Ryan Quickfall Exhibition

Our good mate and regular contributor Ryan Quickfall is having his first UK solo show in his home town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The show opens at the The Toffee Factory in the Ouseburn area with a preview show on Friday, then open on Satruday and Sunday.
For more info go to Unit 44 Gallery. G

New Stuff in the Shop

The Sideburn shop is mainly full of stuff we've produced, but we also stock items made by people we really like. Here are two examples.

We have a new print by Ryan Quickfall. He designed it, screen-printed it himself and then signed and numbered it. It is beautiful quality and we don't have many. The Demon Flat Track print is £30 plus post.

We also have a long-awaited re-stock of the Maxwell Paternoster sketch book, that is published in Spain. It's great, but I have to hide mine so my daughter doesn't colour it in... £20 plus post. We have even fewer of these...

See these items and much more at the Sideburn webshop. Support the independents! G

Supercars made from Scrap

Off-topic, but too good not to share. Incredible full-size works of art made by Polish artists from scrap car parts. Blowing my tiny mindholes. G

Via Colossal

Hot days in camp

Today marks the start of the 2016 Wheels and Waves festival in Biarritz (GI's there already). Here's a little advice for those camping. Of course, these tips can be used for any camping situation. Don't forget your pyjamas. MP
As taken from Camping and Camp Crafts (1959) by Gordon Lynn, illustrated by Ernest Kurt Barth.

Hair to die for

These cheery fellas were understandably keen to join the Sideburn skull parade. Spotted in the basilica of Sant'Agostino in Rome (known mainly for its Caravaggio), they're from the 1740s and were skulpted (ahem, thank you) by Pietro Bracci from a design by Paolo Posi. Unusual to see such well-coiffed death's heads, and the wing feathers are pretty fine, too. MP

Church of Choppers/ FTWCo Hauler

Church of Choppers/ FTWCo have a new bike hauler and Jeff Wright, the founder of CoC, co-founder of FTWCo and builder of stunning motorcycles, hadpainted a Bultaco desert racer on the hood (bonnet).

Read Ryan Quickfall's interview of Jeff Wright in Sideburn 19.

FTWCo also have a new T-shirt, also with artwork by Jeff, of his own toolbox. Nice to see a Sideburn sticker on there. G

Ronin #2:

More Ronin. Here is part of a press release from the Denver company.

Ronin Motor Works is pleased to announce the completion of four special Ronin Art Motorcycles within their series of 47 production bikes. The designs of these motorcycles were developed in collaboration with local Denver, Colorado artists. Each bike is painstakingly hand painted or etched in the style of the artist. Ronin Motor Works plans to auction these bikes publicly this summer, save for one that has already been sold, but inquiries by collectors can be made prior to by emailing info@roninmotorworks.com. 
Ronin Motor Works is nearing the completion of their build of 47 custom motorcycles. To date, over half of the motorcycles built have been sold. More details on the color schemes and specifications of these motorcycles can be found via their website at www.the47.com

Ronin #2 is the final motorcycle in the series and the paint scheme was designed by local Denver illustrator Samuel Lee Turner. Mr. Turner studied traditional Japanese illustration and tattoo art to accomplish his design. The artwork depicts the Samurai Teraoka Nobuyuki, who was the only warrior in the 47 Ronin clan who remained alive after they enacted revenge on the Lord who disgraced their master. The leader of the 47 Ronin, Oishi Yoshio, requested that Teraoka watch over the spirits of his fallen comrades, depicted as Tengu mountain creatures on the right side of the motorcycle. Mr. Turner portrays Teraoka on the opposite side wielding a heavy hammer, his weapon of choice during the counter insurgency of the Ronin Samurai. The motorcycle is hand painted and exquisitely detailed in the style of traditional Japanese tattooed body suits.

Zaeta by MANI

Remember our post about artist Mani? He just sent this email through.

