Once again we've smashed it at the Full Throttle Saloon!

In my fourth year of Bringin' out the Badness with my team of body painters, we let the paint fly at the 72nd annual Sturgis Black Hills Motorcycle Rally.   Body painting artists Lawren Alice (Philadelphia) and Georgette Pressler (West Palm Beach FL) along with photographer Noah Musher (Gallery ML) and model Lisa Greenberg (NY) and myself created magic last week, pulling together to create some timeless artwork and classic Sturgis masterpieces.

My top notch team of artists flew into Denver  and after the always necessary last minute supply run, we were ready for the 6 hour drive and a week of getting dirty!  When we first got to our cabins we realized that we were at the 72nd annual Sturgis Rally and we were bunking in cabin #72!  A good omen for the crazy week ahead of us.  We endured a dust storm, a hail storm and a thunderstorm but it only added to the shit storm of fun that we had at the Full Throttle! This year our host, The Full Throttle Saloon, was full of the unexpected high jinx that we were all looking forward to.  The unique combination of the classic Sturgis crowd, the camera crew of Tru TV and all the people hoping they would make it on TV for their 15 minutes of fame were all out, making it for crazy people watching! Travelers who come to Sturgis are definitely the element that makes our experience unique, people just being real and there to have fun and share a passion for biker life.  Our old friend "One Tooth Paul" visited us again to get another nice pair of boobies painted on his chest and we were happy to see our various awesome freak show friends!  We also made some new freinds this year like "Skulls" a true bad ass biker adorned with a multitude of skulls.  We also met "Aflac" the goose who would waddle around the Throttle in his awesome Goose biker vest dragging his leash behind him.

The Body Painting

The experience that we create in Sturgis at the Full Throttle Saloon comes in two forms body painting the crowd and painting a full body masterpiece.... every day.  Having a crew that is comfortable and talented enough to be able paint whatever is requested on demand from anybody that walks up is key! Women of Sturgis especially love to take off their top and rock out with a badass piece of artwork to ride out into the day and wear for the night!  We did some awesome corsets and a ton of custom designs for people like this biker mama that had her crew "The Dungrollers" logo painted on her to show her dedication to the crew she rides with! Those on the shy side go for painted tattoo designs on their arm or shoulder but still walk away feeling fantastic about their artwork.  Of course I had an opportunity to practice my chrome lettering when a lady told me she wanted an HD for Harley-Davidson to match her baby blue bike.  Framing the piece with tribal pin-striping was an addition she loved!

The Masterpieces

The other way we enjoy our artwork at the Full Throttle Saloon everyday is by creating an absolute scene by painting a full body masterpeice with a custom backdrop and a great prop like a sick bike.  As a crew, this is our opportunity to allow our imaginations run free and let our art add some atmosphere to the awesomeness of the Sturgis experience. This year we produced two collaboration pieces and a solo masterpiece of my own that follows with my continued interest in disusing the human figure into my fine art.  I wanted to take advantage of custom chopper builders Led Sled allowing me to rock out a design with one of their bikes creating a seamless piece titled "Impaler" where the human body emerges as she is part of the bike right down to the pin striping.   My favorite collaboration pieces were "She Devil"  as she definitely warmed up the rain storming day we had while painting her!  Our She Devil turned up the heat in her demon armor corset  posing with a custom bike - definitely was a crowd pleaser. Equally impressive was our "Day of the Dead" full body painting where we all took the opportunity to play with the traditional elements of the classic theme and add fun twists to the design.  The corset and nylons offered a fun surprise twist to the traditional style of art, creating a stunning collaborative piece that definitely popped for the crowd and the camera! Cleaning the dust, smoke and dirt of Sturgis bike week off ourselves and our kits is a whole other adventure!  Every year this event bring new artists, new challenges and brilliant works of art into my life, I am looking forward to what the future brings! Enjoy my short video compilation for additional behind the scenes footage!