Whilst down at R&B and waxing lyrical about Hawwa’s SR, Harley cleared his throat and said “wanna see something really pretty?” He steered me into a corner of the workshop, where a breathtaking Cafe’d-up CB 750 awaited me and Lola.

As an artist, and builder of several bikes, I found the proportions of this bike near perfect. Simple things like the placing of the headlight (often the mistake made is to mount it too high), were just right. ‘The Boss’, as the bike has been affectionately named, is the epitome of less is more, except when it comes to cylinders, where it has four (unlike many customs plying the streets of Sydney).

As subject matter goes, this bike really whet my appetite, and I couldn’t wait to paint the CB. So, after gaining clearance from Harley, I went to work harvesting DNA.

After painting the watercolour and tail-pipe carbon, Lola took it down to Harley, and R&B bought it. The Sump oil & tailpipe carbon awaits exhibition at my next show.

Below are some shots of the work (remember, I’m an painter, not a photographer.)

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A few weeks ago, I visited R&B Racing, down in Caringbah to collect some DNA from Mark Hawwa’s Stretched SR. Hawwa’s the brains behind Sydney Cafe Racers, and quite an influential character in the booming custom and cafe racer scene in Australia, and when he told me about his Yam SR Special track-bike, I just had to paint it.

When I first clapped eyes on it, I was a little shocked at the alarming red plastic mudguard, and wondered how on earth Roland Sands could have thought this bike was cool. But then Harley explained that the scrutineers on track day insisted that it had a rear fender – hence the pig ugly dirt bike addition.

The bike has an immensely long swing arm, which must give it amazing straight-line stability, but I can’t help wondering how it handles in the turns.

That said, it is a remarkably different looking bike, and ultimately, it created an amazing subject matter for one of my bloodbike paintings.  By the way, the painting is for sale.

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Aside from bikes and creating art, my ute is another one of my passions. It’s quite a special car – equipped with a 289 Mustang engine, it goes pretty well and makes a lovely burble. People often take shots of it, so I thought, “why not get the old lady working?” So here she is hard at work advertising my wares.

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Skip studied art and graphic design in England and, on leaving, became an art director working for some of the most revered ad agencies. Restless in London, he went in search of adventure, ending up as Creative Director in Australia’s top agencies. Over many years in commercial art,  Skip continued to paint, and over the past five years, has combined his love of art, ideas and motorbikes, culminating in the Blood Bike series.

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