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Historic Harleys
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Vintage motorcycle paintings
Beth Howard
03/01/2005
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David Uhl is the name by which we might have known Norman Rockwell, if Rockwell
had painted motorcycles. Based in Colorado, Uhl is one of only three painters
licensed by Harley-Davidson. He started off creating T-shirt art for the
company, but six years ago he created an oil painting that blew away H-D
officials and thus, found his new niche. Specializing in vintage scenes, Uhl
combs through H-D’s archives of old photographs and recreates them in oil on
linen canvas (sold as limited edition canvas giclée prints). “I’m drawn to the
older stuff, it has more character,” Uhl says. “In the ’20s and ’30s, people
wore beautiful outfits and hats; there were more trees and dirt roads. This
creates a prettier piece and I like creating a window of time for people to
crawl into.”
 Uhl’s Ruby. (Click image to enlarge)
Uhl is particularly inspired by the rare photographs of women
found in the archives, and searches to find especially candid images. “Ruby
started everything,” he says. “The photo is from 1926. She’s ahead of her time,
lighting up a smoke in a dress [on her Harley].”
After numerous trips to the
Milwaukee archives, Uhl began staging vintage scenes of his own, as in the
painting Rose where a woman is sitting on a 1936 Knucklehead at a service
station, leaving the attendant with nothing to do but polish her taillight. The
painting sold out in three months. “Women are the most popular by far. They
offer a combination you can’t beat: strong, sexy and understated.” Significant,
he says, with so much overstated sexuality in the Harley world.
Equally important in Uhl’s composition scheme is the bike. “The ’36
Knucklehead was the beginning of the big twin era, a new chapter in the
evolution of the company. It’s important in history,” he explains. “Because of
the way the light hits the engine, the chrome . . . ” Uhl muses. “Besides, in
the massive motorcycle movement, a Harley is like a blank canvas for people to
render their own expression by customizing, and that’s parallel to what I do.”
Uhl’s work will be displayed at the Windblown Show at Atlanta’s
Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art beginning May 21.
www.daviduhl.com
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