About Slimm
Slimm Perkins Buick ~ Artist, Entertainer

Slimm Buick has been creating art in one form or another since
childhood. And, he's kept that childlike style and intent. Kids just
love him! Animals, too ...

He was born & raised in San Franciscan, as were his Father,
Richard Perkins (a retired Cable Car Gripman) and Grandfather,
Robert Perkins, a Grocer. Actually, for the record, Slimm is a 4th
generation San Franciscan, a 5th generation California citizen
according to the National Genealogy library in Salt Lake City.

This might explain why Slimm's work often has a "Western" flair,
surely appropriate at any rate, considering San Francisco is a part
of the Gold Country or "Mother Lode" in CA.

Slimm's artwork has been shown in major museums, has been
featured in movies, and sold in galleries around the Bay Area. He
is best known for movable works of art, or "Art Bikes". These
bicycles look like they could be from the Wild West, or another
world, and his best known piece, "Rawhide" is also his favored
form of transportation. Slimm recently had his very first Art Bike,
Back in the Saddle Again, returned from the Gene Autry Museum
of the American West in Los Angeles (their focus is almost purely
Native American now - we are glad to have him back!).

For more on this wonderful museum, located across from the LA
Zoo in Griffth Park, visit their site at:

Gene Autry Museum

Slimm is also known as a bicycle advocate, as he was a big part of
the early Critical Mass protests, attended the first AIDS ride, and
is a former bike messenger. Slimm has been collecting, repairing,
staging and selling antiques for over 20 years. He now owns a
collection of over 7,000 vintage records (R&B, Blues and Jazz
from 1960's & prior) and works as a DJ at parties and clubs. He
has also performed as a Lecturer, and for Children's Birthday
parties as a clown, and singer/storyteller.

He and his partner, Justine tenZeldam, also organize special
"period" events, and sing at piano bars, private parties and
nightclubs.

Their latest endeavor is the B Western & Vintage Film Society.
They hold periodic events that focus on the great films, and eras
gone by ... their first publication is due out soon. Please visit
BWesternSociety.com or join us on Myspace!
Artists Statement

My rebellious obsession with drawing, and art in
general, surfaced in school when I should have been
doing my studies. School frustrated me because I was
labeled "hyperactive" and "dyslexic", but the truth was
that my teachers were angered by frequent questions
that they could not answer. All except for Mr.
Fredericks, or "R.F.", the San Francisco teacher who
encouraged me to keep going, and discouraged me
from taking standard “how to” classes asserting they
could “corrupt” my talent. Although I’m always
learning and trying new things, I did take Mr.
Fredericks advice and avoided traditional “art school”.

I have always been inspired by art that uses things
which might otherwise be thrown away. And, I have
always loved old stuff – antiques, collectibles, classic
motorcycles and cars, especially Delahaye, Bugatti, and
Duesenberg and, especially those customized by people
like Nudie Cohn.

The first bicycle I customized started out as a chrome
BMX and eventually became known as “Back in the
Saddle”, in honor of one of my favorite classic western
stars, Gene Autry (a lot of my work has a Western
flavor). This bike is the “grand daddy” to Rawhide,
which is the bike everyone seems to know me for. It’s
a moving, functional piece of art, and for many years
was my main mode of transpiration. Back in the Saddle
is now part of the permanent collection at the Gene
Autry Western Heritage Museum, so it’s going to be
around to view long after I’ve gone to the big ranch in
the sky. I’ve made about ten art bikes total, three of
which were recently featured in the Sony movie, Rent,
filmed in San Francisco.

I also create weird and wacky watercolors that always
seem to invoke lots of questions and laughter,
especially from children and the “young at heart”. My
"Rocketeer Wrangler" series of watercolors started
because it always seemed like Cowboys & Indians
meant “Cowboys and those darn awful Redskins”, and
that’s just not right. But, we can all hate those horrible
aliens together, safely, since they don’t actually exist
(or at least we think they don’t actually exist!). The
cowboys and aliens are set in the old west, because
that’s where almost all aliens seem to land – out in the
tundra, with tumbleweeds floating by. As a kid, I just
loved Science Fiction and old Westerns (actually still
do). So, I like to imagine what would happen if those
two TV channels got scrambled and you were stuck in
between the Wild West and outer space – where the
good guys still ride horses (or the other earth-friendly
alternative, bicycles), and the bad guys have a
petroleum-powered shining saucer for their getaway
car.

My birthday is the same day as Vincent Van Gough,
but I believe art should be fun, and bring a good laugh
from time to time, instead of just buying into the myth
of the “tortured artist” doing his best work when he's
at the brink of disaster, and totally self-destructive.
Life is just too darn short for that!