Bikers have always intrigued me as models, maybe because of their wild and free nature. But until last summer I haven’t had the occasion to get pictures of any of these guys so that I might paint them. At our July ’18 MPA Paint Out, some of us were camped at a campground on Rock Creek, south of Red Lodge, MT.

Deb and I went out painting the last day and came back that night to a campground devoid of artists, or women, except us – in our tiny little campers. The campground had been taken over by bikers getting ready for the Beartooth Rally! Initially, this was a little disconcerting, but by morning we had had some great conversation with a few of the guys camped next to us. Several of them were also nice enough to let me get some good photographs.

I confess I did do some editing of the vest patch verbage, and did try to make my painting a little more generic than my original photos. The subject was great fun and I found a little looser style when doing this painting! I hope to continue in that direction. “Through Rose Colored Glasses” is an oil, 36×24.

#figurativepainting, #bikers, #redlodgemontana, #beartoothrally, #montanapaintersalliance