Guitars and Motorcycles!

What do guitars and motorcycles have to do with fine art?

Well, I personally consider them both to be sources of artwork and I’m sure the craftsmen that make Gibson, Fender, Ducati, Aprilia and other such brands would agree.

Consider all the posters designed that have these elements in them. Recently, I decided to create a series of posters featuring guitars and motorcycles.
Here’s on e of the first guitar inspired posters.

 If you would like to purchase a print, canvas, card or other version of this image you can click here and it will take you to a page to order from.

What about motorcycles, you say?

As it turns out, I’ve done a poster image of a motorcycle as well. Check this out…..

If you would like to purchase a print, canvas, card or other version of this image you can click here and it will take you to a page to order from.

There are other guitar versions I’m working on in between playing them!  New motorcycle coming soon…here and to me personally.

Fine Art Sale! Click on the image below and you will be taken to my fine art representative site!

Flaming June commissioned?

A few months ago a friend told me about a painting his fiance absolutely loves and he wanted to know if it was something I could reproduce so he could surprise her with a special gift.

This was quite a project and I now have a lot more understanding of what these classic painters went through in order to realize a vision.

The original painting is 47″ x 47″ oil on canvas and resides in a museum of art on Portugal. The story goes that it was originally auctioned for an asking price of $170 which no one wanted to pay so it stay with the auction house until a museum employee saw the painting and offered $10,000 for it has been safe and sound since then.

Here’s the original:

 

As you can see, there is a tremendous amount of attention to detail and it took him nearly two years to complete this piece.

I was asked to make my reproduction in a brighter orange and I did my version in approximately six weeks.

All it took was 1/200th of a second

I happened to be watching a 125 GP motorcycle race recently that took place in San Marino. Motorcycles are one of my passions and I did race a 888 Ducati for a couple of seasons. Just club racing, not pro but a hell of a lot of fun.

Anyway, this race was between two very fast 125 cc Grand Prix race bikes and one of them was a “seasoned” winner and one of them had never gotten on the podium either as a race winner, second or third place.

As the race wound down to the final three laps the two of them traded 1st and 2nd places around the 2.4 mile track a number of times playing cat and mouse for the last few minutes. Great fun to watch.

The final lap was sensational because they each were very capable of passing one another at certain areas of the track and they each were very aware of each others talents and resolve to win.

On the last two turns before the straight to the checkered flag the racer who had never won a race pulled in front of the veteran and it looked like he was the sure winner. It looked like he was a winner as well to him as he came on to the straight and looked behind to see his rival on his tail and watched as he slip streamed out to actually win by 1/200th of a second. I paused the screen and took this photo to show how close it was.

Just when you think you're the winner...you're not!

I watched as the beaten man pounded his tank in disgust knowing he had failed to win by such a small margin. I don’t proclaim to know everything there is about racing but everyone I’ve spoken to including the famed Keith Code always said to keep your head down and look forward for a number of reasons. Foremost because the effect the body has on speed when you raise it up in the air as this racer did. The body acts like a sail and cuts into your speed as the wind hits it.

I believe the man who came in second could have won if he had just kept his head down and allowed his bike to keep the speed it had to run a certain win to the checkered flag and his very first Grand Prix Podium first Place win!

So, I guess this could be taken as an excellent metaphor here as well. Those who win generally keep their head down and eye on the goal and don’t allow distractions to get in the way. One would hope this second place racer has learned a very valuable lesson.

 

3,000 people are about to bid on this painitng

Burning Desire - oil on canvas - 24 x 36

Back to Art

Well, it’s time to paint again. It’s a very strange thing to be going along and then one day like a bolt of lightning it hits me that I need to create more art.

I’ve decided to do a series of paintings that I’ve had as digital ideas for a few years and stop wondering what I should do next. Just do the art and get back into the “habit” of being a fine artist. That feels like a healthy idea and a very productive thing at this point of my life.

This is the first image I’ll be working on. Let me know what you think. I call it TV-Cows! It’s based on a photo I took in Aruba. This cow sculpture was sitting on top of a restaurant with a antenna sticking out of the top of it. Strangely amusing!

TV-Cows

Why is fine art referred to as ‘fine’ art ?

why is it called “fine” art? I imagine one day a man walked by an artist and looked at his painting and said, “wow, that’s fine, I’ll buy it.”

Why do you think fine art is called fine art and not cool art or real art or nice art?

Who is the coolest person? – Dean Martin

Just take a break and think about who you think is or was the coolest person that comes to mind.

I was just listening to a couple of Dean Martin tracks and I imagine he must’ve been known around town as one of the coolest guys for so many reasons.

He was a man’s man as well as was always seen with some of the most beautiful women to ever grace our planet.

He drove very cool cars. Sang tunes with the greatest of ease and was very funny. His Variety show was a hit for years and he always seemed to be having the time of his life with his guests and regulars.

Dino in a moment enjoying a smoke and probably listening to a fresh track.

Who is the coolest person you remember?

What Inspires You to Create?

Sometimes I wonder what inspires people to do creative things. Is it going somewhere new? Discussing a topic of great interest to you? Remembering inspiration from the past?

I always seem to get inspired when I see other artist’s work. Going to galleries and seeing something so new and fresh really gets me inspired. The other day I was walking down Ventura Blvd and went into a gallery near Laurel Canyon Blvd and the artist there had a very creative combination of images and typography. For example; a silkscreen of the American Express card with the card name “American Excess” done as the logo on the card. Quite a statement.

Beauty inspires me. People in photographs or paintings or just very aesthetic surroundings.

The Mountains above Park City, Utah

Thank goodness my iPhone takes very good photographs. This was taken from my car.

What inspires you?

Freedom is a Lovely Thing

Don’t forget to celebrate our freedom this 4th of July, 2011.
Here’s to you all,

Barry Shereshevsky