This is part 1 in my story, the story of how I ended up where I am today.
It may be of interest, or it may be pure rubbish, who knows!, so buckle up and get ready for the first blog from me...
PART 1.
I think I'll use this as an introduction to me...I say ''I think'' because I have a habit of going off on a tangent at times.
So, I have been a lifelong Motorsport fan, I was brought up around cars, my Dad was a Ford main dealer and I used to spend every weekend at the dealership, you know back when car dealerships weren't corporate, soulless glass palaces. This place was full of character, brilliant people and customers that had been going there for generations, I loved the smell of the showroom the feel of the wirery carpet tiles, being able to see the brand new cars before their release and seeing all the fun ways my dad would get the public ready for a new car's debut... cardboard boxes shaped into a car and hidden under a Ford car cover was one thing they did when the new Escort was first announced before any pictures were released. We also started touring the country in 1988 with a car stickered up like a rally car to promote the dealership, well it was an excuse to spend a week spectating on the RAC rally and for me to have a week off school, hell I learnt more in those weeks than I ever would have at school. I learnt how to read maps, time journeys and navigate through forests, oh and also the best ways to get a car out of a ditch or back on it's wheels. I was right there on that corner where Colin McRae rolled his Subaru Legacy into a ditch, I even got involved in rolling, pulling, pushing some of the other cars that went off at the same corner... Risk assessments and health and safety had yet to be become a thing..... Remember when I said about going off on a tangent?
Where was I?... I spent my Saturday's there and my love of cars developed from it. My parents gave both me and my sister every opportunity to find a past time we both loved, they took us all over and to all manner of activities. My sister found a love of Football and in 1990 at Oulton Park I found my love of circuit racing, I'd always liked watching it on the telly, but found I was hooked on it when I first saw it live. I can remember the first car I saw on track, it was Robb Gravett in his then un-sponsored Ford Sierra RS500, I was in awe of this absolute beast of a car and we met him that weekend too, he spent some good time with us when we approached him in the paddock and from then I became a huge fan of Robb from that weekend on and the BTCC in general.
I also loved drawing and painting so for my next race weekend I decided I'd do some drawings and get the drivers to sign them for me. It was Donington Park that we went to next, again the BTCC and I was thrilled that my favourite rally driver, Stig Blomqvist was racing that weekend and partnering my new hero Robb Gravett! In the paddock I was armed with my drawing and my programme to get signed and I saw Mike Smith, yeah ''Smithy'' off the telly and team mate to Robb, so I approached him and asked him to sign my picture. He loved it and even stopped what he was doing and took me to find the rest of them, showing anyone we came across just to show them my picture. We found Robb, Stig, Ray Armes and Ray Bellm all sat around a quad and they all signed my programme and picture, it was a wonderful day and a day that made me decide that I wanted to do something with my artwork, it was a day that put me on the path I find myself on today and it was all thanks to Mike Smith and Robb Gravett.
From then on I drew and painted so much and took them all to each BTCC race to get signed, I got quite a following and my first commission came from someone who saw me carrying my pictures round to be signed too. I had work commissioned by some top people in the sport, company directors, drivers and it again spurred me on to really make something out of it. My art teachers all said I'd never get anywhere painting cars and actively tried to dissuade me from doing it. Yeah I ignored them, I worked harder and as a result I got better, to the point where when I got to my GCSE's my work was so good that it got me an A* , take that Mrs Burkinshaw, you were wrong!
That was me sorted in what I wanted to do, I wanted to be a Motorsport artist.
To be continued...
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