NEIL RANDON explains how the drawing of BriSCA F1 stock car legend John Lund came about and the process involved – from coming up with the idea to the finished article and the limited edition print
IF you have been following the progress of my latest project, you’ll be aware that I recently picked up a pencil rather than a pen.
I had been mulling over the idea of producing a drawing rather than a book for quite a few months. But time constraints meant I’d miss getting something completed for Christmas.
Why a drawing? For those who don’t know my background, I was a graphic artist before I became a journalist. I went to art college for my degree and from that moment on I worked as a graphic designer and an illustrator for magazines and books. I also produced paintings, which I had exhibited as part of a sporting art show in Covent Garden among other places, and received commissions.
But over time my love of drawing began to wane, at about the same time I was writing more. During the early 1990s computer graphics were becoming more of a thing, and so I was drawing less with a pencil and paintbrush, and more with a computer mouse.
And the more involved in journalism I became, naturally the less I drew. It got to the point where I stopped drawing altogether about 15 years ago.
But my interest began to flicker into life once again about six months ago. I was inspired by a brilliant artist, Emma Capener. She creates stunning portrait images, including those of Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark, Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and numerous others.
They are huge drawings, and the style is remarkably lifelike. I found them compelling, and began to follow her on Twitter.
And so I imagined creating something similar with BriSCA F1 stock cars. I didn’t want to draw just a stock car going around a track – as an artistic image I thought that was… well, a bit dull as a concept. I wanted to create a different type of image, one where the driver was the important feature more than the car itself.
Originally, I thought of drawing the number one driver of the current era, Tom Harris, but the issue with many modern-day cars, is that it is difficult to actually see the drivers clearly inside the cockpit, let alone their faces. Added to which they mostly wear full-face helmets, on Tarmac at least.
So I was drawn towards another driver, one who you can see very well because he doesn’t wear a full-face helmet whenever he competes.
There was only one person who came to mind.
John Lund.
Once I had the spark of an idea, I then had to decide in which car he would be driving. If you recall, I posted a question on Facebook, on the BriSCA F1 Stock Cars (#Oval Family) page. I asked “What is your favourite John Lund car?”
I wanted to see if there was an unanimous verdict. My initial thoughts were of 1988 and the car he drove to World Final glory at Hednesford; then there was 1991 at the same track, of course, but that car had been put on to canvas by Michael Turner. I also thought his 1998 all-gold Bradford-winning World Championship car would be a good one to base the drawing on.
But as it turned out, everyone who replied came up with a different answer. There was not one car that stood out as the overall winner.
Scrolling through numerous photos of John in action, I came across a photo by Barry Weatherhead that fitted the bill, and Colin Casserley sent me a photo that was roughly from the same vantage point but from a different date, where John’s face really stood out.
The car was the silver Kramar Plant Hire-sponsored car from 2005/2006.
And so I decided to merge the two images into one drawing.
The next issue was the main reason I had put it off for so long. What if, now I am much older, with fingers that are less flexible, I had lost my touch? Because no matter how good you are – or think you are – as with any other skill, you need to practice.
It’s the same in sport. Ronnie O’Sullivan is the master of the snooker table, but he would never have become as good as he is without spending hours practicing shots.
But practicing, maybe a bit like football training, is as boring as hell. And I was never that dedicated to it!
Oh, there was one other thing. I decided to use Caran D’Ache Luminous wax-based pencils rather than just graphite (2B, 3B, 4B) pencils – even though I had never used them before.
So that was the plan!
I had bought a number of sheets of art paper, all with different finishes. Some were courser than others. I didn’t want something too smooth, and not art board (although I may use that in the future).
I went for a finish that was a compromise, and in the end was a good option.
By the time I started drawing the outline of the image it was clear that any thoughts of revealing it online before Christmas were out of the question.
But as it transpired, it sort of worked in my favour. By the time I realised that OK, what I was creating was good enough, we were creeping towards the end of the year.
And then it occurred to me… Hang on a minute? BriSCA F1’s 70th anniversary season is 2024. I also knew John’s birthday was in January… and it was also his 70th too! A double celebration.
So why not make John the illustration to celebrate it and reveal the finished work on the very first day of the month?
Fortunately, having posted various stages of the drawing on social media, I was aware people appeared to like it.
I managed to complete it ready to reveal on New Year’s Day. And the response on social media has been overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who posted messages, they were extremely welcome.
Once a piece of art is finished there is still plenty of work to do. I had to make the decision whether to use fixative to preserve it to prevent smudging. But fixatives are a minefield. They can darken the image, make it shiny, patchy. There are many to choose from, and the reviews are often mixed.
So I asked Emma for her view. She said – don’t fix it. She made that mistake once, after it left an unappealing film over her work and decided not to again. So I haven’t either. Once the picture is in a frame it won’t smudge.
