2017 Harley Davidson CVO Street Ride

This painting stretched my abilities the moment I put brush to canvas. Since starting my journey as a car artist, I have been a fan of reflections. This is especially true with the abstract reflections in chrome. I started on this journey to be a fine vehicle artist in October 2014. Reflections are what drew me into the world of car art. Throughout this time, I’ve had requests to paint a motorcycle, but had been apprehensive due to the incredible difficulty of conveying them properly. Motorcycles are mind boggling with abstract lines, curves, and a large array of colors.

I was given the opportunity to visit our local Harley Davidson by doing a live painting event for charity. I had never painted live, but felt that this was a good reason to get out of my shell. Before the event, I visited with their Marketing Coordinator. I also brought my camera and was allowed to spend a while photographing bikes.

When I saw this 2017 CVO Street Glide in the showroom, I asked if I could take it outside to photograph in the sun. I loved the curves of the exhaust pipes and the flames on the gas tank. Once outside, I knew THIS was my first bike to put onto canvas. It was going to be incredibly tough, but I would see it through. At the writing of this post, this has been my most challenging painting to date.

I’m very happy with the outcome of my first motorcycle painting. This piece pushed me in new areas, and I am thankful for all I’ve learned. I will definitely be painting more motorcycles in the future to help me grow artistically.

NOTE: This painting image is included in the Lunar Codex project heading to the Moon in 2022-2024. You can read about it HERE. 

Available through The Kessler Collection Grand Bohemian Galleries https://grandbohemiangallery.com/artist/shan-fannin