A Salute To The Garage Builder

along that still allowed me to mold my life around a daily riding addiction; and it did.

In the long run, there’s only one thing that will keep a person riding their bike to work, day after day, year after year, and that’s a passion for riding. I mean, come on, some days, motorcycling is only about 1% glamour, with the other 99% consisting of you battling the elements and idiot car drivers. Unless you feed off it in its entirety and embrace your daily fix at face value, that 1% isn’t going to get you very far. Certain individuals appreciate the overall experience of motorcycling. They find it rewarding and feel like there is nothing else on Earth. No matter how you work the percentages or do the math, there’s a 100% chance these riders will be back for more.

Just in case you haven’t realized it yet, you do not have to wait for a scheduled day on the calendar to ride. Just give your bike a job. Ride to work, day after day after day.

hile most of the artists we feature are more seasoned, I will always jump at the opportunity to feature a young, fresh face, w like the artist this month, Nicole

Andrijauskas, a.k.a NicoleArts. Art was never something

Nicole thought about, but more of something she just did. And it certainly was never a potential career option for her, that is until she started college in Ohio as a journalism major. All of her friends at the time were artists, musicians, creative writers, and when you hang with people like that, they tend to rub off on you. Birds of a feather do often flock together, as it were. She and her friends started their first official art club called

Effusion. Nicole was in charge of the PR, which allowed her the freedom to make crazy posters and flyers for their events. They would go on weekly trips to local artist studios, technique workshops, dance parties, you name it. It was something they were all incredibly proud of. Eventually, Nicole decided to attend art school, as opposed to a traditional college. With everything packed in her Volkswagen, she drove across the country to California, where she eventually got her art degree. For a while, she also owned her own mural painting business. She taught art to kids while working on the occasional private commission. Of course, there were other jobs in between; making art has always been the backbone of her life.

She first began her descent into the world of motorcycle art in 2014 when she painted the gas tank from her 1996 Harley Sportster. At the time, it was just bare metal that constantly rusted over, so she figured she could just tape a bunch of shapes and

spray it different colors. She sourced it out to a friend of hers that had a professional spray booth for the clear coat, and the rest is history. In 2015 she painted her first helmet, and then her next tank in 2017 was with actual automotive paints. This one was the most intimidating because it was all new materials and surfaces. However, once she became familiar with it, she was off to the races.

Her life in the motorcycle world, however, started long before that. She’s had her motorcycle license for 18 years but didn’t know anyone else that rode for the first 5 or so. She would putt around San Fran on her scooter and go on these little adventures by herself. Eventually, a few guys in her neighborhood began riding scooters, and they all graduated to riding bigger motorcycles together. She soon learned that there were other women her age that rode, and in 2014 she met up with a friend of a friend and traveled to Joshua Tree for the 2nd annual Babes Ride Out. Her tank was painted with the graphic spray paint job she had done earlier that year, and it got the attention she’d never received before. While attending numerous motorcycle events over the next few years, she noticed a lack of women making art specific to this audience. It seemed like a no-brainer to combine the two things she loved the most and began painting her friend’s tanks and getting involved in the same events and shows she’d been attending for fun.

Inspiration is a fleeting thing for Nicole, but sometimes if it’s powerful enough, it’s all she needs. Flowers are a large part of her art, so she’s constantly taking pictures when she’s out and about, even stopping on the side of the road to grab some reference pics. Mostly her “inspiration.” comes from the act of painting. Like herself and other artists she knows, her mind is often cluttered, and creating art helps keep her focused. She “needs to stay art-organized like this so I can actually be productive. Bright colors, exceptional design, and nature also keep me invested in creating art.”

For what sets Nicole apart from other artists is absolutely her style and creativity.

“I’m interested in bringing outsider art into the motorcycle realm. I use tiny brushes to paint highly detailed images. Instead of tough and hard, I’m painting weird and soft.”

As for where her art is going

and how it is now, she feels that stylistically, she’s reached a sort of plateau, which is something most artists encounter at some point. We obsess over one thing and continue doing it until it’s dead, and then we move on. She hasn’t run out of ideas by any means. She feels that she has more room to grow and would benefit from learning how to do some things herself, like clearing her own helmets and tanks, or one day incorporate some airbrushing into her work. She does admit that it often feels easy to stick to what she knows, especially when it has introduced her to so many amazing people and events. Ideally, moving forward, she’d like to create art that sells immediately. Right now, she’s busy with commissions for which she is incredibly grateful, but there’s nothing as satisfying as someone admiring an original work and paying cash on the spot for it.

With COVID, painting helmets and tanks in her at-home studio has been favorable. However, as things begin returning to some semblance of normalcy, she has been taking the time to sign up for events happening this summer and fall. Her personal goal is to become more involved with events on the East Coast to expand her audience and potential client pool. She’ll be painting personal flash on helmets for BRO in New York this June and showing a bunch of helmets for Fuel Cleveland in November. Over on the West Coast, Nicole is collaborating and exhibiting at the David Mann Chopperfest, the Maiden Moto Art Show at Born Free and Sturgis (among other destinations), the Dia De Las Moto Show, the Outlier’s Guild Moto Show, the Women’s Moto Show, and Ride to the Warehouse. Make sure if you’re in the area for any of these shows to go check her out.

If you want to see more of Nicole’s incredible artwork, you can find her on Instagram @chicken_in_a_biscuit

Thank you so much for reading, till next time.