Martin Squires Automotive Illustration

Race Retro 2012 Report

2012-02-27T08:57:00.015-08:00

On Saturday 25th February, powered by the squidgy energy of choice Soreen, I travelled off to Stoneleigh Park for Race Retro. This is the first time I've attended this event and it's a whopper of a show. Four Halls filled with historic and classic race cars along with some motorbikes too. Along side the bustling exhibition halls there was also a classic rally stage that benefited from the great weekend weather. Here are my sketches and other highlights from the weekend.

1962 Cooper T59 Formula Junior

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Chassis number FJ 3962 was purchased from the Works by Bill McCowan who Raced throughout '62 until crashing at Monza. The car was sufficiently damaged to end McCowans' season. Repaired and raced during 1963 by Mike Budge who painted the car Blue with a bold orange stripe. There are records of the car being subsequently owned by Messrs Nicholson and Brockhurst but the car disappears from 1967 until it is discovered during 2002, dismantled and stored in the back of a derelict van, at a garage in Sussex a stone's throw from Goodwood. The bodywork was still in the Budge colour scheme. Restored by Grant Wilson the car has been raced regularly since 2006.

This Cooper was displayed on the Hall and Hall stand, for more information please visit their website:

www.hallandhall.net

Austin Healey 100s Endurance Car

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Officially the fastest naturally-aspirated Austin Healey 100 in the world

Built in 2008 to challenge the Enudurance Record of 132mph set by Donald Healey in 1954, this car not only broke Healeys Bonneville record but also smashed 17 others, including the UK's 100 mile standing start record. Built on what is believed to be the last known factory chassis this car is rivet for rivet identical to the original car SPL337B.

This car is currently for sale through The Old Racing Car Company:

www.OldRacingCar.co.uk

TZ 350cc Cyclecar

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Currently campaigned by Trevor Duckworth, this beutifully insane headfirst cyclecar is the holder of the British National Records for the quarter mile, kilometre and mile. Both standing start and flyers it holds these records as a 250cc/350cc and some as a 500cc. Originally built by Des Heckle with a 250cc Starmaker engine ans scooter back wheel for Irene Scargill it held all the 250cc world and national records. Trevor bought it in the late 70's and modified it to take the tz engine and racing sidecar wheel.

This bike has probably held more world and national records than any other. Trevor will be running this bike at various Straightliners events as part of the championships this year and hopefully breaking more records with it. To find out more about the Straightliners championship head over to the wesite:

www.straightliners-events.co.uk

Ellis Ford #3 Replica

(digitally painted ink sketch)

The above Car is a replica of Ellis's 1965 World championship winning car. Mike Shirley also has the original engine from this car! It is built on an original LD chassis and is true to the era in which it raced. They tried to ban Ellis' cars several times - big motors, lightweight wheels, bare minimum bodies, Ellis was always tweaking the authorities. You could hear Ellis from miles away with those pom-pom exhausts - usually on booming 427 ford V8s. Mike told me that the Replica has the same V8 that they used in GT40's, I'm glad the engine is still in this fantastic stock car.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw these BRISCA Heritage cars tucked away in the corner. For me these were the highlight of the show. I'm always impressed by the pure fun approach of stock car racing, of course yes it is a seriously competitive sport but there is something to the bravado and ingenuity of these cars that brings a smile to my face. More info on the history and fixtures please visit the BRISCA Heritage website:

www.briscaf1heritage.com

Clive Beales 722

Based on a 1949 Ford Pop and runs a 100e engine with a down draft Webber carburettor.

Brian Owen 886 F2

The Pop body is believed to be from the 1965 world winning car. The car finished 2nd in the 2011 shale championship and 2nd in the points at Coventry and Bradford.

RPD 4

RPD 4 first appeared as a Cotton special owned by Rex Chappell who used it to win the BTRDA Gold Star in 1953. Impressed by the new cars being made by Mike Cannon, Rex ordered a new car to be built; he called it Cannotton and used it to win his second gold Star in 1955.

More information on the Cotton trials cars can be found on the Historic Sporting Trials Association website:

www.hsta.co.uk

Silverstone Auctions had a huge array of cars up for grabs

here's a couple that caught my eye.

1958 Mercedes Benz 190SL

1964 Ford Falcon Sprint

The Classic Rally stage had a huge range of entries here are just a few of them.

Chevy

Austin Metro

Yes an Austin Metro!

Renault

Citroen Visa

Lastly I'm always like a big truck. Based on a left hand drive export Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster LRT 3.1 Chassis with a 150bhp underfloor engine. This beautiful transporter was built in 1959 by Marshall Motor Bodies Ltd of Cambridge to the design of the engine development division of Rubery Owen & Co. Ltd the Builder of B.R.M. racing cars. With the capacity of 3 Racing Cars, the transporter was constructed of hardwood with exterior panels of hand beaten aluminium.

If you missed it this year I'd fully recommend attending next year as there was a lot to see and I've only covered a small section of what was on show. For more information please visit the Race Retro website:

www.raceretro.com

The Ford Show & Great Western Autojumble 2012, Report

2012-02-13T08:18:00.006-08:00

This Sunday I was off to Shepton Mallet again, not for another tractor show but for the

Ford Show and Great Western Autojumble.

The show was spread out over more halls this year allowing for a wider range of cars along with a bigger Autojumble. I spent most of my time in the main hall as it had the majority of the owners clubs and the most interesting cars.

1960 Thunderbird

(digitally painted ink sketch)

As you can see I really liked the back end of this Thunderbird, as with a lot of these American cars the design of the back is almost like a spaceship.

Plenty of leg room...Hang on is that a tractor in the background?

Darren Clarkes F2 Heritage Stock Car.

(digitally painted ink sketch)

This was at the Ford Show last year and I was hoping it would be back so I could sketch it.

There is a Heritage Stock Car scene in this country, see the BRISCA Website for more details.

Ford V8 "30" Touring Saloon

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Consul Capri

(digitally painted ink sketch)

As featured in the Joe Meek Bio Pic "Telstar". These cars have a definite American styling but seem to retain a British modesty.

Consul Classic

The Classic was designed in Dagenham from 1956 onward under Cheif Stylist Colin Neale.

It was produced from 1960 onwards.

Ford Anglia

1963 Cortina Mark 1

100e Popular

Gulf Mirage, GT40

This is a reconstructed vehicle, there is one of the three produced that still exists.

Deleloped by J.W. Automotive to contest the 1967 Le Mans.

A neat looking Transit, I wouldn't want to do a bank job with it though.

1955 Ford E83W Truck

Named "Rosie" & owned by Dave Locke.

Somerset Vintage and Classic Tractor Show 2012

2012-02-06T13:06:00.000-08:00

A cold weekend at Shepton Mallet Showground played host to the 10th Aniversary of the Somerset Vintage and Tractor show. I must say the show had a lot of variety on display with over 200 tractors of all types and ages on display, there was a lot to see. With £9900 raised for various charities over the weekend I would say it was a great success, and I will definitely be going back in 2013.

Fuelled this time by some peanut butter sandwiches I attended on the Saturday to seek out some interesting sketching subjects and find out more about these workhorses of the automotive world.

1950 Fordson Major E27N P6

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Currently owned by Matt Bryne from Ditcheat, the tractor was purchased from Gilcombe Farm, Burton. It is now up and running and Matt intends to fully restore it. I personally love it the way it is.

1948 John Deere Model BR

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Originally bought from R. Tincknell & Son in Wells, Somerset. I love these small John Deeres, simple and practical, that's what a tractors is meant to be right?

McCormick International

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Something about the characterful headlights that attracted me to this International Harvester, along with the great curved shape to the back of the tank.

1916 Burford

(digitally painted ink sketch)

According to the information there are only two known examples left. This handsome example is owned by Jason Smith and family from Sparkford. This incredible veteran was sandwiched between two large classic tractors but still managed to attract attention.

Austin Tractor?

