A Corgi Classic
Presenting my newly finished painted tribute to a Corgi James Bond Classic! Find out the story behind it and watch a timelapse of how this painting took shape.
Courtesy of Peter Klobikowski, I was introduced to a beautiful 1960s Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (model no.261), box and all!
This is my now finished painted tribute it, bringing to life all its special elements, the ejected baddie, being my favourite!
DID YOU KNOW?
Corgi based this model on the film Goldfinger and going 'gold' was apparently a marketing decision - it's actually a silver Aston Martin that features in the film!
Having painted many a Dinky toy car, this is my very first Corgi!
It is also, by far, the most detailed toy car painting I have done - I feel like I know every inch of that box!
I will soon be launching the Art print of this painting on my website, so keep an eye out. DM me if you'd like to know more!
It is also currently on display at my exhibition at the RAC, Pall Mall, London - more details of which you can find HERE
Toy Box Treasures
My new exhibition ‘Toy Box Treasures’ at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London is now open. Showcasing artworks celebrating the beauty and nostalgic charm of vintage toys, 8th December to 5th January.
I am pleased to announce that I’ve just installed a new exhibition at The Royal Automobile Club Picture Gallery on Pall Mall.
The show shines a spotlight on the magic, beauty and nostalgic charm of vintage toys, celebrating their weathered, playworn characters.
Growing up surrounded by my father’s dusty collection, I was fascinated by these old die-cast treasures from an early age, and have frequented many toy fairs on the hunt for something special. These toys, with their unique array of flecks and patina have a sculptural, dynamic quality that invites connection. They are miniature but mighty in how they capture the spirit of an age and engage our imaginations.
The exhibition features both oil on canvas artworks, a range of limited edition reproductions of original oils, along with a new collection of digitally paintings, created freehand using a wacom tablet and stylus and printed on high quality art paper.
TOY BOX TREASURES
8TH DECEMBER - 5TH JANUARY
The Picture Gallery, at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London.
For more details or any questions, please send me a message by clicking the button below.
EXHIBITION INSTALLATION SHOTS
BROWSE SLIDESHOW BELOW OF ALL ARTWORKS FEATURED
A Print Win Story
Cassie won my Print Giveaway last May! Discover her story in her own words, revealing why this Dinky Aston Martin painting was so special to her.
Some of you may remember last May I ran a special giveaway to celebrate the print launch of my Dinky Aston Martin painting.
Well, Cassie was the lucky winner and here she shares her experience of receiving the print and why it was so special to her.
I only do a couple of these print giveaways a year and the last one is coming up next week, so keep your eyes peeled!
Happy Friday hopping to you all!
Toy Fair Inspiration
Energised and inspired by another great toy fair at Sandown Park Race Course. Watch a little overview of my visit and discover the insights I learned.
Another toy fair visit!! This time I swapped my exhibitor’s hat for a visitor’s, wanting to be in ‘explore mode.’ These toy fairs have a very special energy, not only because of the brilliant mix of toys but also the warmth and passion of the people there.
There is a sort of shared sense of wonder and enthusiasm which sparks all sorts of interesting conversations. I always end up learning so much, discovering another little piece of the toy puzzle, helping me explain what it is about these objects that fire my imagination.
This time round it was appreciating the process, craft and detailed observation of subject that went into creating model figures and the amazing cottage industries of people who would hand paint them before mass machine manufacture took over. These people were often women at their kitchen tables but also, in the instance of Keymen figures, prison inmates.
Big thank you to Barry Potter for another great fair and to @victorianathanson for her excellent company!
My First Corgi Painting
A new work in progress - watch a quick glimpse of the action! A happy dive into the world of Corgi toy cars, James Bond Style!
Getting stuck into a new painting of a 1960s Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (no.261)
Complete with bond, baddie, ejector seat and various other little treats of Corgi Engineering.
A couple of Fun Fact
It was based on the film Goldfinger and going 'gold' was apparently a marketing decision - it's a silver Aston Martin that features in the film!
Having painted many a Dinky toy car this is my very first Corgi!
Looking forward to seeing how it'll turn out!
A Toy and Its Box - A Still life of a Dinky Aston Martin
Today I’m sharing my painting of a Dinky Aston Martin Toy car, unboxed and ready to take flight! Read the full story and watch the evolution of this painting in a short time-lapse.
Revealing my finished painting of an Aston Martin DB3S Dinky toy and it's iconic box (model 110, 1956-59). A happy nod to Boxing day!
This painting was the result of another lovely dialogue with a Dinky car enthusiast and is the first time I’ve painted one of these toys with its original box.
I am a big fan of mustard yellow and this painting definitely tickled that fancy. I've also incorporated a vintage Aston Martin sign which, with its wing-like shape, introduces the idea of flight both in its mechanical sense and allegorical.
As with all these model cars, the patina, colours, shapes and textures completely mesmerised me, but I also wanted to play with levels of representation in this composition. A painting of a toy model, based on a real car, sat on a box which illustrates this model, which in turn is reflected in a hazy blur beneath.
I would love to know what you think of this painting as I am looking to launch it as a fine art print and greeting card in the new year. Do let me know your thoughts!
A Magic Mini Merry Christmas
Today I am talking about the inspiration behind my latest Christmas themed painting. Watch my journey unfold in a short video I’ve put together and discover the quirky backstory behind this o so jazzy mini!
It all began with a dialogue I had a couple of months ago with a wonderful group of Dinky toy car enthusiasts on Facebook, which inspired me to create a 'Dinky themed' Christmas painting.
