My thought was to wander around over the 3 main days and sketch things that I found interesting.
It turns out that finding interesting things was extremely easy!!! The variety and depth of the exhibition was astounding, not to mention the motoring stars who were directly involved.
On the opening evening, I managed to chat with David Coulthard and Adrian Newey, and met James May of Top Gear. I also organized sketching at various stands of the show over the weekend.
Photo © Thierry Boissard
1973 Tyrrell 006 - Original art available © Paul Chenard 2015
On Friday, I was lucky enough to be allowed to sketch at Motor Sport magazine’s Hall of Fame Showcase, where I chose Sir Jackie Stewart’s 1973 Championship-winning Tyrrell 006 as subject. Photographer Thierry Boissard was kind enough to provide a photo of me at work!
My biggest thrill was to actually meet Christianne Ireland, the daughter of one of my racing heroes (Robert McGregor) Innes Ireland. She is wonderful, and it was such an honour to meet her in person. We hope to work together on future projects honouring her dad.
Mark Kehoe photo © Daily Express 2015
1936 Delahaye Type 135 - Original art available © Paul Chenard 2015
On Saturday, I was at the H&H Auctions stand, sketching a lovely 1936 Delahaye Type 135. There was a lot of activity and interest that day, with many spectators stopping by to chat. Photographer Jonathan Jacobs took some great photos of me at work, and then Daily Express press photographer Mark Kehoe came by to take some photos, and we had a lovely chat.
Photos © Jonathan Jacobs 2015
On our tube-ride to the event, we met enthusiast Steve Bush, and struck up an instant friendship (which happens a lot in the classic car world) and he was kind enough to take pics of Anna and I meeting BBC’s Saturday Kitchen star James Martin. James is also a very keen and respected historic racer and was invited to set up “James Martin’s Classic Café” at the show. He was very gracious to us groupies!
Photos © Steve Bush 2015
On Sunday, I was welcomed to the JSW Group (Jim Stokes Workshops) to sketch the re-creation 1955 Lancia D50 that they had on display. The Lancia was nothing short of stunning … JSW Group can only do stunning. Anna and I both had lovely chats with Jim Stokes himself, and he made us feel so very welcome. As I was close to wrapping up the sketch of the Lancia, along came Bernie Ecclestone to check it out! As I was packing up, with the sketches on display, a gentleman returning to his stand stopped to review my fresh Lancia art, and acquired it!
Photo © Steve Bush 2015
1955 Lancia D50 - Original art sold © Paul Chenard 2015
All in all, I consider the London Classic Car Show a not-to-be-missed event, and though I was just a spectator, I was very well received.
Next year, it would be nice to be officially part of it … crossing my fingers!
I would like to extend special thanks to Gerard O’Brien of Motor Sport magazine, Nick Delaney and Paul Lovett of H&H Auctions, and to Brian Farrow and Tim Sanders of JSW Group for having me at their stands.
