"Gas Tank" Original painting 23" x 36" Brush-worked oil paints on canvas.
Mathew was a show unto himself as he rolled into the main street of Sturgis on his red custom bike and wearing his red and white striped shirt. Almost every finger bore a sterling silver ring, each one a custom design. Mathew is a custom bike builder and his originality shows in everything about him.
The large, chrome gas tank cover mirrored the American flag undulating in a steady breeze. An when Mathew sat down on his bike, he added his striking face to the reflection of blue sky and wispy clouds. Throughout this twenty minute photo shoot, men hovered and watched and asked Mathew about his bike.
In painting Gas Tank, I was faced with the challenge of which techniques to employ to show the different perspectives. The lettering of the sticker on the cover reads properly and so I painted it distinctly. The mirrored speed-limit numbers read backwards and so I merely hinted at them by using minimal paint. The morphed buildings I rendered like the clouds and the sky, very wet and very loose. Keeping the paint in paste form to depict Mathew and the flag ensured their significant presence on the canvas.
Manon Elder