all feels. Most of the new shirt's designs aren't my style to boot.



Now don't go thinking I'm ALL anti the Factory or new bikes. Sometimes I cut them slack and sometimes I don't. Maybe it's just because "Nothing's Cool Anymore"!!

Don't Chrome It, Collage It!

For a totally different custom look, recycle those old magazines.


You could do a whole bike like this ....or, not.

Mike Likes It

Howdy, I was just checking out your blog and was in there for a long time checking out all your stuff. I also draw bike cartoons and used to paint bikes for Denver's Choppers on E. St. in old Berdoo. I have been drawing cartoons for some of the local motor cycle clubs in the area and wanted to share a couple with you. Keep up the good work and I hope you dig my art.

Respect, Mike Mafufa of Berdoo

We dig it. You've probably seen and admired Mike's art and old photos on the Church of Choppers blog. Not only is he (like most of us), a Roth fan, turns out he's also a fan of Pete Millar. Mike's artwork has a style of it's own, but kind of reminds me of Stanley Mouse.

A photo of Mike from the COC blog. I really dig this type of classic chop.

Last Saturday

I went over to the Gasoline Gallery for their annual art and street show (California Screaming 6). Maybe it was because I got there around 3 p.m. and the show started at noon, but compared to other years, there wasn't much left in the way of cool cars or bikes.

Is it a Harley, an Indian?... nope, a Rikuo! I've been meaning to do a post on them for a long time. Other than the Rikuo and the Shovel (way back in the distance), there weren't any other cool bikes to be seen.


I figured since there wasn't much happening outside, inside would be the same, and that would make it easy to photograph and look at art.... wrong. It was crowded and LOUD! so I only took a quick look around and split.


Overall I didn't see as much as usual that I liked.


This one stood out on that wall. The red dot signifies it's sold.


Ink on scratch board. There's a lot of work involved here.


Interesting but, not quite sure I get it?


This one was fun.


There's aways a lot of wacky monster stuff.

The art generally seemed very reasonably priced. It made me wonder how some of the artist could justify the time doing them and letting them go so cheap. Especially considering galleries sometimes get 50%.

I probably didn't hang for more than 15-20 minutes. Since I wasn't 'feeling' the hot rod beatnick crowd, it was time to blast over to The Garage Co. for Born-Free Night. I knew I'd be much more comfortable around bikes and bike people.


Small groups of bikers came and went for another night of Knucklehead gawking and barbecue munching.


Grant proving it runs....


.... and Kiyo proving it rides.


The evening ended with a raffle. Some lucky Son of a Gun won the Bear Co. seats. Claimed he never wins anything.

Lucky 13?

Have a nice day!

Was it Bad Luck? Google messed up last night. You notice how all the blogs (including mine), lost their most recent post? art: modified Roth decal

Finally!

I like to keep it just about MotorCycles, but...

B.P. Chopper Sculpture

After seeing the post on Greg Parigian's chopper sculpture, Bruce Parrish sent me some pics of the one he did for his father. It was based on and done when he finished his first build back in 1971. Bruce says, "It's 9.5" long and about 4" high at the sissy bar tip... and, yes, those are nails as well as washers, nuts and bolts, plus a few welding rods".


Bruce added, "Maybe I should go back to this form of art. Things happen way quicker".

Kool Knievel Art

Kolorized art from the H-D museum.

WTDWA 79 XL II

Garage Co. Evel Knievel Replica

Evel never had one this pretty. It's making me take a second look at my '72 XLCH. Maybe one day...?

G.P. Chopper Sculptures

Greg Parigian and I were friends in junior high. Until about 6 years ago, I hadn't seen or talked to him since 1969. If you scroll down in the right column, you'll find a picture of us on our chopped stingrays that was once used for this blog's header. Greg sent a couple of emails with photos the other day. The text below is combination of them explaining the chopper sculptures he made in the 70's.

"Back in the early 70's I made some Harley chopper sculptures. I was selling and trading them for Harley parts to Hells Angels and Satan's Slaves. I would sketch their bike and then make a sculpture of it.

I think I made about 50 of them, but only saved one. I would sign them by putting a "P" on the rear wheel. The sculptures where all about 18" long and 12" tall. They had no bolts or nuts in them, they were all just metal I bought in the metal yard. They were welded together with gas torch and do not remember if I ever brazed any of them.

I was living in Canoga Park at the time and one of my neighbors was a guy they called big Louie. He was then the president of the Satan's Slaves. He rode a really cool bike, a chopped Knucklehead with a extended springer. I made one of his bike that was really nice. Some of them were clear coated. I also made them for other club members. Some of these guys were really scary. But they always paid me or gave me what I wanted in trade. I almost collected enough parts to build a flathead 80". - Greg

Two degrees of separation. Here's a photo of Satan's Slave Louie. I think I grabbed it from the Satan's Crate blog and believe it's from a Easyriders in the 80's. -CK

Anybody out there seen or have or seen one of Greg's sculptures? If you have something like it, look for a "P" or "GP" on the rear wheel.

A Rare-it-"T" and the "Z" Man

When Bruce Parrish told me he still had a Dick Allen T-shirt, I told him he had to send some photos.

This may be the Holy Grail of vintage chopper T-shirts. I find it interesting that it says California. Perhaps, so Dick could use the same design no matter what city his shop might move to.

I'm not sure if this is a dark photo of the same shirt or a black one. Bruce designed Dick's lettering and drew the art. Joe Hurst said Dick looked like the Zig-Zag man and says he suggested using his head on the art, but Bruce said it was from a cigarette (I never heard of and can't recall the name), that Dick like to smoke. I have to admit, it looks like the Zig-Zag Man to me. Bruce, send me the name if you get a chance.