WEHR Road Maintainer

1951 Field Marshal Series 3

Owned by David Dawson - Showed by Daniel Taylor

Now sporting it's original green colour after being painted orange in the sixties to make it look like a series 3A.

International Harvester 806

1936 Massey Harris Pacemaker

Bought by Mark James (Keynsham) in 2009 and restored from a "bad" State.

A dirty old ford, not all were there for the show and shine aspect of the show.

Finally I couldn't help but include this.

A fantastic, what I'd call characterful Bristol 403.

I'll let the next picture say the rest.

To Read More about the Show and the entries please visit their website:

www.somersettractorshow.co.uk

I'm back at Shepton Mallet this Coming weekend for the

Bristol Classic Car Show:

The FORD Show & The Great Western Autojumble

More Info Here

A sketch filled report will follow, maybe see you there?

Bill Burke and Don Francisco's Suite Sixteen

2012-02-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Suite Sixteen

(Ink and Monotype on A3 Bristol Board)

Second piece in the Belly Tank series is Bill Burke and Don Francisco's "Suite Sixteen". After using the 51 tank for number 23 Bill Burke opted for a p-38 wing tank for the next Belly Tank Streamliner as it was slightly larger. This enabled the driver to sit in front of the engine maintaining the streamlining of the original tank. Running a Flathead V8 engine, it became an early Dry Lakes Record Holder.

Bill Burke's P-51 Belly Tank Streamliner

2012-02-01T02:59:00.000-08:00

Number 23

(Ink and Monotype on A3 Bristol Board)

Bill Burke was racing a '32 Ford roadster on the dry lakes of Southern California during the 1930s through to the early '40s until WW II broke out. While stationed in Guadalcanal (South Pacific) as a PT boat pilot Bill saw some teardrop-shaped P-51 Mustang fighter plane belly fuel tanks being unloaded from a freighter. The streamline nature of these tanks made him wonder whether they could be used as a racer. He took the opportunity to measure a tank up and found that it was indeed possible to fit a Ford rear end and an engine block inside, and so the Belly Tank Streamliner was born.

Shortly after returning home from the war Bill Built the first Belly Tank Streamliner from a P-51 Belly Tank. These tanks were in plentiful supply from surplus yards costing $35 a piece making it cheaper to build a streamliner with this ready made body work than to build one from scratch. As well as being cheap aircraft engineers had spent a lot of time and money designing these tanks to be lightweight and optimally aerodynamic at very high speeds, making them ideal for racing on the dry lakes.

In 1946 Burke was the first to run a belly tank in the "Streamliner" class, and ran at both El Mirage and Harper Dry Lake. The car was a front engine design, and a bicycle seat was welded to the torque tube, real seat of the pants racing. Bill ran the P-51 Belly Tank three times in 1946, reaching a speed of 131.96 mph powered by a Mercury V8. Bill Learnt a lot from the 1946 season and came back the following year with a car utilising a larger P-38 Lightning Wing Tank, but that's a whole other story.

A3 signed and numbered Giclee Prints are available, to order email:

mrtnsquires@googlemail.com

Back to the Drawing Board Part 2

2012-01-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

Eyes On The Prize

(Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board)

Its been a while since I've done any line work in ink so I thought I'd try out a new composition I've been playing with based on board track racing. The idea was to get a dynamic view on a steep board track, with elements of story telling using the interaction between the riders.

Some American tracks had almost wall of death type inclines on circular tracks.

St Louis Board Track

Sept. 6, 1914, by St. Louis photographer A. F. Eike

Newark Board Track

The early part of my week was spent playing about with the mono print process and combining the prints with loose ink sketches. I like the way that the mono print technique abstracts the image producing textures that wouldn't normally be made with brushes or pens.

Board track Racer 1

(A5 Monoprint on Ink Sketch)

Board track Racer 2

(A5 Monoprint on Ink Sketch)

Board track Racer 3

(A5 Monoprint on Ink Sketch)

Back to the Drawing Board Part 1

2012-01-20T03:56:00.001-08:00

The new year is always an exciting time as it's a good opportunity to develop some new work and explore some new techniques. Here are a couple of sketches based around board track racer Albert "Shrimp" Burns.

Albert "Shrimp" Burns

(sketchbook page)

""Shrimp" Burns was one of the top dirt and board track racers of the 1910s and early '20s. The diminutive Burns rode for both the Harley-Davidson and Indian factory teams during his career. He was the youngest champion of his era, winning his first titles at the tender age of 15. "

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame

"Shrimp on the home straight"

(sketchbook page)

"Shrimp on the home straight"

(Mono print, etching ink on Bristol Board)

Mono print is a technique I've been wanting to get to grips with for a while. It consists of painting directly onto a sheet of glass with an oil based etching ink. A piece of paper is then laid on top of the sheet and rubbed to press the ink onto the paper. The advantage of using glass as a printing plate is that you can place a sketch underneath it as reference as seen by the mirrored image above.

SUMP Magazine

2012-01-10T06:56:00.001-08:00

Sump Magazine are a classic bike website and publisher and have been rather taken with my work. So much so that they have used my Otto Walker Painting and the recent sketches from Newark on their website.

To see more click on the images below. I'd encourage you to not only look at the links but have a browse around, as there are some great articles and publications.

SUMP PUBLISHING

Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Show Report

2012-01-09T01:20:00.000-08:00

Well the season has definitely kicked off early this year, after sleeping off the mince pies I had the urge to get back out there and get scribbling. So much so I made a 3 hour journey to get to Newark for the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic Show. Was it worth it? Well there certainly was a lot to see from the auto jumble to the club stands I was spoilt for choice of what to sketch.

Velocette 1922 Model E (220cc)

(digitally painted ink sketch)

First sketch of the day was this Model E Velocette. A lovely restoration, simplicity itself.

After getting the fingers warmed up I moved on to the New Imperial Stand.

The Owners club had a great turn out with a great array of bikes from a Model 7 with sidecar to a winter project Model 7. My choice for a sketch was this Model 37.

New Imperial 1935 Model 37 (250cc)

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Winner of "Best Unrestored"

Very few of these model 37s still exist. This is a true barn fine having been left alone on the Isle of Man since the outbreak of WWII. According to the owner Dave Baddeley he had to scrape off a load of mud and straw from the underside of the mudguards which had been under there all that time. The only non original part is the Magneto as the bike would have had a Maglita with a dynamo. Dave took this off and will eventually get it restored, but I'm glad he decided to go with the magneto and have fun with it rather than leave it sitting about.

New Imperial 1923 Model 7 (980cc)

A barn-find from Northern Island and last run in 1927. Apparently "still a work in progress".

The side car is a close approximation to the single seater variant.

New Imperial also did a tandem which must have been a sight to behold.

New Imperial 1930 Model 2 (350cc)

A very tidy example of the cheapest 350cc on the market at the time. Produced between 1926 - 1933 with very little change to the design. 1,260 were produced in 1930 alone.

New Imperial 1936 Model 23 (150cc)

Paul Doughty's winter project. He describes it as a "hedge-bottom job", but I'm inclined to agree with the NIOA members that say "Surely not - a rub over with an oily cloth and she'll be as good as new!"

If your interested in finding out more about the New Imperial mark why not visit the

New Imperial Owners Association website:

CLICK HERE

Ian Whitehead's New Imperial Grand Prix racer was at Montlhery in 2011 and will be there again in 2013, along with this Douglas Sprint bike.

Douglas 1929 SW6 (600cc)

(digitally painted ink sketch)

After the New Imperial Stand I was off to the London Douglas M.C.C. Stand, as there were some great examples of the mark on display. I was particularly taken with this sprint bike, it was used by Colin Clifford in the 60s / 70s for sprinting. Whilst chatting with the owner a Mr D Lawrence I found out that the SW model was favoured by racers but the standard Douglas gearbox was not. Racers in the 30s preferred to change the box to a Triumph gearbox which is exactly what is on this SW6. The twin cylinders are horizontal, and the big metal box in the middle is an air box which takes in air from underneath to regulate it between the two carburetors. A window is provided to check whether the oil is dripping in ok but at 90mph I don't think I'd want to be looking down.

