Article By: Amelia Rose
Originally Published In The May 2020 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
It’s not very often that I get to interview international artists, so when I discovered Buster Wise via Instagram, I jumped on the opportunity. Growing up in Poland, art was always something he loved creating. It was his favorite pastime and something that always helped him relax and stay centered. Wise never studied art in school and is completely self-taught, which makes his art that much more extraordinary. His love for motorcycles also started at a young age. It was his Harley riding uncle who introduced motorbike life to Buster. Every time he’d visit, he’d bring with him a pile of biker magazines to go through. Buster would sit down with them and spend every day drawing the bikes he read about. It was the beginning of a beautiful romance between the motorcycle world and the arts. What drew him in and kept him there is the rebellious, care-free vibe that this lifestyle has. It really allows for one to express themselves however they want without any kind of judgment from others.
What inspires him? It’s kind of everything… He likes to mix styles and trends as often as he can. As a child of the 80’s, he was heavily influenced by comic books, skateboarding, low-budget horror films, and punk music, all of which come out in his artistic style. He also identifies with his two role models for his art, Jim Phillips and Jera Tidwell Buster has been a graphic designer for the past 15 years. He originally started out by designing skateboards and eventually moved on to the motorcycle world where he is now. Roughly 5 years ago, i Article By: Amelia “Killer” Rose he decided to create a motorcycle apparel brand called Rotten Rat that sent him barreling down the path of motorcycle art. He’s also the creator of a custom motorcycle event known as Custom Days, and on top of that, he and his wife have been running a motorcycle-friendly restaurant that serves Tex-Mex food and doubles as a kind of mini showroom as well. As for his preferred medium, he’ll use just about anything depending on the mood he’s in. From markers, inks, and watercolors to airbrushing, candy paints and flakes, and most recently, he’s been dabbling in digital rendering via iPad as it’s a huge time saver; he will use it all.
When asked what he feels sets him apart from other artists: he said that there are many incredible artists out there, which makes it difficult to come up with something original; however, he does his best to draw what interests him and keeps true to his own original, bad-ass punk style. When asked where his art has taken him, he says it feels like his life has been going 100mph since he joined the industry. When he created Rotten Rat, he was living in London with his wife and has since moved back to Poland to create the motorcycle bar/show Custom Days. He currently works for a variety of motorcycle companies, including an Indian dealership and Harley Davidson of Poland, which is a big deal. Each project he gets to do is an adventure, and he constantly feels both lucky and honored to be able to do what he loves and get recognition for it. As he moves forward, Buster is trying to organize a California-style chopper show, something that, at the moment, isn’t very popular in Poland. He also plans on growing the restaurant he owns and turning the chopper lifestyle into something more out there. If you want to check out more of this cat’s amazing work, you can head on over to his Instagram @buster. wise.ftw or one of his websites; www. busterwise.com, www.cactusburger. pl, or www.customdays.pl
Thanks for reading. Till next time.
