Written by Zach Boxx, curator of the Art and Fuel Exhibit, and owner of Throttle Addiction.

Photos by Elvis Castillo

Two years ago, I came up with an idea that would help shed some light on the talented painters in the world of motorcycles. When I approached the Born-Free founders with the idea, they were kind enough to let me run with it. Art and Fuel was born, and last year was the first painted gas tank exhibit held at the Born-Free show. It was a great success, so we figured; let’s take this thing for another ride. This year, nine of the painters were invited, and the tenth was voted in through Chop Cult. We gave each of them a Throttle Addiction gas tank and they did them up as they liked. We then displayed the finished works all weekend in a hand-built enclosure at Born-Free 7.

Once the tanks were set up, the diversity in paint styles was really highlighted. Looking at the tanks, set against the stark black backdrop, the mind could wander through the endless possibilities for turning bare metal into works of art. The artists showed up with insane airbrushed and hand painted murals, crazy flaked-out masterpieces, and gas tanks with faux patinas that make you swear they were painted 50 years ago.

All day Saturday the crowd cast their votes, and at 3pm we tallied up over 2,000 votes. Richard “Horsebites” Minino took the win with his imaginative cast resin roach smoking a roach. Not only did he walk away $500 richer, but he had the honor of picking the Born-Free best paint award from all the bikes on the show grounds.

Thank you to all the artists involved for making our gas tanks look incredible, Chop Cult for assisting in the promotion, and Born-Free for allowing us to be a part of their show.

Artists:

Horsebites

Scott Takes

Gen - Love Ear Art

Hotdog

Denis Babin

TJ Schneider

Boosted Brad

Spagetty

Buckwild

Jon Raleigh

*ChopCult.com appreciates Zach allowing us to support The Art and Fuel Exhibit. Check out his website for your motorcycle needs and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.