Douglas 1921 WD 2 3/4 (348cc)

Back to basics with this oily rag condition WD. No Clutch, 2 gears and gas lighting, those were the days, well at least that's what I'm told.

The London Douglas M.C.C.

have a smart website with a history section and gallery:

CLICK HERE

On top of all the great club stands the Autojumble also had a couple of lovely bikes on offer:

Matchless 1936 250 G2 Sports

All Original with old Log Books

BSA 1930 600 Twin Port Sloper.

I've always liked these slopers, unfortunately I didn't have the spare £6700 to spend. Oh well I'll just have to satisfy myself with a home made cheese sandwich on the way home, and feel satisfied with a nice day out skribbling and chatting bikes.

The Cymota

2012-01-06T09:19:00.000-08:00

The Cymota

(digitally painted ink sketch)

Well when Mr Nick Taylor my next door neighbour came home with a smile on his face I instantly wondered what crazy contraption he had bought now. My hunch was right and he had succeeded in buying the worst in two wheeled transport the Cymota. Nick describes it as "a thing of Beauty." and I can't agree more.

Advertised as “The sensation of the nation” the Cymota was a copy of the VeloSoleX 650 (45cc, 0.3 hp) and was made by Cymota Motor Components Ltd at Leamington Road, Erdington, Birmingham, UK, between 1950 and 1952. Only about 200 Cymota units were sold.

The engine was covered by a sheet-metal cowling with a 1.7 litre fuel tank is mounted above the engine. A Miller magneto ignition was fitted to replace the French SEV version and an Amal 308/12 (12 mm) carburettor fitted to replace the French version.

The Science Bit

Mr Nick Taylors fantastic Cymota

(mounted on a Triumph Sports no less)

Well I couldn't just sketch it could I...

Don't let the blur on the photograph fool you I'm not really going that fast.

£100 Morris Painting

2012-01-05T01:09:00.001-08:00

Here is a Commission piece from last year of a £100 Morris.

The piece was based on an actual cover of "The Motor" I learnt a lot from analysing this cover. The artists that produced these early magazine covers really did understand the subtleties of what makes an effective composition. The lines through the trees and the white lines coming off of the wheels are very effective at giving the impression of gliding through the woodland.

First Post of 2012 "Back to the Drawing Board"

2012-01-03T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well Happy New Year!

2012 is here and it's already looking busy.

First event of the year is coming up this Sunday (8th January), the Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic at the Newark Showground. I will be attending on Sunday and going round doing some skribbling as I go, so if you see me stop me and say hello as my eyes will be glad of the break. More information on the show can be seen here:

(click Image above)

In the mean time here are some more digitally painted sketches from 2011.

Vanguard Woody

Early Morris Rat Rod

The First Production 8 litre Bentley

Last restored 1987

ABC Aero Engined Special

More Motorbike Digitally Painted Ink Sketches

2011-12-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Here are the last of 2011s motorbike sketches that have received the digital treatment.

Villiers

Rudge TT Rep style 250cc

1911 Humber 3.5hp 500cc

1923 BSA Model E 770cc V Twin

There are a few car sketches left to receive this treatment and then I'll need to find some more subjects to skribble.

Digitally Painted Ink Sketches Part 2

2011-12-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

Here's the next round of digitally painted ink sketches.

Mostly bikes this time with a Model T thrown in for good measure.

Trojan Gearless Cycle Outboard

1904 500cc Peugeot

1923 Harley Davidson JD

1908 FN 4 Cylinder 500cc

1919 Blackburne

1924 Ford Model T

The Best of this Years Event Sketches

2011-12-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me at shows what I do with my sketches. Mostly the sketches are done to further my knowledge of various cars and bikes by being able to sketch from real life. I learn a lot more by sketching from an actual car or bike than a photograph. Until now these sketches have just stayed in the sketchbook. After a review of this years sketchbooks I decided to chose the sketches that I think work well and take them a bit further. To save ruining the original sketch I scanned the sketchbook pages and then painted over them in Photoshop . To give an example here is a before and after of the process.

Here are the rest of the paints from today.

I'm definitely going to be doing more of these and possibly produce some prints from the best ones, so if you are taken by one in particular let me know.

20% off all Prints for Christmas

2011-12-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Greetings Cards

2011-11-25T01:31:00.000-08:00

The above 4 Greetings Cards designs are now available to order in time for Christmas.

The cards are 6" x4" on 300gsm satin card with a blank interior, so useful even if you don't use them for the holiday season.

Set of 4 cards including envelopes £8

A selection of your own choice from the 4 designs including envelopes:

Any 10 cards including envelopes £16

Any 20 cards including envelopes £30

Send your Orders to: mrtnsquires@googlemail.com

Order by 9th December to recieve your cards before Christmas.

George Barris Show at Rhythm Riot

2011-11-16T01:22:00.000-08:00

Chet Herbert Streamliner Body By Barris Kustom Auto

(Oil on Board)

Signed and Numbered Prints are now available to order:

A4 £25

A3 £50

Email me to order.

Rhythm Riot are at it again with another great exhibition as part of the weekends frivolities. This time the show is based around the legendary car customiser George Barris. If you don't know the name you will definitely know some of his creations, for example TV's Original Batmobile, The Munsters Koach, Black Beauty from Green Hornet the list goes on.

As part of the show I have created the above painting depicting the Chet Herbert Streamliner. George Barris and Sam Barris of Barris Kustoms created and painted the body for Chet Herbert's second Streamliner in three weeks. It was originally designed to be powered by a four-cylinder Weir Indy engine from 1932, however Chet changed his mind when the engine disintegrated during dyno testing. Chet chose a Hemi engine to operate his Streamliner, Sam had to reshape the body in order to suit a Hemi engine.

The Original image for the painting is part of the Kellogg Auto Archive and was used with Ron Kelloggs permission. Ron's Archive is chock full of fantastic images from Hot Rod history. To view the archive go to his site:

kelloggautoarchives.com

ZZR Created for 60s James Bond Spoof Movie "Out of Sight"

Surf Woodie.

Equipped with a Ford Cobra engine has its power increased by two Paxton super chargers.

The Super Van was re-built for the movie “Super Van” in the early 70’s. It started out as the Love Machine in the late 60’s, made out of a Dodge Sportsman Van. Super Van was example of the ultimate in futuristic motoring with solar energy.

More info on the Exhibition and the rest of Rhythm Riot click the link below:

www.rhythmriot.com/barris-car-show

For more on George Barris and his creations please browse his website:

www.barris.com

18th Carole Nash Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show 2011 Report

2011-10-17T01:53:00.000-07:00

I was kindly invited by Vintage and Veteran (purveyors of fine motorcycles) to attend the Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show and sketch on their stand. Well what a day! All the bikes that I would have sketched at the show were all on one stand (luckily it was the Vintage and Veteran stand). After a warm welcome from the Vintage and Veteran team and a cup of tea I set about sketching.

1923 Harley Davidson JD

"A nice old Harley Davidson on the road and ready to ride away to Harley Heaven.

This 1200cc V-Twin has been upgraded with a later carb and generator and an added regulator" Vintage and Veteran

A lot of bits and pieces to fit in in this sketch especially with the V-Twin.

I especially like the light and horn arrangement up front...

...and I've always liked the cut-aways in the tank to allow for the over head valves.

1908 FN 4 Cylinder 500cc

"Very Rare and desirable FN 4 Cylinder pioneer motorcycle. A lot of work has been done but the restoration still needs finishing.

Rare opportunity to acquire one of these fantastic shaft drive bikes." Vintage and Veteran

Not a belt or chain in sight due to the shaft drive, but still lots of lovely elements to this machine. I always love the long sweeping handlebars on these early Pioneer bikes.

