Portfolios > PORTRAITS

The "Trailblazers" is a club of motorcycle racers that goes back almost 80 years. Every year they have a big banquet, upwards of 700 people assemble to induct members into their Hall of Fame and present a special award named for a highly respected individual, Dick Hammer.
A few years ago I started doing portraits of the Hammer Award winner which served as a sort of trophy they could keep.
This is Eddie Mulder who has distinguished himself in many disciplines, winning 5 AMA Grand National TT Championships.
It was a pretty straightforward piece, I had never met Eddie and only knew him from photographs. I got to talking about him with Brad Lackey one day and he asked "Did you get the toothpick?" and went on to explain that Eddie always has a toothpick in his mouth.
So I came home, put a toothpick in his mouth and that seemed to be just the finishing touch it needed. Just a little something to personalize the piece and give it some carachter.