Though none of us are dedicated followers of social media, occasionally, images emerge through the cyber stew that are truly inspired. Our next issue features a retrospective on the ton-up artistry of the Japanese illustrator Kamau 666. Little is known about this Instagram regular who routinely posts vividly colorful illustrations of people and machines from the contemporary cafe racer cult. His eye for detail is nothing short of astonishing and the super realistic way Kamau renders different metal finishes on motorcycles is something to behold. Motorcycle art runs te risk of being inherently cheesy as a visit to any swap meet poster booth will reveal- the cornball renderings of gallant chopper riders roaring off into desert sunsets often evokes the dime store aesthetics of velvet Elvis portraits and beer label drawings. Not with this artist, who seems to possess the rare ability to capture the thrills, style and timeless cool of cafe racing without overselling his subjects.
We’re hoping to rope the artist in to create a few bespoke images for the magazine come future issues so if anyone out there in Internerd land has a means of contacting this gifted artist, please sent it our way.