Close up of the engine showing the beautifully simple pot like exhaust and drive shaft.

Rudge TT Rep style 250cc

"This Authentic reproduction was built by a long time UK Rudge Enthusiast in the 1980s in the style of a1933 TT Rep. The German Owner from 1984 has continued the work to complete the authentic styling and components.

This Bike Featured in the recreation of the historic "Rudge Sweeps the Board" photo from 1931." Vintage and Veteran

I was really happy with how this sketch turned out. It has just the right balance of detail and loosness to the pen marks. I must have been doing something right as someone bought it straight away!

These two pipes are drainage for the oil when under high pressure..

...This white one runs from the crank right the way the the back of the bike, to avoid getting oil under the bike. It must be some serious pressure to get the oil all the way along this tube.

1923 BSA Model E 770cc V Twin combination

"An outstanding outfit offering luxurious, smooth and sedate motoring for the decorative couple." Vintage and Veteran

This was certainly attracting a lot of attention at the show. Luckily the odd interested party would give my eyes a break by standing in the way, thanks to those that did as you may well have helped me avoid having my eyes fall out.

The sidecar is a fantastic design especially with the large tono come windscreen.

1911 Humber 3.5hp 500cc

"Nice early Humber in good unrestored condition. Interesting history file and once owned & ridden by CH Bullen in the Pionneer Run in 1946... I have ridden this bike on the road and it goes very well. I was able to stop the engine and restart by pedalling while still sitting. Very impressive. Really enjoyed it.

The styling on the tank and the handle bar grips were the highlights of this Humber for me; real attention to detail was executed by the manufacturers of this Pioneer bike.

These two pioneer bikes were featured in my VMCC 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park report but I had to feature them again because they are that good:

1903 Werner 344cc

1904 500cc Peugeot

Thanks again to Vintage and Veteran for inviting me along and being so accommodating, a true joy to sketch for such a friendly and professional bike purveyor.

More bikes and information on all Vintage and Veterans Bikes can be seen on their website:

http://www.vinandvet.co.uk

Wilma!!!

2011-10-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

Wilma!!!

(Oil on Board)

This is based on a digital sketch I did a while back and I've only just got round to doing this as a full oil piece. This is the first time I've worked in full colour for a long time and I've really enjoyed it so expect more of this to come.

This will be posted up on my personal site to as this is part of an entry for an upcoming group show in Bristol. Fingers crossed it will please the curators.

Bugatti Owners Club Autumn Classic at Prescott 2011 Report

2011-10-04T03:17:00.000-07:00

Well I must say the Bugatti Owners club certainly do know how to end the season. The Autumn classic was chok full of a wide variety of vehicles though out the whole weekend. Along with a free Wall of Death all weekend who could ask for much more.

With my pen full of ink and fuelling myself on chocolate brioche I set about sketching the weekend away! Here are my highlights of the weekend.

I've always liked these Midget racers but having a J.A.P. twin in one as well just makes it even better. This particular example is a Dirt Track Racer designed and produced by Harry Skirrow, Leeds. Running a 998cc J.A.P. engine producing 80bhp on methanol. It has all round suspension provided by two B.S.A. Front Ends and has four wheel drive, driven by chain. This is one of only a handful of remaining cars, possibly the last competitive Midget raced.

1915 Lenox Speedster. Made in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts and imported from the USA in 1998. I just loved the huge elliptical windscreen.

A right hand drive Ford? Yep these were produced by Ford in Canada and shipped over to the UK. Having the US factory in Chicago meant that they could set up a factory for RHD vehicles across the river in Canada and avoid some tax at the same time.

My star of the show was this Bobtail Model T. A incredible single seater.

Phil Wells 1924 T Modified with a V8.

One of the many members of the Vintage Hot Rod Association that were in attendance.

The VHRA have a great website showcasing their members cars and reporting on their escapades. Have a look you won't be disappointed.

I love the front end of a Plymouth (for reasons yet to be divulged on this blog), this sleek example belongs to a very helpful man called Paul. Apparently the square headlamps on this model were only done for an incredibly short period.

This is the White Sewing Machine Company's "Whistling Billy" steam engine racer. The Racer received its nickname because the high pitch release of pressure reminded observers of the sound of a tea kettle. White steam cars were products of the White Sewing Machine Company, a business that thrived till the late 1990s.

Whistling Billy was a terror in the mile and half mile dirt track races across the country in 1905. Driven by the fearless Webb Jay, it set unprecedented speeds and gave better known drivers Barney Oldfield and Louis Chevrolet all they could handle. The racer was a major force in the short sprint races of 1905 to 1912, but it never proved itself in contests of longer distances.

Billy is not currently running but is in the process of being rebuilt with the intent of running her. I for one am looking forward to seeing this beast running.

A gorgeous 1929 Ford Model A Sport Coupe with everything original. The engine has been upgraded to a 21 stud flathead but it is still in keeping with the period. A real traditional rod.

There were a quite a few Indian motorcycles in attendance this one particularly took my ey with is map attachment. Not an original extra but one of the owners innovations who needs sat nav?

This roadster has been running since the 80s and has been nicely executed. A real pleasure to sketch.

I've been seeing this Chevrolet Cab Over Engine truck in mags over the last year. As a huge pick up and truck fan I was really pleased to be able to see this for real. It is the owners daily driver, and why not.

A living room in the back of a truck? Yes that's what it seemed to be. Why not travel in comfort and take your living room with you wherever you go.

If you go to the effort of having your car looking this good I would insist on a matching caravan too.

A Standard Vanguard with a Rover V8 engine, Cortina front and Volvo back axle, everything else is stock. Plus a Damned sticker in the back a true British rod done in style.

The car park was constantly being refreshed with plenty of vehicles to keep the interest going. Unfortunately as I started sketching this the owners decided to go home. Nothing personal I hope.

Classic Bike Article and Autumn Classic at Prescott

2011-09-15T03:45:00.000-07:00

Classic Bike Article

If any of you read Classic Bike (Classic Bike Web Page) you may have spotted that I have made it into another magazine due to my sketching exploits at the VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes. The guys at Classic Bike liked my work so much that they kindly included me in a small article in this months issue. If you have not seen the article click on the image below.

Special thanks to Rick Parkington for a smashing little mention in the magazine.

Autumn Classic at Prescott 1st & 2nd October

The Last Event at Prescott is being held on the 1st weekend of October I will be there hosting a stall and getting about with the sketchpad. I missed this event last year and so I'm very much looking forward to it this year. It is an all American weekend with a whole plethora of Flatheads and vintage hot rods going up the hill. Also the Wall of Death will be thrilling audiences throughout the weekend, I'm hoping to be able to catch one of their shows as I've been waiting a while to see them perform.

More info on the Autumn Classic can be found on the Bugatti Owners Club Website:

http://www.prescott-hillclimb.com/events/october2011.aspx

Hope to see you there.

Blog Revamp

On a final note you may have noticed that I have just revamped the Blog Page to include a shop as well as a few other extra features. The blog is a continual work in progress and I always welcome comments and constructive criticism, in order to improve it. Hope you like the improvements!

Sandown Park International Toy Fair

2011-09-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

Donald Campbell's 1965 Series 1 Jaguar E-Type fixed head coupe

alongside a mock-up built by the Norris brothers

of their proposed Bluebird CMN8 rocket car

outside Donald’s house in 1965.

A4 Watercolour on Bristol Board

I was recently asked by Speed Record Models and Memorabilia to produce the above commission piece to be be released in conjunction with a limited edition model of Donald Campbell's E Type.

The original artwork along with a limited edition Giclee print and postcards will be available alongside the model at the '50 Years 0f E-Type' event hosted by Sandown Park International Toy Fair this Saturday 3rd September. More information on the toy fair can be seen here:

http://www.barrypotterfairs.com/

Bought New from H. R. Owen London in early 1966 by Donald, GLM 37C was driven by him daily to and from lake coniston during his final water speed record attempts in Bluebird K7 between November 66 and Janurary 67.