I just customized a motorcycle tank for Zaeta motorcycles.
Just thought if you like it, in the link below you can see more images: www.fiumani.it hugs from Lisbon mate
Keep riding
Mani

PS I'll be live painting at Arte and Moto, Lisbon

Stay Outside Studio x Sideburn

Sideburn has worked with some great artists during its history and our latest collaborator is Toria Jaymes of Stay Outside Studio. The Yorkshire-born, London-based artist designed Sideburn 24's cover and the related the Clear Your Head T-shirt and Clear Your Head art prints and also a free sticker that is going out with current orders.

Then she had the great idea of creating a stunning, handpainted 12ft x 8ft version of the cover in time for the recent Sideburn 24/DTRA launch at the Bike Shed London. These are the process photos by Ava D'Antimo.

You can read an interview with Toria in Sideburn 24. She's a complete pro. Everyone needs a bit of Stay Outside in their lives. Thanks Toria! G

Interview: Matt Wes

We have two new sticker packs out, each with five stickers and a custom-designed label. One is by Sideburn regular Maxwell Paternoster, the other from new collaborator Matt Wes. I met Matt when I attended the first Mama Tried Show in Milwaukee, in early 2014. He was the tattooing in the show and wearing an old Sideburn hoodie (before he got too hot). His illustration style is wild and soaked in colour, featuring chubby monsters, waxen skulls, heavy-browed panthers, multi-teated bats... Certainly no Winnie the Pooh with a balloon. I always thought it would make great stickers and finally got around to it.

Get these limited edition stickers packs from the New Arrivals section of the Sideburn shop. We've redesigned the shop, so have a snoop around.

Here's a quick interview we did with Matt. He wrote the captions for his photos too.

Who are you, where you from and where are you at? 
My name's Matt Wes and I came from hardcore punk, graffiti and skateboarding in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I'm currently living in Oakland, California tattooing at the best shop I've ever worked at FTW Tattoo Parlor. Still skating and going to shows as much as possible.

Do you ride bikes?
Yes I do. The weather in the Bay Area is great for riding motorcycles though I do miss riding my '89 YZ250 on frozen lakes with my Wisconsin buddies. Bikes I own: 1979 Yamaha XS650; 1972 Yamaha DS7; 1977 XT500 flat track bike; 1970s Yamaha RD350 in a champion frame.

How would you describe your illustration style and what influenced it?
What I try to do with art is take a traditional tattooing technique and apply it to not so traditional subjects. There are a lot of tattooers I'm influenced by. When I was 15 or 16 I saw an article in International Tattoo Art magazine about Jeff Rassier and that was sort of the beginning of knowing what I wanted to do with tattooing. There are so many names I could list, but mostly I like tattoos that look like tattoos. Aside from that I look at a lot of old action figures, toys, skateboard graphics and old D and D [Dungeons and Dragons] art and try to make tattoos out of it.

What do you miss about Milwaukee?
I miss my friends mostly. I was part of a great shop called The Valley where we all hung out and worked on bikes. I could also go to my hometown motorcycle shop Red Line Cycles and hang out with Tony Giorno and my buddy Don Lupi and shoot the shit about flat track racing. I haven't found a shop space here in California and my welder and other tools are in my closet at the moment. Also Milwaukee is the city where you can find an above average cup of coffee almost everywhere you go and I miss that.

Riding across the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee on the XS. Photo by Death Science Dusty 

What's your dream bike?
Before I moved I was building a flat track bike out of a '77 XT500 using one of my dad's frames. That bike will be a dream come true if I ever finish it!

Motorcycle hero? 
My dad is probably my motorcycle hero. The first time I ever rode on the ice was when I was 3 or 4 years old. He'd sit me on the tank and we'd go rip around on a frozen lake somewhere. I've learned a lot about bikes from him and he's still racing and going fast in his 60's. A close second is Terry Vestal because he's a mad man and has given me more tips for racing than almost anybody else.

This photo was taken in 1982 or 83. At an ice race probably in Wisconsin but I'm not sure of the lake. Maybe Silver Lake, WI or Twin Lakes, WI or someplace further north. My mom took it. I was less than a year old. I may have only been eight months old. My dad still races that bike. It's a DT250 Yamaha I think (could be a YZ though). Brakeless. He's running a compression release lever on it these days, but I don't know if he was back then. I remember when I was 5 or 6 helping him stud his tires for the ice and also pushing this bike up the basement steps to get to the van by myself for the first time at 10 or so. I wish I knew more about photos from the time period.

