The Goodwood Revival 2011: An Artist-vendor’s View

This year, my good friend Belgian artist Nicolas Cancelier and I decided to take the plunge and show our art together at the 2011 Goodwood Revival.

Me and my good friend Belgian artist Nicolas Cancelier
© Dirk de Jager 2011

I have to say that it was an experience I won’t soon forget.

Here, we are joined by fellow artist Anna-Louise Felstead.

Dirk (centre), a friend, and I help chop down a small forest of Chimay.
 
The traffic in our booth’s alleyway was less than we anticipated, and I think it hurt all our neighbour vendors too.

Even with this fact, we had a good enthusiastic public, some of them even seeming shocked at the idea that two artist friends could show their art together, and that there could be such a large variety of artwork.

We also had drop-ins by Facebook friends, like David Anthony Betts, photographer/journalist Dirk de Jager and videographer/photographer Ralph Colmar, along with fellow artists Anna-Louise Felstead, Debra Wenlock, and Richard Wheatland. Due to a little creative marketing on our part, we also had a few celebrities drop by. I can safely say that the days weren’t boring.


Tiff Needell, Arturo Merzario and Paul Lovett all benefitted from our little limited edition gifts.
  
As exhibiting artists, we didn’t have much time to really take in any of the event and activities, but it was exciting non-the-less.

At the end of the day, we became regulars at the Bell Inn in Chichester. It’s a wonderfully friendly laid-back place with great food — the perfect escape after our 13-hour days!

Photographer Dirk de Jager

In my growth in the world of racing history, I’ve come across some very talented photographers, one of which is Belgian Dirk de Jager.

Photo by © Massimo Delbo
I took notice of his work because it has a special quality to it that sets it apart. And Dirk will go out of his way to get that special shot.

Aston Martin DB2/4, this car was ordered new in 1955 by King Boudewijn of Belgium 
© Dirk de Jager


Though his parents were involved in racing before he was born, the family continued to visit the tracks till he was 10 years old. He had picked up a Pentax when he was six, so racing and car photos were a natural result.

Bugatti Type 46 Veth & Zoon 
© Dirk de Jager


There was brief detour into computers when he was a teen, leading a computer job.
But the lull of the track was too strong, and he was back at the photography for Insight F1 covering Formule Renault 2 litre, F3 and Formula Renault 3.5 litre (World Series by Renault) in the Dutch, German and European Championships.

The new Jaguar XJ Supersport
© Dirk de Jager


By 2003, Dirk was working for Supercars.net, and at the same time, was a contributor to World in Red, the French Ferrari yearbook, Altas Prestaciones (Spain) and La Strada (Holland).

The most famous car in the world, Aston Martin DB5 James Bond, recently sold for $5 million USD
© Dirk de Jager


In 2008, Dirk established his own company. Since then, his photography has seen light in Octane (UK), Red Racing Green (Belgium), Het Automobiel Klassieker (Holland), Classic Motorsport (USA) magazines, not to mention Autoweek and Carros (Holland), with upcoming features Hotrod (USA), RuoteClassiche (Italy), Art of Living (Holland) and again in Octane. Work has also come from auction houses such as Bonhams, RM and Articurial.


Dirk’s reputation for quality is well known, so he is being sought out.

The recreation of Ferrari 156F1 Sharknose, shot at the old part of Spa Francorchamps (public road)
© Dirk de Jager


“This year, I've received some magazine-commissioned work as well, where they just said we want that car, go find it and shoot it. That's also one of the big thrills of course, the hunt for a car and managing to "acquire" the car for a shoot.”


So if you find yourself at a top-notch international automotive event, look around for the most interesting venue; you’ll probably find Dirk there too!