Bluebird Mach 1.1 (CMN-8) was a design for a rocket-powered supersonic land speed record car, planned by Donald Campbell but thwarted by his subsequent death during a water speed record attempt in Bluebird K7 in early 1967.

The limited edition 1/43rd model of Donald Campbell's E-Type is exclusively available from Speed Record Models and Memorabilia only

If you are interested in obtaining one of these models please contact:

Geoff Holden at Speed Record Models and Memorabilia

email: geoff.holden@gofast.co.uk

tel: 07957 631 113

Speed Record Models and Memorabilia also has a facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Speed-Record-Models-and-Memorabilia/211743038882435

Pre War Prescott in The Automobile

2011-08-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

1920 Bugatti T22

(A4 Watercolour on Bristol Board)

If you read The Automobile (http://www.theautomobile.co.uk/) you may have spotted that I was mentioned in the write up for Pre War Prescott. If you have not seen the article click on the image below.

Thanks to Peter McFadyen (http://www.petermcfadyen.co.uk/) for the article.

More info on Pre War Prescott can be found here:

http://www.prewarprescott.com/

Pre War Prescott Report

2011-07-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

Pre War Prescott was a great event; with an informal atmosphere and a great variety of cars it is definitely an event to put on your calender for 2012, the booked date is the 22nd July. With a Lancaster Bomber display to end the day you couldn't ask for anything more! More info on the event can be seen here:

http://www.prewarprescott.com/

First sketch of the day was done from the gazebo seeing that it poured down for the first hour or so. Here are two Alvis cars side by side the one on the right seemed to be a special of some sort.

Once the rain stopped I ventured out to see what had turned up.

I was very taken by this 1914 Prince Henry Vauxhall.

Later on in the day this fantastic ABC aero-engined special turned up, making a wonderful racket! More info on the ABC Engine can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_8_hp

Photograph by Peter McFadyen

http://www.petermcfadyen.co.uk/

Apparently the upholstery was from a Bugatti!

A lovely installation of the 1200cc parallel twin aero engine into this oddball special

Zenith Carbs!

1930 Brooklands Riley

Enthusiastically run by John Hearne.

Alvis Duck's-back

I wish I'd realised this before I started sketching the front half!

Bentley Special

Alvis

Ford 32 Coupe

Great to see this unmodified, it made a refreshing change.

SU Carburettors Skinner Special "The Red Monster"

An unfinished sketch due to the SU carburettor team constantly taking the car for a spin up the hill, they seemed to be having a great time!

1920 Bugatti T22

An Austin pick-up with Punch and Judy livery.

This Aston Martin had a fantastic, possibly original patina.

BMW Frazer Nash

VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes at Mallory Park

2011-07-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Loads to see and sketch.

In between manning my stall I went around the site and spent some time with some amazing bikes. Most of my time was spent sitting on the ground and sketching, so much so that at one point a little girl walked past and said

"Look Mummy there's that man with no legs".

Here are my sketches along with some photos of my favourites from the festival.

For info on Upcoming VMCC Events please visit their website:

http://www.vmcc.net/

First up on Friday evening was this 1903 Werner.

I'm getting more and more obsessed with these veteran bikes. The connection with what were called safety cylces (or bicycles to you and me) is still there. You can really feel the pioneering spirit when you look at these bikes.

Also thanks to the guys and gals at Vintage and Veteran for being so accommodating to my sketching habits over the weekend. Oh and for the free bottle of Cider!

With lots of fantastic old bikes for sale I'd recommend a visit to their website:

http://www.vinandvet.co.uk

The next morning with the autojumble taking shape I took the opportunity to sketch this Trojan Mini Motor, gold model a motor powered push bike.

Trojan logo on the filler cap

Also on the same stall was this BSA C15. An ex police bike with extra trimmings.

The Vincents were out in force at this event. This sprint bike took my eye. I like the minimal nature of sprint bikes, small tanks low slung frames.....

The sprint bike theme continued as I was asked to sketch the 500cc Krauser "Frankies Monster" which is ridden by ridden by Alan Tinnion.

This was a fun bike to sketch due to the complex hand fabricated outlet pipes that twisted around each other in order to utilise the empty space between the front wheel and the engine.

The Classic Bike Team were in attendance and looked to be having a great time. I have been avidly reading about Rick Parkington's 1919 Blackburne (or is it 1915 the debate continues) in the build up to the Banbury Run, which by all accounts it completed!

Rick Parkington also bought along his 1927 Rex Acme TT.

And of course the Classic Bike D1 Bantam was holding it's own in the line up sporting a rather fetching tartan seat!

For more Info on Classic Bike which is always a thoroughly good read please visit their website:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/Classic-Bike/

I couldn't resist another visit to the Vinatage and Veteran tent to sketch this early Peugeot.

On Sunday morning I spent some time sketching this 1938 Excelsior Manxman works at Paul Ingham's stall where he was promoting his latest book "Excelsior the racing years": A fantastic book depicting the racing history of this legendary mark. The book presents a good balance of text and photographs, many of the photos in this book have never been seen before. If you are interested in the Excelsior then I would strongly recommend you pick up a copy of this book (limited to only 500) from the following site:

http://www.excelsior-manxman.co.uk/

Bonhams were showing some of there upcoming auction lots with some rather drool worthy bikes.

One of only 4 ex-works 1954 AJS E95 Porcupine

estimate $750,000 - 950,000

Unrestored Barn Find, c1955 BSA 499cc Gold Star

Estimate £3000 - 4000

Even when packing up my display I was seeing bikes leaving that I hadn't got round to seeing on over the weekend. This truly is a festival of 1000 bikes.

A fantastic early Indian.

There was a lot of Motoring events on over the weekend. Of course there was the Grand Prix but I got more excited seeing this pull up at the service station. It runs in the Nostalgia class, a late 60s style slingshot dragster. Apparently running a Buick V8 at around 11 second times.

I'm attending another event Coming this Saturday and definitely not one to miss:

Pre War Prescott

This is it's first year but with over 200 cars confirmed and a Lancaster flyby I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. More Information can be found here:

http://www.prewarprescott.com/

Hope to see you there.

UK Roadster & Pickup Nationals at Twinwood Airbase

2011-07-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

On Sunday (3rd July) Twinwood airbase played host to the UK Roadster and Pickup Nationals, hosted by Dave, Lesley and Paul Brown at Clapham Classics.

An incredibly wide range of cars and trucks made the journey out to this lost gem of a WWII Airbase to enjoy the sunshine. Here's a few snaps and sketches from the day.

First sketch of the day was this Sherpley Sports known as "Beastie".

It was an apt crossover from my visit to the Bentley Drivers Concours D'Elegance last weekend. The car started off as a 1983 Freight Rover dropside truck. The build took 5 years and was based around the chassis and running gear from this truck. The engine and gearbox came from a scrap 1965 Vanden Plas 4R, the engine being a Rolls Royce 4 litre, straight six. The owner said it would look silly with anything smaller, and I must agree.

Second Sketch of the day was this fantastic early morris rat rod.

This I must say is possibly my favourite build, due to the execution and inventiveness that has gone into it. The owner is constantly changing bits on it as he said "I get bored". Since I first saw this car in Custom car it has had a new morris grill and bonnet installed, along with a fantastic use of an old oil tin to cover the air filter poking out of the bonnet.

Morris cars obviously run in the family as the father bought along his morris van too.

Third sketch was of these conveniently place early rods. Looking great against this period airfield building. obviously attracting a lot of attention.

The fourth and penultimate sketch was of the front end of this 40s Ford pickup. I love the art deco details that they put into the grills in these models.

The final sketch of the day was of this Vanguard Woody. A great little car with a one off woody body. There was a contingent of Vanguards on display, apparently owned by just one person. Hats off to the owner and his friends for bringing them all along.

Here's the full line up.

Had to include this early Ford pickup a real favourite

as my wife and I are currently looking for one!

