A new year, a new motorcycle painting......

Another motorcycle painting in progress! I took the reference photo of this bike at the Jim Kelly motorcycle run for Hunter's Hope several years ago.

Before the start of the run, bikers gather at a local plaza to check-in, fill out paperwork, get the route map, and just hang out until the official start. I always bring my camera to these gatherings- there is always a great assortment of bikes. Several members of the Buffalo Bills always participate, and Jim usually has a few celebrity friends along as well.

I always liked the photo that I took of this bike, with the leather jacket hanging off the handlebar and the helmet balancing on top. I hesitated to paint it initially......painting chrome is hard enough, especially in watercolor, but painting a leather jacket, too? I wanted to convincingly capture the chrome and metal effects of the bike, but at the same time paint the leather jacket and have it look so much like leather that you want to reach out and touch it. Using a different dark mixture for the leather than I use for the chrome proved to be the answer. I love how the leather is looking "worn"- just the effect I wanted.

The actual painting looks a lot darker than the photo. It's quite overcast today, and I really had to use a flash. Next time I'll use natural lighting.

Back to work!