I don't know about the T-shirt art, but....

Update: Joe called and said the cigarettes that Dick smoked were (sounds like), Shebeedees or Zabedees). That's what Bruce had mentioned. When Bruce told me I did a search, but came up empty. I now found Azadbidi, a brand of bidi cigarettes. That's likely it. Bidis (pronounced bee-dees) are small hand-rolled cigarettes manufactured in India and other southeast Asian countries.

These are not Azadbibi, but show the type. Azad's usually have an elephant on the pack. Bidis are tobacco wrapped in tendu or temburni leaf . Traditionally they are tied with string and come in flavors, like chocolate, mango, vanilla, lemon-lime, mint, pineapple and cherry.

Happy New Year

Be careful today too. Hung over drivers are almost as bad as drunks.

Hardly David 3

Also from Choppers Magazine Nov. '69 issue. These cartoons are always signed Luke? As mentioned before, they look like they could be Ed Newtons work.

Mann Hunt

Every now and then I get questions from readers in regards to certain David Mann illustrations.

Here's the latest inquiry from Scott:
I have been watching MCArt for a couple of years. After a whole lot of searching, I thought you might be somebody to ask about a Mann illustration.

Somewhere, I came across one of his works which featured an orange bike in profile - as if on a drawing board, in the planning phase. I don't remember what kind of bike it was, just that it was in profile and there was a sketch of the exhaust along with it.

Does that ring any bells with you, or do you know where I might find an example of it? I haven't been able to find it anywhere.

Well, that put a bug up my butt since I knew I have it and had looked at it recently. The trouble was, what issue was it in?

I thumbed through some old issues and was puzzled why I couldn't find it. I then remembered I had a folder of saved samples of David Mann art from issues I had tossed.


I thought I'd share this one since it's a bit different from the more common bike scenes that David did. It's sort a playful dance between 2-d and 3-d with the art and the art process being being part of the still life. Dave like to incorporate these types of illusions in his art and did so from time to time, but it's also sort of a behind the scenes look at a bike he'd probably like to have built. It's a tight little bike, reminiscent of his own pan/shovel shown below.


The current owner restored Dave's bike to a slightly earlier version than how it looked when sold. Photo ripped from the Bikers, Hippies and Tattooed Freaks blog.

I don't know what month/year issue it's from since I tossed the rest of the magazine. I thought it was a shovel, but it turns out that the art bike has an Evo engine. That and since it's a stapled center spread, means it's likely from the mid to late 80's.

"Little Stevie" and "Coffin Pete" by David Mann

I especially love David Mann's early work, and love seeing artist's work that I've never seen before. So, when Joe Hurst first told me he had a original David Mann painting, I immediately thought, I can't wait to see it.

I was totally jazzed when he brought it along on our visit to the Wailing Wall.


Stevie is on the left and Pete is on the red bike. It's Pete of Pete's Panhead of Choppers Magazine Feb '69. Stevie made a deal with the devil and the devil cashed in early. Joe and his buddy Nez asked Dave to paint it.

I really dig Dave's work from this period. 1971 was the same year he started doing illustrations for Easyriders.

The painting has endured some stains over the years and Joe hoped it could be cleaned. I told him it was very likely painted with gouache (pronounced "gwash"), and since they are opaque watercolors it would probably bleed if any attempt at cleaning was made. I then added, if it can't be cleaned, it's still a totally cool piece to own.

Later, I suggested he contact Jacquie Mann to find out the media Dave used. He immediately called her and she confirmed it as gouache.


I can't leave things alone, so as an exercise/challenge , I did some Photoshop retouching.

I love night scenes. This is now one of my favorite David Mann pieces.

Friday's Funnies, Peanuts Gone Wild

Never mind the caption, I wonder if the art is authentic? Probably not.

Got Ticket?

Got mine. I'm not the type to say I'll win, but see it as a way to support the effort and cost these guys are putting out with the added benefit of a chance.

A Creative Artist

I've been out of town for more than a week with no TV or Internet, so I hadn't heard the sad news of Frank Frazetta's passing until today.

Frank's fame and influence went far beyond just fans of Comics, Fantasy, or Sci-Fi books. His art was featured on covers of heavy metal music, movie posters, and was often copied and painted on the hoods of cars, the side of Vans, and of course, MotorCycle gas tanks.


One of us. Frank relaxes on his '48 Panhead. Little did he know, one day his art would adorn many a chopper.


The "no swipes or photographs" statements makes his art that much more impressive. Early in my art training I remember being very disappointed to find out that most professional artist took photos or swiped images and traced their references.


Frank was a master of the human form. Based on his statement above, we'll cut him some slack on the bike.

Frank's passing marks another end of an era. He'll be missed by many.

Doctor's Orders?

I was out of town and also got sick so I haven't been very active with the blog.

A strict medicinal regiment for wellness.

So where does the image of a medicine man/witch doctor with Top Hat originate? The latest Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog", (set in New Orleans), features such a character as the villain.

The flip side is even cooler.

Mo better now.

Dave Willardson H-D Tank Art

Dave Willardson and Charles White III were friends and illustrators who teamed up at one time. They both played a big part in the revival of the airbrush for use in illustrations during the '70's. If you 're old enough, you may have had an album or two featuring their cover art. In 1980 they did 4 illustrations including the cover for the Harley brochure. Dave later went to work for Disney doing all the movie posters for their animated movies. He may still work for Disney.

The above art by Dave Willardson, one of the cooler illustrations from the 1980 H-D Brochure. These were the good old days. It's tough being an illustrator now. Today, almost nobody uses illustrations for music CD's, movie posters, print ads or brochures.