As well as all the cars there was also the Twinwood Museum chok full of old stuff.

Whilst at the event I met Tim and Paul two very friendly artists from Raygun Industries. I would highly recommend visiting their website and checking out their artwork, DVDs and t shirts:

http://www.raygun-industries.co.uk/

Clapham Classic Events are running another shindig in the same location in September. I'd urge anyone who has an interest in cars to attend this event as Sunday proved that any type of car, truck or even bike was welcome at this all inclusive event. More info can be found here:

http://www.claphamclassicevents.co.uk/

Last but not least I'd like to thank Dave, Lesley and Paul Brown for organising such a wonderful event and making everyone feel so welcome.

Two more events to go in my 5 week Marathon:

VMCC 1000 Bikes Festival 8th - 10th July (this weekend)

http://www.vmcc.net/1000bikes/index.htm

Pre War Prescott 17th July

http://www.prewarprescott.com/

Bentley Drivers Club Concours D'Elegance

2011-06-29T04:42:00.001-07:00

Bentley at the 1929 Irish Grand Prix

(oil on board)

A piece made for the 75th anniversary Concours D'Elegance.

The Bentley Drivers Club had their 75th anniversary Concours D'Elegance on 25th June. I was there enjoying the line up as well as running painting and sketching demonstrations.

1929 HJ Mulliner 4.5 Litre

Winner of the Patina Class

I really liked the owners run it as it is approach.

The First Production 8 litre Bentley

Last restored 1987

First Owner Jack Buchanan He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town

1923 Vandeplas 4.5 Litre

Brooklands Double 12 report

2011-06-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

W.O. Bentley in Experimental Number 1 at Brooklands

(oil on board work in progress)

Part of my painting demonstration on the Saturday. I will be continuing this piece at this Coming Saturdays Bentley Driver Club Concours D'Elegance

My home for the weekend the ERA Shed.

An improvised set up.

One of the current residents in the E.R.A. Shed

The Napier Railton (24 litre Napier Lion Areo Engine) :

Holder of the outer track record at Brooklands

143.44 mph (230.84 km/h)) set in 1935:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napier-Railton

Bluebird Sunbeam (350HP)

Originally built by built by the Sunbeam Car Company in 1922. It Was Later campained by Malcolm Campbell. More info on it's life and records can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_350HP

This car was on loan from Beaulieu and was subject to some of my scribblings over the weekend. I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this.

Quick pen and ink Sketch

Watercolour study

As part of the celebrations they had three Napier Lion engines. Two were in cars the Napier Railton and the Napier Bentley. The other was on a trolley and had a propeller attached.

The real monster of the weekend was Chris Willaims' Packard Bentley a 42 litre aero engined black beast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packard-Bentley

Pen and Ink Study

As well as the large areo engined cars there was lots of other exotic machinery to see. Including this Alpha Romeo Areo Spider. It was built in the 30s to run at over 200mph and was never completed. After a long spell in various barns in England it was restored in Europe (I'm currently trying to fond out more about its history). Unfortunately it only had a 6 cylinder engine installed, it was intended to have a 12 cylinder engine but Alpha Romeo never produced one. It still made a great noise though.

Originally designed to be a single seater it can now take 3 people with the driver in the middle. So McLaren weren't the first!

The front brakes are huge, you couldn't even see past them through the spokes!

There was a fantastic array of Veteran cars on display outside the front of the Club House.

1898 Henroid

Pen and Ink Study

The Henroid can run on either alcohol or petrol with very slight adjustment. This is the only known surviving example. Owned by Roy Fisher of Eastbourne, on the south coast of England, the 6 hp Henriod Duc, or “Madame Henriod” as he calls his pride and joy, is untouched, never having been restored, and is completely intact.

Large exposed flywheel can be seen lurking behind the engine.

Willy Wonka style oil resevoirs which drip directly onto various parts of the engine.

1897 British Built Daimler

Pen and Ink Study

The earliest surviving example a Coventry made Daimler.

The Morgan Three Wheeler Club were well represented on the day.

Special congratulations go out to Ian and Maria Parkinson for winning the Concours!

(photo by Trevor Seymour)

The Clive Lones Morgan

Baragwanath JTOR 996CC J.A.P. Engined Cycle Car

It Achieved 37 world records and in 1930 was the first Light Car to lap Brooklands outer Circuit at 100mph.

There were also some fantastic Austin Severn's out and about.
Chris Williams' Austin 7 special with a 3 Cylinder Light Aircraft Engine

An unusual short bodied Austin 7

Special thanks to all at Brooklands who made me feel so welcome and made such an amazing event possible. I fully recommend this event to anyone and urge you to attend next year.

Don't forget if your not already I would also like to recommend that you become a Brooklands trust member and that you support this amazing living museum:

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com

Upcoming Events for June - July

2011-06-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

Well June to July is pretty packed with 5 upcoming events on 5 consecutive weekends so I thought I'd deal with them all in one post so here goes.

1922 Brooklands Double Twelve Record

(work in progress)

June 18th - 19th Brooklands Double 12

Billed as "The biggest motoring competition held at Brooklands since 1939" this is going to be a spectacular event and I'm very honoured to be invited to show at this event. I will be displaying new artwork and running a painting demonstration throughout the weekend in the ERA shed. More details can be found here:

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/index.php?/double12/

June 25th Bentley Drivers Club Concours d'Elegance

This year is the 75th Anniversary of the formation of the Bentley Drivers Club, and so this years Concours d’Elegance is set to be a well attended event with cars from all over the globe attending Broughton Castle for this annual event.

Especially seeing that the Britain by Bentley Tour is taking place at the same time, with visitors from far and wide joining a group of 50 Bentleys travelling the length and breadth of Britain throughout June and July the turnout will include cars that are not normally seen in this country!

More info can be seen at the Bentley Drivers Club here:

http://www.bdcl.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=120

July 3rd UK Roadster Nationals

The UK Roadster Nationals are open to all convertible and open top cars including Veteran, Classic, Custom, Americans, Hot Rods and Replicas. So this is going to be a really interesting event as the range of cars is huge. Along with a special painting demonstration planned I'm really looking forward to this.

More Info Can be found here:

http://www.claphamclassicevents.co.uk/roadsternationals.htm

8th - 10th July VMCC Festival of 1000 Bikes

This is the Vintage Motorcylce Clubs main event of the year and it has a vast line up "the event gives enthusiasts the opportunity to ride their own machines in multiple track sessions over the weekend. On the Saturday of the event we cater for all classes of road machines from the earliest Veterans (discounted entry fee available for pre 1925 machines) through to machines of the super bike era which reflect the wide range of interests within the VMCC. With lesser noise restrictions Sunday is the day for riders to display their racing machinery in special track sessions running throughout the day.

It is now recognised that this unique event provides the best line up of “Past Masters” and famous machines assembled every year in the UK."

More info here:

http://www.vmcc.net/1000bikes/index.htm

16th July Pre War Prescott

This is the first year that this event is being run and it is set to be an annual event from now on. The event is being run by the Vintage Minor Register and a great range of Pre war Cars is expected. I'm hoping to organise a special painting demonstration for this event too.

More info here:

http://www.prewarprescott.com/

I look forward to seeing you if you are attending. If you are unable to attend then as always I will be posting up event reports.

The Charles Jarrott Commemoration Run (Sunday 5th June)

2011-06-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

Charles Jarrott on a De Dion Bouton Tricycle

Watercolour on Bristol Board

Quick ink sketch of the front end of a De Dion Bouton in Richmond Park

On the 29th November 1897 the first race meeting for motors in Great Britain Britain took place at Sheen House Richmond Park, London. Charles Jarrott organised the event which took place on the cycle track at Sheen House.

To celebrate such a momentous occasion the De Dion Bouton Club UK retraced the route that the Motor-Car Club took on that day starting off at Whitehall Place and driving to Sheen House.

