Velocolour Bicycle Painting

[Chauncey Matthews]

I take back what I said before about the orange fenders- that bike looks great!

[thollandpe]

Damn, well done.

I agree on the Nuovo Record headset, the chrome's nicer than the alu Super Record. And if you use ceramic (Si-N) balls, that old piece will last forever (I used the stock retainers in mine).

My retro beast has about a palm's width between the cable and handlebar, so maybe you could trim a tad.

And kudos on the two-bolt Campy post, that thing's the bee's knees. Same for the retrofriction shifters . . . damn, well done.

[joosttx]

Just beautiful... Very
nice job

[Too Tall]

Very cool. Yeah, shorten the brake housing a bit and shape by hand before you install to get that fluid look.
I KNOW this is not correct however I'm a big fan of bending the brake cable exit to an 90 degree below the brake stradle cable pinch. This allows you to easily remove the stradle cable from the yolk...credit goes to Mr.SaxMax as he sets up his CX bikes that way. Here is the pic of yours:

[SteveP]

retrofriction levers rule the world.

little trick we used to employ- cause the lever throw is kinda long./..cause the cable barrel is pretty small...
have the cable at the shifter pass through a small piece of plastic tubing..which had the effect of making the lever barrel slightly larger and decreasing the throw a bit.
cool bike.

[velocolour]

Mr. Matthews I accept your retraction.
These things are hard to be sure about until they're done.
Good info from the rest. Pre-bent housing makes sense.
noah

[Justin Spinelli]

wow... that's amazing.

[54ny77]

that is a beautiful bike.

[velocolour]

I am currently working on a project with Michael Barry of team Sky. It has changed a little as thoughts have progressed the way large projects always do. Word will be getting out shortly but I thought I would give a sneak peek here, as you’re such a supportive crowd.

I am always one for fun projects and interesting challenges. Last year I asked Michael if there was any way we could paint one of his team race bikes. Why not start big. As well as growing up together Michael and I used to go to Saturday morning art classes where we made ceramic animals, stop motion movies and the like. Michael still sketches a bit, writes a lot as many of you know, and is generally a very thoughtful individual. This would be opportunity for the two of us to work on a project together again after many years.
I was optimistic that Michael would be game, although I was aware there would be some limiting factors from his team, sponsors and other affected parties. This left me unsure what potential there might for this sort of collaboration. Michael confirmed the team bike may not be on offer but suggested we talk to Pinarello (one of his team sponsors) about getting a bike. Of course painting a donated bike and profiting from it would have it’s own issues. It was decided between the two of us that if we acquired a donated frame set to paint, it would then be raffled off to raise money for a charity.
Donating the proceeds was an exciting thought for me. I give what I can here and there but I am aware that I still live a self-indulgent life (though modest) and often paint bikes for those of some affluence.
Deciding on a charity is a tough thing. There are so many important issues and places money could go to benefit others. Water is big on my list, local food banks, Doctors Without Borders etc, etc. Michael has done work with the group Right to Play in the past and suggested this would be a good place for the proceeds to go.
It made perfect sense, as the project seemed to be about creativity, play and childhood memories, it all fit in to place.
Once the ideas were more solidified Michael approached Pinarello with the project. They were very excited about the whole thing and before I knew it a package arrived at the Velocolour Shop.

I will be posting images here and some commentary as the project progresses. More on the name Pinbarello too!
Thanks for reading.
noah

[velocolour]

Things have been pretty busy around. As well as a busy work load and the Pinarello bike, Suzanne and I had another project on the go. This one has been in the works for the past few months and has created new challenges and given more time constraints to the rest of our work.
As well as making beautiful cycling accessories Suzanne is a jeweller. In fact she is first and foremost a jeweler and the rest has sort of followed suit.
We are just back from a jewellery show and conference in Seattle where we arrived and set-up shop in an RV converted into a gallery. Feeling a lack of attention given to Canadian artists we felt we needed to take the matter into our own hands.
We drove the monster down from Kelowna B.C. the home of Suzanne’s parents and their motor home. Five hurried days were spent there where we got the work and displays organized and managed to get a bit of riding in on the side. Suzanne’s father, filling out the Velocolour jersey nicely, headed out on his own.
From Kelowna we drove the seven hours through the mountains to Seattle where we parked the Motor home outside the conference’s host hotel. Attached are a couple images of the RV and some of the attendees who wandered across the street to check out the work of the ten Canadian artists we were representing.
“Mobile Canada: Bringing Contemporary Canadian Jewellery to You!” was the title of the show and was a hit for conference goers. In 2013 the conference will be in Toronto. Our show quickly became a bit of of a symbol for the quality of work people are now expecting to find in Toronto in a couple years. years.
This was a side project for me. I was hoping to get another Pinbarello post up by now but like I said time has been tight.
Okay I will get back on topic here.
noah

[velocolour]

