2000, 48″ x 36″, acrylic on canvas
aka "Big Red Chief"
It started in October on a beautiful Indian summer day. In Oregon, that kind of day is rare, especially in autumn. So, I called my buddies at Indian Motorcycle of Portland and asked them if they had a bike I could borrow for the afternoon. They were kind enough to offer me anything on the floor, and a hot red Indian Chief caught my eye. I wanted to take one of those out for a spin for quite a while, and the day and the opportunity were perfect. After loading the camera and equipment in the saddlebags, the Chief and I made our way to a fantastic Portland park with a pristine lake. So after shooting a couple of good rolls of film, I had reference material for Indian Summer – the fifth painting from my motorcycle series.
INDIAN SUMMER is undoubtedly the most well-known painting from my iconic American motorcycle series, first appearing on the cover of Airbrush Action magazine in April 2001 for my article “A Study in Chrome and Reflected Surfaces.”
Private collection, Indianapolis, IN
Currently on tour with the LUSTER: Realism and Hyperrealism in Contemporary Automobile and Motorcycle Paintings Exhibition.
Since Indian Summer’s creation in the autumn of 2000, the original artwork has been showcased throughout the United States, starting with the Gallery in the Square in Beacon, NY, in 2001.
Luster Exhibition
Since 2018 the original Indian Summer painting has been showcased in nearly twenty major museums throughout the United States, including; the Museum Of Arts And Sciences (MOAS), Dane G. Hansom Memorial Museum, and the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, The Evelyn Burrow Museum, Saginaw Art Museum, Sangre De Cristo Arts & Conference Center, Haggin Museum, The Morris Museum of Art, The Michelle and Donald D’Amour Museum Of Fine Arts, The Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art, Art Museum of South Texas, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, the Museum Of The Rockies, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum, and the National Corvette Museum.