A woman stands with her back to the painter, her lower half dissolving into the darkness at the bottom of the canvas. A helmet hangs from her left hand; a bag strap is snug across her leather-motorcycle-jacket-clad back from her left shoulder. A security chain is slung over her other shoulder. She’s walking towards her bike, or she’s just got off it and is walking into some cafe or biker hangout. It’s hard to tell. She’s almost an apparition – not really there.
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Lone Riders
This painting is from a series of custom motorcycle and bike culture oil paintings by Hans Sures, Lone Riders. He’s a London-based Creative Director, designer and illustrator whose corporate clients have included Harley-Davidson, Shelby, Ford, Land Rover and Jaguar. I tracked him down after posting a vintage racer on Renchlist’s Facebook page a while back.
His style is contemporary, painterly realism with brushwork shown throughout. The palette is sepia, earthy and muted, which heightens the vintage feel of his subject matter, riders and their motorcycles. There are hints of the Ashcan School in the earthy tones, with the subjects painted without polish.
Nostalgic Americana is strong: a vintage Harley-Davidson ‘Gunk’ degreaser tin, a chopper, a rider in a red and white striped shirt. The framing is cinematic with tight cropping and perspectives that leave the viewer’s imagination eager for more.
I’m particularly drawn to the painting of the rider with her back to the painter and the lone rider fixing a broken-down motorcycle, perhaps by the side of the road, or maybe it’s just a spot of routine maintenance. The title is ‘Untitled II – A Quiet Conversation With Voltaire’, which makes me think of Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle as I contemplate the image.
His bike has a sprung seat, a two-tone red and white tank and a helmet on the front. The engine casing’s off, and his tool roll kit lies on the ground next to him. It’s just rider and machine.
Elsewhere in the series, a man in a striped shirt is about to start his bike. These are snapshots of lone riders, and there is a calmness in them.
To me, these riders seem utterly absorbed by the activity of owning and riding a motorcycle solo. They are in their own peaceful worlds, not thinking. I’m no art aficionado. I just ride bikes, and I know what I like. Hans Sures’ art ticks all the boxes for me.
Here are some more remarkable images from the Lone Riders series below. You can also check out more of his work here or follow his Tumblr.