I was surprised to get the Prince frame before having submitted the final drawings to Pinarello though I did appreciated this. It showed me that they were supportive of the project and trusted Michael and me not to do anything too stupid.
Before any work could be done though the final design had to be in place.
The drawing stage was a huge challenge. E-mails with concepts and sketches sent back and forth between Michael and me went on for quite some time. In the end at least 50 different designs were put together some of which I plan to use in future projects. Trying to find the right one and then narrowing down the details seemed like an endless process. It’s difficult when options are limitless so working with an idea or theme had to give the parameters of the design. The drawing had to relate to both of us in some way, our friendship, where we are from etc. My background in fine art pushes me to need those connections. I struggle and am often bogged down by arbitrary choices. I need rules and have to be satisfied with a concept before moving on.
Michael has a good memory. Cycling may have given him a clear head while activities acted to cloud mine. I also believe he cherishes the memories of his childhood differently than I do. Perhaps being away from where he grew up at a young age and constantly traveling from city to city or country to country gives him a different sense of place and home.
We used to have a pinball machine in our basement. It was a late 70’s or early 80’s pirate themed machine and pretty basic compared to the machines that were starting to emerge with all sorts of ramps and added bumpers. We spent a lot of time down in dark basement which felt like a cave even on a bright sunny day. When we were playing pinball though, the room would be glowing. Maybe it was just our childhood enthusiasm.
After discussing various possibilities Michael said something simple like ”You remember that pinball machine, that was awesome” and e-mailed a few images he liked. I had not thought about it for some time but it always surprises me what he remembers.
The connection made sense as a starting point. Childhood memories of us playing together, being kids, formed the design of the paint scheme, which would hopefully raise money for other kids to do the same thing.

Now to combine a bike and a pinball machine…

[e-RICHIE]

i LOVE the sketches atmo.
do you save them all?
does the client get a version(s)?

[velocolour]

i LOVE the sketches atmo.
do you save them all?
does the client get a version(s)?

Thanks e-Richie,
I do save all of the drawings. Unless of course they are really bad though even something that doesn't work can have a strong element in it.
The client gets a version if they ask for it. I would say only a quarter want the sketch along with the final product. Process isn't everybody's bag.
Some drawings are more finished than others and are thus more worth hanging on to. Sometimes they are super quick just to give a general layout or colour palette that we can agree upon. Others are done on the computer or hand drawn. I prefer the later though it is much easier to adjust stuff on the computer.
I hope to start posting some of the un-used ones on my site to give people ideas for colours or layouts or maybe they'll just say "I like that one, lets do it".

[e-RICHIE]

Thanks e-Richie,
I do save all of the drawings. Unless of course they are really bad though even something that doesn't work can have a strong element in it.
The client gets a version if they ask for it. I would say only a quarter want the sketch along with the final product. Process isn't everybody's bag.
Some drawings are more finished than others and are thus more worth hanging on to. Sometimes they are super quick just to give a general layout or colour palette that we can agree upon. Others are done on the computer or hand drawn. I prefer the later though it is much easier to adjust stuff on the computer.
I hope to start posting some of the un-used ones on my site to give people ideas for colours or layouts or maybe they'll just say "I like that one, lets do it".

you should have an online page(s) for the sketches alone.
maybe a daily tumbler or similar until every single one is in the public domain atmo.

[velocolour]

you should have an online page(s) for the sketches alone.
maybe a daily tumbler or similar until every single one is in the public domain atmo.

Atmo, you should be my marketing manager!
I may also need a painter as I'll have some drawing to do.

[velocolour]

So there you have it. Pinbarello, combining a pinball machine with that bike manufacturer we all know so well. Not a good or finished name just something to call it, a working title.
Titles have always been very important to me as I think they can add some much to an object. There have been some good ones and some possible misses. I have also re-titled work over and over as it has been show in various galleries or cities.
Titles are always a challenge as I put so much emphasis on their importance. Similarly I struggle with designs, colours, etc. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are good but they are often laboured. I rarely keep things easy for myself. There were many iterations of this design as strong elements were narrowed down and new ones were added to the mix.
There are so many ways parts can be organized it can sometimes be overwhelming and things can get out of control. Michael and I both have a strong appreciation for classic bikes and their simple designs and colour schemes. For a project like this though we wanted to make it bright and playful but hopefully not over the top.
Once the layout was nailed down colours had to be chosen. I sent along seven or so different schemes for Michael to look over. My favourite sketch was actually using a gray scale. As a project based on childhood memories it seemed to make a lot of sense to me, like looking at an old black and white photograph. Also, I am super in to grays these days. At any rate Michael liked a more colourful version and so things started to take shape.
Most of the pinball machines we saw were done in a comic book style with heavy black outlining separating all of the colours. Seeing as the frame was raw carbon I decided this would take on all of the black elements, colours would be laid down divided by ribbons of carbon showing through. I have never painted a bike in this way before, well perhaps on a smaller level but nothing with this amount of detail.
As every colour is separated by black shadows and outlines all of the masking had to be put down first with the colours filling in the spaces. See this as a Paint by Numbers though the challenge is to keep the paint thin. To do this only the area to be painted can be exposed. In doing this everything had to be masked, un-masked and painted then re-masked. Got it?
The front of the bike was masked by hand using 1mm tape as I wasn’t sure how the graphics would bend around the unusual shape of this frame.
Here are some images of the process. The frame was clear coated to give a good base for the colours, it was sanded smooth and then masked, slowly.
Once the masking was completed the front end was primed to give the colours a white base to sit on. Following this each element was filled in and masked as previously stated.
With something like this the hardest part is not seeing any of it until the painting is complete and all is umasked.
Fingers crossed!
Now for the rest of the frame and the main colour on the fork.

[velocolour]

And a computer drawing for Atmo.

[velocolour]

Part 1.
The rest of the paint masking was drawn up on the computer and cut on a vinyl cutter the way any intelligent person trying to get some work done would do it. It has taken time to learn how to do this stuff. I trust an exacto and a ruler more than my computer sklills but it's getting easier and ensures clean masking.
Lots of bits here to lay down. Though it was all organized before hand there was still areas to fill in by hand as the masking wrapped around complex curves.
Thanks for looking.

[velocolour]

Part 2.

[Craig Ryan]

This is pretty cool Noah. Thanks for taking the time to organize all these posts.
Craig