Ferrari – A Heritage of Racing

Any automotive racing history artist documenting racing history through their art will be asked why there are so many Ferrari subjects featured.




A quick look at the Formula 1 history quickly explains the reason; Ferrari has been the Formula 1 Constructors Champion for a total of 16 times!!


The 2nd most wins comes from the Williams Team with 9 Constructors titles.



Ferrari also dominated sports/GT racing from the late 1940’s into the mid-1960’s.



Enzo Ferrari’s passion for racing is well-documented; his primary reason for selling road cars was the finance his racing endeavours.


That Ferrari passion runs deep in the hearts of us automotive artists too!!

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An Addiction to Writing Books

It’s been a few years since I published my first book “Silver Clouds: The 1934 Grand Prix Season”.

That first one was somewhat of a “bucket list” project, something that I thought I should do before moving on to the next life … there is a next life, isn’t there?

It wasn’t easy, but at the same time it was.

There were so many things to deal with ­– budget, research (so much research!!!), aesthetics, design, logistics, editing – real hard work, but overriding all of that was passion for the project, and a curiosity to see what the final result could and would be.

I wrote it, illustrated it, designed it, hand-assembled it, and self-published it. As I had no idea what would happen, I made it a limited edition, signed and numbered, of 50 copies.

It was never THE book on the 1934 season, it was MY book of the 1934 season, yet it did very well and sold out quickly as the reviews came in.

The book bug has been biting me ever since, so I’ve now written my second book.

I’ve taken a different track this time. Still wanting to self-publish (to maintain aesthetic control), I chose the go through Blurb books for all the book/magazine/catalogue options available to the writer/designer/artist. Their user-interface is also nothing short of brilliant!

This time, my new 10"x 8" hardcover book “Ferrari in Art” features the Ferrari motorsports art that I’ve created over the years, with descriptions and stories of the art and subject.



You can take a look at my new book offering by going to this link:
www.blurb.ca/bookstore/detail/6772551-ferrari-in-art

With each order, the buyer has a choice of 1 of 4 (10"x 8") Ferrari posters.

By the way, even though I have scratched that itch, there are still a few books in me waiting to get out …

1955 Mille Miglia

2015 marks the anniversary of quite a few significant motor sports milestones … the 50th anniversary Ferrari’s last win at the 24 Heures du Mans, the 50th anniversary of Jim Clark’s win the Formula 1 World Championship, and his win at the Indianapolis 500 (in a green machine!)

Yet I believe the most important by far is the 60th anniversary of Stirling Moss’ along with navigator Denis Jenkinson’s (Jenks) record-breaking win of the 1955 Mille Miglia.

Stirling Moss was part of the powerful Mercedes-Benz motor sports team for 1955, managed by the clever Alfred Neubauer.

They had a fabulous car in the form of the 300 SLR, but that alone did not guarantee success in this annual 1000-mile race held on public roads.

The Italian racers had the advantage of knowing ever inch of the route; Mercedes-Benz had to find a way to equalize the odds.

Moss and Jenks practiced the route a few times weeks before the actual race, with Jenks writing out pace notes all along the way. Mercedes then pasted the notes together into a 15.5-foot roll, which they encased in a glass-fronted, watertight box, permitting Jenks to view and communicate his notes via hand signals to Moss.

Pen&ink, arcrylic and markers on gray archival stock 11.75"x 9" (29.8cm X 22.8cm) © Paul Chenard 2015 

Commissioned piece. Available as a limited edition.

This allowed Moss to drive flat out for the entire race, depending on his trusty navigator for guidance.

They arrived at the finish line in Brescia in a record time of 10 hours 7 minutes 48 seconds, over a half hour ahead of the second-place finisher Juan Manuel Fangio, also racing for Mercedes-Benz.

This amazing record still stands, for the race was shut down following the 1957 Mille Miglia where driver Alfonso de Portago crashed his Scuderia Ferrari 335 S, killing himself, his co-driver (navigator) Edmund Nelson and nine spectators.

London Classic Car Show 2015

I thought I would start the New Year right by attending the inaugural London Classic Car Show, held at the ExCel Center in the Docklands area of London on January 8th-11th.

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.

Racing History T-shirts

I’ve decided to create a t-shirt line through Zazzle featuring my racing history art.
You can see them at my Zazzle store here:
www.zazzle.ca/automobiliart

Here are the first designs …

I’ll be adding more as time passes.

Racing History Toy Posters

For the past few decades, I’ve been collecting vintage racing automobilia of all kinds.

The collection includes signed racing posters, racing decals, race programs, cigarette cards, racing patches, racing team press kits, racing art, but by far the largest part of my collection are my toys.

I love my toys, and I thought of a way to show them off.


I’m creating a series of posters that group my toy collection in various categories. The first in the series feature Grand Prix Cars of the 1950’s (posters no.1 and no.2), Land Speed Record cars, Grand Prix Colours, and my Tyrrell P34 toys.


The large posters are 12”x 18” and sell for $20 each plus shipping. The Tyrrell poster is 18”x 6” and sells for $15 each plus shipping, and the Grand Prix Colours is 18”x 4” and sells for $12 each plus shipping. If you order all 5 posters, the Grand Prix Colours poster is free.


I’ll be following these up with Grand Prix Cars of the 1930’s, Grand Prix Cars of the 1960’s, Grand Prix Cars of the 1970’s, Sports/GT Cars of the 1950’s, Sports/GT Cars of the 1960’s, Ferrari race Cars, Mercedes Race Cars, Bugatti Race Cars, Bentley Race Cars, and a few other interesting themes.


Considering what the going rate is for these toys, this is certainly a cost-effective alternative!

If you are interested in acquiring one or more, please email me at paul.chenard@hotmail.com
BTW, wholesale inquiries are welcome.

Beer Label Posters for Goodwood Revival

In the past 3 years, Belgian racing history artist Nicolas Cancelier and I have been going to the Goodwood Revival, sharing vendor space to present and sell our art.

As a little custom promotion, we have a very limited number of bottles of premium “La Moneuse” Belgian beer on hand to give out to VIPs and premium clients.



Each year, I create 6 new beer labels, 3 with my art and 3 with Nico’s art, to grace the bottles.



Since it’s now become a tradition with us, we are offering posters of each year’s selection of labels. These are printed in full colour A3 format on lovely white gloss stock.



We are printing limited quantities, so please contact us if you are interested in ordering them. They retail for $15 USD/£10 GBP/€10 EUR plus shipping/fees

Paul Chenard – paul.chenard@hotmail.com

Nicolas Cancelier – n.cancelier@scarlet.be

You can also come find us at at the Goodwood Revival Market stand #76.
Cheers!

Aston Martin DBR1 – 1959 24 heures du Mans

This is my new laser-cut illustration, showing the Carroll Shelby/Roy Salvadori Aston Martin DBR1 which won the 1959 24 heures du Mans.
My illustration is laser-cut from stainless steel, the powder-coated green; I then hand-paint the additional colours using pin-strippers paint.

The hood opens to reveal my laser-cut brushed stainless steel illustration of the famous inline 6-cylinder DBR1 engine.
The side brackets are also laser-cut illustrations, and the back-plate is powder-coated in black crinkle finish.
The piece is very limited and comes in a custom-built box.

Here are the specs:
- 22” x 13” x 3” (55.8cm x 33cm x 7.6cm)
- 11 lbs 9 oz (5.25 kg)
- $2700 CDN/£1500 GBP/€1800 EUR/$2500 USD plus shipping/fees

© Paul Chenard 2013