Art can be found in just about anything. It’s what makes it so interesting and why it’s one of the main ingredients to what Fasthouse is about. We’ve always been fans of Chase Lock’s art; our first headquarters was adorned with a huge painting by him and our new location once again has a wall dial in by Chase. A few months ago, though, we visited him at his Los Angeles studio to check out his set up and see how he painted the Day In The Dirt 20 Coup de Grace trophy.

Every year at Day In The Dirt, we try to create one of the most unique trophies for the grueling two-hour Coup de Grace race—the final event of the holiday weekend. There’s been everything from a custom painted surfboard to a custom refrigerator to a custom painted toilet. This year, we’ve commissioned Los Angeles based artist Chase Lock to paint a one-of-a-kind trophy for the overall winner.

Chase’s art is unique in it’s own right. A long-time graffiti artist from the Midwest, he grew up painting abandoned train cars and pulls from his roots in everything that he creates. “I knew once I started writing graffiti more that I wanted to make a living out of painting art,” Chase said. “Not graffiti, but art. I will always write graffiti, because having an alter ego, and living two different lives, is such an amazing feeling. There’s my personal life, which is my art and normal everyday life, and then graffiti on the flip side of that. I just pick and choose my battles more wisely nowadays.”

With the trophy for the 20^th Day In The Dirt Coup de Grace, Chase painted it entirely with acrylics to give it a gritty, raw feel that would play to the inherent nature of motocross. It wasn’t about creating a perfect painting, but more about capturing the feel of Day In The Dirt. “It’s perfect in its own unique way with the rawness of the outdoors,” he said. “I very much wanted the final product to seem abstract enough to where you know it’s one-off and my personal style. The last thing I wanted to do was just copy down some logos and call it a painting.”

You can check out more articles like this in Issue 2 of Fast Times, available at your local dealer or free with any online purchase.

Words and Photos by Brendan Lutes