Initial suggestions and searches brought the Dinky 485 "Merry Christmas" Ford T Model to my attention. Whilst undoubtedly Christmassy in theme, for some strange reason I just couldn’t connect with it on an aesthetic level so I went looking for something more quirky!
Cue 'Stripey,' Dinky’s magic mini (model no.107), produced for a short 2 year window between 1967-69, based on the 183 Morris Mini Minor (first produced in 1966). With such a short production run it is now one of the rarest and most expensive Dinky cars to find today.
It also has an eccentric backstory, featuring in a series of rather bazaar comics/ books called Candy & Andy created by Gerry Anderson (of ‘Thunderbirds’ & ‘Captain Scarlett’ fame). Candy & Andy were children (made of plastic) who lived with two panda bears called Mr & Mrs. Bearanda. Their main activity was to drive around in this magic mini, helping people with various things - so all in keeping with a sense of Christmas spirit!
Backstory aside, I’m a big fan of the mini in general, there is something so personable about its shape and size. So finding this jazzy version of it, instantly appealed … it is a car that seems to sing celebrations, and what better occasion than Christmas!
🔔You come and get a closer look at this painting on Saturday at
⚡The famous Sandown Park Toy Fair,13th November, 10.30am-3pm! ⚡
I will be sharing more details about this shortly, so keep an eye out!
Finally Finished, A New Experiment
Today I am sharing the results of a new experiment The challenge? how to convey the beauty of an awesome Dinky Auto Union racing car in a painting. Read on for the full story.
Auto-Union Racing Car, Digital oil painting
A little while ago I was presented with a happy challenge. In essence what could I creatively do with an excellent example of a Dinky Auto Union racing car?
Initially introduced by Dinky around 1939, these Auto Union models were a particularly stunning example of the manufacturing ability to capture dynamic, evocative lines with the added joy of seeing this little driver cocooned in amongst it, the very vision of intense focus. Interestingly these drivers were later removed in the production line, making this particular model even more special.
So, here we had a stunning racing car, which conveyed something new from every angle. I loved the personality of the driver's face - the beating heart, if you like, of the car itself - so wanted to lead with that, but equally the sense of 'flight' and movement represented in the overall form of the car, as seen from above, was also key.
So I ended up with a fusion of both viewpoints, along with a nod to the Dinky styled typography of the name and model number of this wonderful specimen.
Verdict please! What do you think of this new experiment?
As ever the stunning oil brushes and paints available in the Rebelle 4 program I paint with have allowed me to really explore this toy’s surface patina. The mini time-lapse below hopefully gives you a sense of this.
I am also taking on commissions, so do you have a treasured toy or perhaps real car that you would like celebrated in an artwork? I provide a service that creates paintings entirely bespoke to you, your stories and your home, with flexibility in scale and finish.
For more information click the COMMISSION SERVICE button below....prices start from around £300 for a small framed artwork ready to display. Feel free to get in touch with any questions.
Wishing everyone a super Friday!
Another Work in Progress - The Dinky Aston Martin
Discover what is on the ‘digital’ easel this week and watch a video showing how I start my paintings.
My work on the Dinky Auto Union is still ongoing, so I thought I would share with you another work in progress today, namely a painting of a very handsome Dinky Aston Martin.
Like the Auto Union, I am painting with a stylus and pressure sensitive Wacom tablet, working in 'digital' oil paint on canvas.
The video below shows the very early stages where I am keeping my brush strokes loose, creating first a rough guide line, then blocking in the main areas of colour and tone.
Once everything is where it should be I will really start diving into the detail of surface patina, which is what I like to think of as a deep meditation on the quality and modelling of these beautiful toys.
I'll post another update soon with my progress! Wishing everyone a great weekend ahead, especially those on the hunt for some Dinky Toy treasure!
A Work in Progress
Today I talk about what I’ve been working on this week and give you a behind the scenes look at my progress so far.
Today is a behind the scenes sneak peek of something I'm working on at the moment.
I was set a lovely challenge to have fun with this stunner of a Dinky Toy. You'll get the gist of how I'm approaching it in the video, but I shall wait to reveal the whole thing once it is finished :)
To give you a bit of context, I've been painting in oil on canvas for over 20 years now and am continuing to apply these skills to digital painting, where I am using the brilliant Rebelle 4 software which replicates the texture and feel of oil paint and canvas beautifully.
You'll see my setup at the end of this video, where I'm working free hand with a pressure sensitive Wacom tablet and stylus to 'paint' with. I have my reference images up on the screen next to my 'digital easel' and am constantly looking back and forth between one and the other as I work.
If you have a much treasured diecast car or object you would like to celebrate in paint then do get in touch or check out my commission service page by clicking the button below.
Best of British Miniseries
Learn all about stories that inspired the characters in my Best of British Collection by watching the full collection of mini films I made about each one. See them here gathered altogether in one place for easy viewing and select the stories that most interest you.
Over the course of the last two weeks I have been introducing, one by one, the 9 very special characters that make up my Best of British collection, through a series of mini films.
Here I have gathered them all together for you to look through and enjoy at your leisure. Each film is only 1-3 minutes long and is a fun little summary of the story and history behind each character.
Researching and putting this miniseries together emphasized, for me, so many positive things about our culture. Most resounding of which where how these symbols, each in their way, commemorated the inventive, creative, stoically determined and ever adaptable qualities of our British identity. Something we definitely need to bear in mind with all these new changes afoot!
I very much hope you enjoy them and if you feel inspired to share with me your thoughts, especially as to which is your favourite, I always welcome your feedback in the comments below.
In celebration of this collection I am also running a very special promotion of 25% off all the paintings, art prints and greetings cards in this series. This offer ends on the 15th December so do take advantage whilst you can!