Finish this sentence, Racing is life...
 ...go fast as fuck!

 My first vintage race at Wauseon Ohio two summers ago. On my friend Don Lupi's XT500. 

See more of Matt's tattoos and artwork at his website: pvzzledpanther.com or on instagram @pvzzled_panther

Juno Calypso

Well off-topic Sunday. This is the work of award-winning British photographer, Juno Calypso. They are self-portraits, Juno in her role as her character, Joyce. The photographer's own website states...

'After 20 years of taking photos of herself in private, Juno Calypso began a series of self-portraits in which she stages herself as the fictional character named Joyce.  Confining herself to rented rooms and honeymoon suites, Calypso performs solitary studies into modern rituals of seduction and the laboured construction of femininity.'

See more at junocalypso.com

Remember if you just want motorbike, come back tomorrow when there'll be another post, or look through one of the over 5000 posts elsewhere on the blog. Why not investigate the carpet shoes label? G

Open Your Mind T-shirt

It's been a long while, by our standards, since we made a new T-shirt and we're back with a bang. Open Your Mind was designed by a UK artist making his Sideburn debut, Tom J Newell. The

Black T-shirt with SILVER screenprint front and rear.
Big print on the rear, small print on the chest.
Sideburn embroidered tag on sleeve.
Designed by British artist Tom J Newell
100% cotton.
Printed in the UK.

Size Small to XXL. Click photos to see size chart.

Every T-shirt comes with a free sticker. Get yours at the Sideburn shop.

We took the opportunity to ask Tom a few questions. Below is the self-portrait he supplied.

How old are you and where do you live? Tell us about the place and where you fit into it. 
I'm 36 years of age and I'm based in Sheffield. My drawing board and pens are in the attic at home and I produce artwork for a few local businesses, galleries and charities here in the city as well as sending stuff out to be used by bigger brands internationally. I get out of the studio from time to time to paint large scale murals and to play records at my weekly disc jockey set at the local pub.

What was the inspiration for the T-shirt's main artwork?
I suppose the character in the illustration has a sort of sight-beyond-sight with five eyes and a clear vision of where he/she wants to go, planning the journey from a doorway out of the mind and into the void beyond. - Regular clients that I continue to work for are Kraken Rum, Twisted Burger Company and TRiCKETT England. I've also recently drawn stuff for Classic Rock Magazine, Which? Magazine and Dr. Martens. I'm sponsored by Posca Pens and Pink Pig Sketchbooks who I promote by using their products... Products I used to buy before the sponsorship, so it works out well. 

Have motorbikes played much of a part in your life?
I don't own a motorbike, but I've always been inspired by biker culture. My old man had biker and Hell's Angels mates who I grew up around. They saw I was good at drawing from an early age and would have me painting on helmets and bits of their bikes for them. My mum had a Honda 90 that I used to go on that they would call the 'Honda Gold Beak'. I had various peddle 'n' pops and scooters as I grew up, but I cycle everywhere I need to go at the moment on my pushbike. 

What is your dream motorbike?
The one from Akira is probably faster, but it looks like a Sinclair C5 so maybe Ghost Rider's bike with the flaming wheels would be a nice dream ride. 

Do you have biking hero?
Captain America in Easy Rider.

We know you're a DJ, list your five current faves to play to a crowd.  
Sroeng Santi - 'Kuen Kuen Lueng Lueng' (A Thai cover of Sabbath's 'Iron Man') 
Gaslamp Killer - 'Nissim'
René Costy - 'Scrabble'
Mongrels - 'Figurative Language'
Heart - 'Barracuda'

Finish this sentence, A motorcycle is a freedom machine, but... 
it is also a commonly used vehicle for delivering pizza directly to people who want pizza.

See more of Tom's work at Tom J Newell.com