New Prints!

Available on the Etsy store now are limited edition A3 prints of both the C-Type Jaguar and Mercedes W154. It's taken a bit of experimenting to get the giclee prints to capture the subtleties of watercolours but I think I've got it now and I'm very pleased with them...

Silver Arrows at Goodwood Revival

A dream assignment - visit the Goodwood Revival as a guest of Mercedes Benz UK in order to sketch the reunion of 10 Silver Arrows racing cars.

The weekend was incredible, wonderful party atmosphere, great racing and the Silver Arrows display was stunning. It was a real honour to witness first hand the sound and smell of these cars which my Grandfather saw and photographed as a young man in Germany. Thanks to all the mechanics who put up with me sitting in their garage, Mercedes and Audi for bringing these amazing machines and not least Angus and Rob who invited me and spoilt us rotten!

The garages were pretty busy (and noisy!) so i mainly did quick sketches with a Prismacolor pencil. There are a couple of watercolours at the end though. Hope you like them...

Goodwood Festival of Speed

Spent 3 days there this year. Friday I spent filming the Bloodhound team in action on their stand and also an F1 in schools tournament. The rest of the time I got to take some photos and do some sketching. As usual it took a while to get back into the flow of it - and the huge numbers of visitors combined with the busy goings on in the paddocks meant it was a much more challenging place to draw than sitting under some leafy tree at Prescott. Still, I was quite pleased with a few of the later ones.

First was this 1911 Fiat S74. This car has some similarities to the S76 I've been drawing but at 14 litres it has half the engine size....

I really don't know much about this 1935 car but it's striking aerodynamic shape caught my eye. I keep thinking I've drawn it stretched but it was pretty long. the aerodynamics suffer a bit when you see most of the top half of the driver sticking out the top...

It's always a treat to see Jim Hall's Chaparrals - there's really nothing else like them. The wing on this 1996 car could be tilted by the driver to give higher downforce on corners and less on the straights...

One of my favourite cars of all time. Unfortunately it wasn't running particularly well (you could find it by following the trail of oil). It was built by Ernest Eldridge in 1923, who used it to set a speed record of 146mph...

With so many people at Goodwood I had to try hard to find out of the way places to sketch. Quite pleased with how this one came out...

This magnificent 1930 car was once owned by Malcolm Campbell - he won his first race in it at Brooklands...

Another favourite of mine - it won the first ever Indy 500...

I was very taken with the pre-war Indy cars. This is the engine from a 1923 Mercedes...

Should have been red but I was quite pleased with the sketch and didn't want to ruin it...

Another of Jim Hall's brilliant ways of creating downforce - a pair of huge fans driven by a snowmobile engine to suck the car onto the road...

There was a wonderfl collection of boat-tailed cars on the lawn. I liked the proportions of this one...

There was a bit of a delay so I quickly sketched this terrific car waiting to go out. It's also a Land Speed Record holder - Rene Thomas took it to 143mph in 1923...

I've been wanting to sketch this for quite a while and finally got the chance at Goodwood. I was made very welcome By Ralph - who looks after this massive record setter. it was great to sit and study the interesting details for an hour or so. Particularly unusual was the way in which the bodywork had been 'sewn' together using short strips of screwed in metal - apparently to allow for the car to flex...

When you only have to turn in one direction you get some very unusual engineering innovations - this has to be the weirdest, with the driver sitting ina sort of side car alongside the engine...

These are becoming a bit of a tradition now. The cars are, Mercedes 710 SSK, Bugatti T35, Delage 2LCV, Bugatti T45, Fiat S74, Fiat Mephistopheles, Marmon Wasp, Miller Special, Miller Preston Tucker Special, Kurtis Kraft Novi Governor Special, Duesenberg Cummins Diesel and Peugeot L45...

VSCC Prescott

I went to this event last year and decided that day to try drawing the cars instead of just photographing them. I was really pleased with the sketches I came away with and it led to many more car drawings in the following months - I don't think I've stopped. When the same event came round again I decided I would camp so that I'd get the full two days to draw in.

I spent just over an hour on most of these (apart from the really quick ones). I'm enjoying experimenting with the watercolours. I ended up selling quite a few of these to the owners of the cars and got a couple of commissions too. Hope you like them.

I did this the evening I arrived. It belonged to someone from Holland and was a very impressive sight in the camping area. The back part of it was beautifully finished in wood...



Theophile Schneider. My first sketch of the day. It's quite tentative and light but I quite like that - I managed to stop myself doing too much and going in too heavily...


Stinson Special. This was originally an American Sprint racer...


Semmence Special. I did this one for the owners. I know very little about it - I thought it was a Lagonda Rapier at first - but it has some beautiful details...


Hudson Super Six. This car had fantastic proportions. The sketch was supposed to be a warm up piece for a more polished work but when I finished this I didn't think I could do a better one...


When I'd finished the other one I thought I'd have a quick go at sketching from a much closer position and it ended up becoming an action picture...


Wasp. I did this while being buzzed by actual wasps - the car was parked under a cherry tree. That's my excuse for it being a bit wonky anyway...


GN Gnat. Another of my favourite hillclimb cars. I have a sketch of this from last year too...


GN Spider II. Can't beat twin rear wheels - and the exposed chain driven gears too - what a fantastic car...


This was a stunning car. The body work was a modern recreation but it really looked the part. The satchel on the side was a nice detail. It's great to be able to see these great beasts in action...


This amazing car is a 200hp Darracq land speed record car from 1905. 25 litre V8 (possibly the first V8). It has two speeds. First is good for 90mph, second takes it to 120. The chap who owns it drove it to the circuit on the motorway! I didn't envy him having to start with a handle though...


A couple of quick front views of the 200HP Darracq and GP Mercedes...


Becke Powerplus. I love these specials. They're great to draw, full of interesting details and textures...


This well proportioned car had the most beautiful patina and all the details I like - rivets, oil, wood, brass, leather - perfect...


I did these Alfas in my tea break - not overly happy with them as they're a bit heavy - I probably drew them too small...


Very quick sketches mostly done while the cars were waiting to go up the hill. These vintage cars have such an interesting array of sizes and shapes...


I've not really looked at an Invicta very closely before but it's certainly worth it. Very crisp lines delicately edged with red pinstriping - it must have been quite a fancy car in it's day...


Panhard Levassor. 13.5 litre engine, a chair and some wheels - and something to hang on to. What more do you need?...


I'd like to have drawn this some more. It had some great angles and was very imposing...


The last drawing of the weekend. It 's a stunning car - the body is no higher than the wheels. Supercharged Jap engine provides the power...