Going Green

Jim Clark confidently raced his way to winning the 1965 Indianapolis 500 in a green Lotus 38.

There had been a longtime 500 superstition about racing a green car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, assuming that it was dangerously unlucky.

The Lotus team proved that completely wrong at the 1965 edition.

The racing brethren were steadfast in their belief that it was unlucky to race a green car, thus having less confidence that the Lotus Team would be a threat; it was also going against pre-established traditions, which was considered naive and possibly disrespectful.

The establishment had their guard down and was not prepared for how Jim Clark would dominate their race in the Lotus.

To create this art, I used no green; I rendered it entirely on green paper!

Pen&ink, paint markers and markers on 12"x 7.5" (38.5cm x 19cm) green archival paper
© Paul Chenard - Private Collection, prints available

#lotus38 #indy500 #jimclark #greenpaperart #carart 

Le Mans 1972 - French Colours

This is my 1st painting ever, done in 2010!

I needed to see if I could paint, but I can't afford artist's paints, so I used leftover house paint on a piece of leftover premium plywood.

I sincerely believe that we can make art from anything, that the materials used do not define the quality of the artwork.

I've included the colour key to show which parts of our house the colours came from...

The painting shows the winning Matra-Simca MS670 #15 of Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill, followed by the second place MS670 #14 of François Cevert and Howden Ganley. They are followed here by the MS660C #16 of Jean-Pierre Jabouille and David Hobbs.

Matra followed up with wins of the 1973 and 1974 editions of the race ... brilliant cars and drivers!

41.5"x 18.5" (105.4cm x 46.8cm), latex paint on plywood
© Paul Chenard 2010

Original SOLD.
Prints available.

#lemans24 #matra #pescarolo #grahamhill #francoiscevert #davidhobbs #howdenganley #jeanpierrejabouille #1972 #carart

 Porsche 356 SL Gmünd Coupe ~ Le Mans 1951

The Rainy 1956 Mille Miglia and Eureka Moments

Italian driver Eugenio Castellotti (1930-1957) races the Scuderia Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti chassis #0616 to a win of the very rainy 1956 Mille Miglia in Italy, after over eleven and a half hours of driving.

Scuderia Ferrari took the 5 first spots of the race, followed by the Mercedes team with the next 3 ...

Even in the miserable weather, the loyal fans were still there to see their heroes race ...

To create this composition, I referenced a few images of the car and images of the attending spectators till I could combine them to tell the story.

To achieve the sense of heavy rain in this, I did the whole artwork in intense watercolour pencil on watercolour paper, approximately 30 hours of work.

Once finished, I went to the sink and ran it under a tap to wash the intensity of the colour away. As soon as it dried thoroughly, I then redid the colour on only the car, and drew white lines through the background spectators to knock them back even further on the art.

It is a fact that I could have destroyed the art by running it under the tap, but I succeeded.

The only question I asked myself here is “Will anyone die if I don’t succeed?”

The answer is quite obvious but it’s incredible how many people would not ever try it. They put up unseen barriers onto themselves instead of exploring the possibilities.

Interestingly, I seem to always succeed and I sincerely believe that this approach to the task unburdens me from my own negative “what if’s”…

My “what if’s” switch from  “what if it doesn’t work?” to “what if it works?”.

Exploration leads to an awareness of the possibilities that lay right before you.

Unburdening oneself encourages this exploration, which in turn quite often leads to eureka moments.

Who doesn’t like eureka moments?


Art description - Pen & Ink, watercolour pencils and acrylic pens on 18"x 12" watercolour paper – Original art available as are prints.

#millemiglia #ferrari290mm #eugeniocastellotti #scuderiaferrari #carart #watercolourpencils
#eurekamoments

Puttanesca Sauce


My Puttanesca sauce is now made, canned and labeled with live-sketches of Ferraris ... honouring Enzo Ferrari's birthday (a couple of days late) ...

#puttanesca #ferrariart #livesketches #enzoferrari

 1965 Ferrari 1512 F1


Tonight, I decided to work on a live-sketch that I started at the 2023 Lime Rock Historic Festival of a 1965 Ferrari 1512 F1 ... sweet and rather rare Formula 1 car.

#formula1 #ferrari1512 #livesketch

 Andy Warhol Cars Mercedes W125

Bullitt Chase


This is the 1st painting in my series entitled Movie Chases.

I did the text in custom-mixed "Highland Green" lacquer, the same colour as the original 1968 Mustang.

Original art available, as are limited editions.

Liquitex acrylic and automotive lacquer on 30"x 22" Apollon birch panel.
© Paul Chenard 2020

#bullitt #bullittmustang #stevemcqueen #carchase #dodgechargerrt440

Alfa Romeo Crest - 1946-1950

Before WWII, the Alfa Romeo badge was cast in metal with inset coloured enamel.

During the war, the machine that produced the badges was destroyed, so at war’s end, a spartan single-colour (red) version of the badge was created.

After 1950, the original coloured badge was restored.

Acrylic on 10"x 8.5" Masonite, original available.

This 20"x 16" print available
$175 USD plus shipping plus 4% PayPal fee on the grand total.

#alfaromeo #alfaromeocrest #alfaromeobadge #carart #acrylicpainting