It was the first time this event has been run and it was a fantastic sight to see so many De Dion Bouton cars and tricycles, being flagged off from Whitehall Place and running through London to Richmond Park. The Club then ran their cars and tricycles round the park, before heading off to Brooklands.

Pedal Start of a De Dion Bouton tricycle

De Dion Bouton Club Members Dressed for the occasion.

Large single cylinder De Dion Bouton engine

1897 De Deon Bouton tricycle engine

For more information on the De Dion Bouton Club UK please visit their website where you can read more on the history and the clubs activities.

http://www.dedionboutonclub.co.uk

The clubs bulletin "De Dion Bouton Motorvations" is a fantastic read, as it not only documents the clubs activities it contains articles on the history of the marque.

Many thanks to Nick Pellett who organised the The Charles Jarrott Commemoration Run, making it such a success.

VSCC SeeRed at Donnington Park 2011 Report

2011-05-25T05:17:00.000-07:00

VSCC SeeRed at Donington was certainly a feast for the eyes in terms of the variety of cars. I also got some painting done too.

GN Spider at Shelsley Walsh c1920s

Oil on Board

Here's the demonstration piece so far. There is a real dynamic to this piece that really works. Mostly work to do on the crowd as I want to keep this piece loosely rendered.

(detail)

After almost being blown away twice on Saturday morning I was kindly allowed to

se up in the Paddock Suite; where I managed to run a painting demonstration rather than hanging on to the gazebo.

Lea Francis S Hyper

In original condition as raced by the factory.

Ford Special?

Brooklands Napier Railton

Cooper Mark I

Cooper 500cc Jap Engine

Cooper

Lagonda

A very Smart Fraser Nash with a fantastic looking rear end!

VSCC SeeRed at Donnington Park 21st - 22nd

2011-05-19T05:39:00.000-07:00

GN Spider c1920, Shelsley Walsh Hillclimb

Oil Sketch for Painting demonstration this weekend.

I will be running a trade stand at this weekends VSCC event SeeRed at Donnington Park. The above oil sketch will form the basis for the painting demonstration for the weekend.

I have two spare tickets for the weekend for anyone that is interested.

Please contact me before the weekend if you are interested in free entry.

Organised by the VSCC who have been racing at Donington Park since the 1930s, SeeRed brings the best Vintage and Historic cars and drivers to Donington . Spectators will be fully entertained by a programme of 17 races over the weekend that highlights Pre-war Sports-Cars, Vintage and Historic (Pre -61) Grand Prix Cars, 1950s Sports Racing Cars, Formula Junior, Equipe GTS (50s and 60s production sports-cars) and 500s. More info along with race schedule can be found at the event website:

http://www.vsccseered.co.uk/

Vintage Revival Montlhery 2011

2011-05-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Super Kim

(Watercolour Sketch)

Super Kim.

A Special made by a South American comprised of a Zenith frame and a heavily modified Brough Superior Engine. Winner of the most original bike at Vintage Revival Montlhery

8 valve Koehler-Escoffier

(Watercolour Sketch)

Track Fun

1933 MX Family "Bluebell" round the banking

Motorbikes on the banking at Montlhery

Pacer / Stayer Tuning

One of a pair of pacer bikes

complete with custom broom stand

Detail showing wide belt drive with rear wooden wheel

8 valve Indian Boardtrack racer engine

8 valveIndian Boardtrack Racer

Zenith KTR

Single cylinder J.A.P. Engine lightweight

Radial Engine Racer (aero engine)

Radial Engine Racer

Morgan 2 speed pickup

Tired and fully satisfied with an amazing weekend we head home.

Biker Hotline Article

2011-04-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

The lovely people at Biker Hotline in the States have posted up a small article on my recent work. There is a huge amount of information on this site including show reports, news and a classified section. Click the link below to see my article and have a browse round the site whilst your there:

http://www.bikerhotline.com/pr/2011/11msquirespr/

Prescott Bike Festival Report

2011-04-12T03:34:00.000-07:00

Demo piece at the end of the day

(a better picture will be posted once I've made more progress)

My home for the day.

For it's first year the Prescott Bike festival turned out to be quite an event, with bikes old and new out in force to run up the hill in front of a crowd of a good few thousand! The highlights for me were as always the older bikes, especially the collection that was bought down by the Brooklands Museum not only were they on display they were also running them up the hill too! Here is a selection of my personal highlights:

Doug Earl Cotton

498cc J.A.P. (1938 Speedway Engine)

1928

Doug Earle, who raced Zenith bikes at Brooklands in 1938, created this bike in later life as a replica of a 1930s Outer Circuit racer and sidecar.
It is likely that he used the bike for dirt/grass track racing post war. He then remodelled it with period style fuel (methanol) and oil tanks. The motorcycle and sidecar streamlined in hand beaten aluminium, streamlining on the front forks remains.
In the 1960s he was well known for his immaculately prepared Douglas sprinter, which competed with the "Boy" Tubb Grindlay-Perrless in appearance.

"Boy" Tubb Grindlay-Perrless

498cc J.A.P.

1929

In 1928, Bill Lacey, riding a 500cc Grindlay Peerless at Brooklands, became the first person to ride 100 miles an hour on a british track.
The following year 5 or 6 replicas were built, one of which was bought by Edmond "Boy" Tubb in 1936.
E.C.E. "Ted" Baragwanath rebuilt the engine for Edmond. Eith this new found power he went on to win his Gold Star at 102mph.

The Brooklands Museum is a very important place in motoring history and I encourage you to become a Brooklands Trust Member. It's £30 a year and you get free access to the museum as well as discounts on events. More information can be found here:

http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/

More Great Machines

1908 Triumph (Belt Drive)

This also incredibly was running up the hill. The owner was keen to show me the bike when he saw my watercolour piece depicting the same bike. So much so that he wheeled it round to my stall so I could have a look. No clutch on this one a running start is needed to get it going, must be great fun to ride. One day I tell myself one day.

498cc Velocette

(love the Gordon's Gin can!)

J.A.P. Powered three wheeler / Sidecar outfit

(Detail)

J.A.P. Powered Sprint Bike

Manx Superior (Manx Bike with Brough Superior Engine)

New Bike Works and Prescott Bike Festival 2011

2011-04-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

125 Grand Prix, Sachsenring, East Germany (Sunday 11 July 1971)

Oil on Board (60cm x 40cm)
Based on photo from the Bauer Archive

"The Maicos of Borje Jansson and Dieter Braun lead Barry Sheene and Angel Neito, but it was Neito who Finally took the Win. 125 GP racing has always been spectacular, yet the 2011 Season will be its last." Alan Seeley

ORIGINAL PIECE FOR SALE is please contact me for sales.

PRINTS are also available. Any size printed to order.

125 Grand Prix, Sachsenring, East Germany (Sunday 11 July 1971)

(Detail)

Excelsior Oregon City Hill Climb1920

Oil on Board (40cm x 35cm)

A V-twin Excelsior Auto Cycle takes the hill in the 1920 Oregon City Hill Climb. Its 1920 Oregon plates help confirm the year.

Excelsiors were made from 1909 until 1931, eventually being owned by Schwinn. Often used for racing, in 1912 the Excelsior was the first motorcycle to reach a recorded 100 miles an hour.

ORIGINAL PIECE FOR SALE is please contact me for sales.

PRINTS are also available. Any size printed to order.

Prescott Bike Festival 2011

http://www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk/

I'm running a stall at this years Prescott bike Festival Sunday 10th April (this Sunday)

I will be running a display including the latest bike pieces, as well as running a painting demonstration throughout the day. There is loads of stuff packed into this event and this is it's first year so if you are in the area please come down and support this event.

Great Western Auto Jumble 2011 Report

2011-02-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

Otto Walker Board Track Racer

(Oil on Board)

Currently for sale Contact me for sales mrtnsquires@googlemail.com

Prints are also available to order.

'32 dry lake racer

oil on board (work in progress)

This piece was done as a demonstration piece over the weekend. Based on a photo graph from the Don Montgomery Scrapbook.

