Free Bird – Oil – 30 x 40 inch
On one of my frequent travels through the Black Hills of South Dakota I came across this woman and her partner riding their Harley Davidsons. Usually I am there on a Harley myself but this time I was just briefly visiting friends and driving a rental car. Their route was the same as mine and I followed them from Lead to Deadwood to Sturgis where our paths diverged.
By this time I was in total agony. I so badly did not want to be in a car! I SO wanted to be her and ride that bike that it was hurting physically. At that moment I decided that I had to paint her. In this painting I poured everything that motorcycle riding means to me. My whole heart and soul and longing is contained in this one picture. I must have unconsciously mixed her image with my own because everyone thinks this is a self-portrait.