Dirt track legends Chris Carr, Jay Springsteen (left) and Scott Parker (right) were among the several on hand last night for the unveiling of “Triple Threat”, the newest work from official Harley-Davidson artist Scott Jacobs (far right), during a private party at the Jacobs family home in Rancho Santa Fe, California, to kick off the Del Mar motorcycle weekend.
“Triple Threat” depicts a photo finish from the 1998 Springfield Mile in which Parker, Carr and Springsteen took part. Jacobs, 43. said that seeing a photo of that finish was the inspiration for the painting.
“I saw the photograph in a magazine, and I really loved it,” said Jacobs, one of a handful of officially licensed H-D painters, and the first to be licensed, back in 1993. “I tracked down the photographer, and he gave me the rights to use the photograph for a painting. I loved it because it was so close. I loved the movement in it, the action. So I decided to do a painting of it, and that’s why we’re here tonight.” Jacobs said that he is a flat track fan, and has created several works devoted to the sport.
“For the last two and a half years, I have been doing paintings of the flat track racers for the fine art program, and I have really gotten into it,” Jacobs said. “I have gotten to meet a lot of the guys and know of them personally, and that makes it even more exciting. I even got to go fishing in the Gulf of Mexico with Jay Springsteen once. We had a blast down there. It was awesome.”
And what did the Springer think of the painting?
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Springsteen said. “I love the detail in it.”
Carr agreed.
“I’m astounded,” he said. “I saw the original photograph, must have signed 50 copies of it, and this thing looks better than the original. The guy is very talented, and I’m honored to be in his painting.” Parker said that he, too, thought the painting was “awesome,” although he is more drawn toward other works that Jacob has produced as well.
“His stuff just leaves you thinking,” Parker said. “The original picture was just sort of blah, but Scott really put some light and color into it. He’s done a lot of with me, but none of that stuff impresses me nearly as much as some of the motorcycle paintings that he has done. You walk up and look at some of them, and you can see your face in the chrome. It’s amazing. He’s very good at what he does.”
If you are interested in learning more about Jacobs’ art, check out www.motorcycleart.com, which offers all of his pieces in limited edition form. The site links to Jacobs’ publisher’s web site as well, which houses his entire collection of work.