A few more hours and it will be done.

Roy Clarke's Replica of his 50's F1 Stock Car

(as seen in the Audi advert)

Roy Clarke was at the show and was definitely a Stock Car addict and a lovely guy to boot.

After chatting with him about heritage stock car racing I'm going to make every effort to try and make it to one of the BRISCA Heritage Race meets this year. For more info on Heritage Stock Car Racing please visit this website:

http://www.briscaf1heritage.com/

Roy Clarke's Replica of his F2 Stock Car.

Currently driven by his son Darren Clarke.

The ford display also had a nice range of old fords as well as newer stuff.

A nice little show all round.

The Footman James 2nd Great Western Autojumble Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th February 2011

2011-02-07T05:26:00.000-08:00

I will be displaying work and running a painting demonstration this coming weekend (Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th February 2011) at The Footman James 2nd Great Western Autojumble:

Stall 28

Royal Bath and West Showground BA4 6QN

Open 9.30 - 4.00 each day

On sale will be original artwork as well as prints and postcards. 10% discount will also be offered on commissions taken on the day.

The show’s centrepiece is a special display in the main hall, focusing on 100 years of Ford. It will feature some 20 clubs, showing more than 50 Fords; from an early Model T through to Fiestas and a GT40 replica.

More info can bee seen here:

http://www.bccsl.co.uk/

More Dry Lake Racer Studies

2011-01-27T10:36:00.001-08:00

Ken Lindley (Lancers) modified 1946

Water Colour Study on Bristol Board

Ken Lindley (Lancers) modified 1946. Earned 4th Place in the SCTA Individual Points Championship while recording a 128.93mph. The Racecar grill is from a 1936 Pontaic.

Esau Thun's (Albata) 1932 pre war roadster in 1941

Water Colour Study on Bristol Board

Esau Thun's (Albata) 1932 pre war roadster in 1941. A Good example of the pre war roadster stance.

Both studies are based upon original photos from Don Montgomery's "Old Hot Rods Scrapbook"

www.montgomeryhotrodbooks.com

Water colour studies of early dry lake racers

2010-12-23T08:44:00.001-08:00

Watercolour on Bristol Board

In 1938 Ernie McAfee (90 MPH Club) recorded the fastest speed at an SCTA meet at 137.41 mph. It had a Winifield flathead on a four cylinder Ford engine.

Watercolour on Bristol Board

Here is Charles Beck's (Centuries Streamliner..With Four-cylinder power the little streamliner took first place at the August 1942 SCTA meet with a 131.96 mph speed. Note the wheel covers from a World War I Jenny Airplane.

Here are two quick watercolour studies based on photographs taken from the Don Montgomery book "Old Hot Rods Scrap Book"

More info on Dons amazing books can be seen at his site:
www.montgomeryhotrodbooks.com

2010 Catalogue

2010-12-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

I'm please to announce that my 2010 catalogue is now available to view and download here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44599067

It features all my currently available artwork and prints, as well as highlights of this years commissions and the commission price list. So if your stuck for an original Christmas present or even just fancy treating yourself you might find what your looking for in the catalogue. If you don't find what you want why not order a commission.

Go on it's Christmas!!

Dirty Magazine

2010-11-26T03:06:00.000-08:00

Whilst at the Vintage Skate 'N' Surf Expo I met Scarlett Rickard who publishes a fantastic Dirty Magazine. It's a magazine about... well I'll let Scarlett tell you in her own words:

"The Dirty Magazine is a celebration of old shit and the people who rescue it, collect it, mend it, replicate it, kick it and shout at it, but ultimately love it."

The mag is chock full of old bikes cars and other old tat that is constantly fascinating, so I'd urge you to have a look at their site and maybe even treat yourself to a copy (if that's what tickles your fancy)

Website:

http://www.dirtybobbers.co.uk/

Blog:

http://thedirtymagazine.blogspot.com/

On top of all that Scarlett is an incredible illustrator and sign writer. Check out her stuff here:

http://www.scarlettrickard.talktalk.net

Skate ‘n’ Surf at the Rhythm Riot

2010-11-23T05:40:00.002-08:00

New Zealand Surf Wagons c1960s

A3 Indian Ink on Bristol Board

1951 Ford Woodie Surf Wagon
Acrylic on Skateboard

(detail)

Roller Derby deck with metal wheels!

Sidewalk Surfboard

T Bucket Pickup

Ford Model A Pickup

I've just come back from the amazing Rhythm Riot Weekender (more info here) in Camber where I took part in their first ever Vintage Skate and Surf Expo.

As you can see from the photographs there were some great old school skateboards and vehicles. Part of the show involved each artist customising a skateboard. I daubed mine with the rear end of a 1951 Ford Woodie.

One of the events sponsors was the VHRA (Vintage Hot Rod Association) a British based association promoting pre 1949 Hot Rods. I would highly recommend going to their website as they have an amazing contingent of hot rods on their register.

Thanks to Robin and Neil for putting together such a great show!

Skate ‘n’ Surf at the Rhythm Riot Update

2010-11-18T06:15:00.000-08:00

Coupe Burnout

Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board

Orville "Snuffy" Welchel, Dry Lake Racer

Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board

Here are two of the pieces that I will be displaying at the Skate and Surf Expo at Rhythm Riot this weekend.

Orville "Snuffy" Welchel (his name is sometimes listed as Welcher). Snuffy and Polly (note the sign on the cowl) were members in the Road Runners and raced in the Modified class running a Riley two-port.

Old Number 7

2010-11-18T04:41:00.000-08:00

SCH 'Sammy' Davis (left) and Dr J Dudley 'Benjy' Benjafield With Old Number 7

Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board

Old Number 7 at the Podium at Le Mans 1927

After the White House Crash (note the damage on the front right hand side)

Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board

Old Number 7 at the Ritz

They definitely knew how to celebrate.

Indian Ink on A3 Bristol Board

Here is a large commission I've just completed. It's comprised of three images of Old Number 7, a 3 litre Bentley which won Le Mans in 1927, under exceptional circumstances.

The race is commonly remembered due to the infamous White House crash, which involved all three of the widely-tipped Bentley team's entries, and caused the retirement of two of them. The race was eventually won by the third which, although badly damaged, was able to be repaired by drivers Dudley Benjafield and Sammy Davis. It was Bentley's second victory in the endurance classic.

Skate ‘n’ Surf at the Rhythm Riot

2010-11-10T08:01:00.001-08:00

Next weekend I'm taking part in the VINTAGE SKATE’N’SURF EXPO at the amazing Rhythm Riot weekender in Camber Sands. I will be displaying my latest collection of Hot Rod Pieces, as well as taking part in Live Painting sessions throughout the weekend.

More info here:

Vintage Hot Rod Association

and here:

Rhythm Riot

See you there boppers!

Tony Plunketts' Amazing Car

2010-11-08T04:08:00.001-08:00

A3 Indian Ink on Bristol Board

After meeting Tony Plunkett at Prescott earlier this year he put in an order for a commission. At the end of the Saturday my wife and I went over to the camping field to take some photos of his car for reference. After about 4 laps of the camping area in Bluebell a Morgan 3 wheeler family (not really an off road vehicle but it was great fun). We finally found Tony and what was described as a BMW. The car was made by Tony over two and a half years from scratch and a very impressive job it is too. I'll let Tony Explain the rest:

"The car is my own chassis and body using the engine and running gear from a 325 BMW

E 30 (1990) The inspiration for the project came from hundreds of photos taken at places like Le mans, Prescot and Shelsley Walsh. The front very similar to Aston the rest pick and mix!"

Richard Blacks Panhard Levassor (1903) at Curborough

2010-09-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

Richard Blacks Panhard Levassor (1903) at Curborough

Acrylic on Board (41cm x 34cm)

Detail

A commissioned piece of Richard Blacks 13.5 litre Panhard Levassor at Curborough. A wonderful Edwardian racer and joy to paint.