The next step is transferring the image into a print – and it isn’t as straightforward as you might think.
There are many elements to consider. Weight of paper, type of paper, cost of paper. And then there’s the type of printing process. Giclée printing is the highest quality – art museum quality – but it is also truly extortionate. If I was prepared to sell each print for more than £100 each, then fine. But I don’t think I would have had many takers if I had done!
There was also the dilemma of whether to have the image scanned at a printers beforehand or to have it photographed first at a studio. The ideal option was a top-of-the-range flatbed scanner, but for the size required they are extremely rare, as not many printers – local ones at any rate – seem to use them anymore.
We went to a local printer to see if the drawing would reproduce to good enough quality on their drum scanner, but the process meant the drawing had to travel through a series of very tight rollers as it was being scanned – and there was too much of a risk it would damage the drawing. Once the process started there would be no turning back.
The look on Annie’s face when she saw what the drawing would be subjected to said it all. She feared utter disaster, so we aborted the idea.
And so a photo studio was the obvious option. It meant trolling through Google and finding a local photographer who had a studio suitable to take a very high-quality photograph of the artwork.
I must have rung a dozen or so, and none could do what was required. Then I was recommended a studio in Ewell, who could do the job, but they had a backlog of work and couldn’t promise anything for two to three weeks. No good.
This was becoming a major problem, until finally I was recommended someone who was based in Dulwich Village in South London.
Keith Dutton Photography specialises in still life photos and he also takes top-quality images for artists.
And, crucially, he could do the job in a few days. Fantastic.
I had to drive an hour to his studio to deliver the drawing and he set it up the following day and sent me the photo via We Transfer.
I then created the final image with typography on my Adobe InDesign software and sent a high-resolution file to Summit Print Ltd – who are just a ten minute walk from home – ready to be made into plates and printed.
We decided to keep the image virtually same size, that is B2 (500mm x 707mm).
The final decision was choosing the ideal finish and weight of paper for it to be printed on. Too shiny and it would look cheap. Too matt and it would lack depth. Too white and it would look too stark and contrasty. Too ‘off’ white and it would lose impact. I wanted something that replicated the original art work, and eventually we found what we were looking for.
We went for a matt finish with a slight sheen on 250gsm paper – something sturdy but not too much so it could be rolled into a tube for postage.
We then had to wait another week because Summit had a very important job for the National Theatre they had to work around the clock to produce on time, so our limited edition print had to drop down the order of priorities.
I could hardly complain because print companies have to take these jobs when they can. It is a business where many firms close year-on-year because fewer companies require physical, three-dimensional printed products these days. It is now more a digital world than ever.
That done, a few days later it was a case of getting the printing ink mixture and settings on the lithographical printing press spot on after a few test runs and we were off and running.
Once the prints came off the presses, they still had three full days for the ink to completely dry, before being trimmed and packaged.
And so that is the story of this drawing. It has been quite a journey!
While I will number and sign each one of the 225 produced, a number of people have asked for John’s signature for their print. This is one area, sadly, I cannot arrange personally. With my current work load on the newspapers and other commitments it just isn’t possible to travel from Surrey to John’s farm to get him to sign each one, so if anyone wants him to sign it, it may have to be when you travel to a stock car meeting where he is driving this season.
Bearing in mind the whole process from start to finish, I had to also weigh up what I thought was a reasonable price to charge for this drawing considering its size. As with anything these days, the cost of materials has soared, and in the printing world, paper and printing ink are now considerably more expensive that 12 months ago. And my bill from the printer reflected that.
But with the cost of living crisis gripping the country, it was important not to price it out of reach, and so we settled for £30 per print. Each print is sent via a sturdy cardboard tube as a medium-sized parcel, so postage and packaging has worked out at a flat fee of £3.75 (in the UK).
The only place the print can be purchased currently is via this website here. We are not contemplating, at the moment, of selling at the venues because of the potential of damage due to the weather/ track dust, etc.
The very first print we packaged and sent on its way, naturally, went to John himself. Having discussed it with his wife Annette, we decided the great man was to have print number 53 of the 225.
Then after John had received his print, I asked Annette whether she thought John would be willing to join me on the Talking Stox podcast as a special guest.
The podcast has proved to be popular with BriSCA F1 fans ever since I set it up a couple of years ago, alongside two very good friends of mine, Colin Casserley and former driver and StoxKarts chief Ian Higgins.
As the podcast has developed, we became aware it filled a void on social media – basically three old blokes spouting off about BriSCA F1 as a triumvirate of pundits. While there is a structure to the show, we like to free-wheel whenever we can. We have a lot of fun making it.
So much so, we intend to produce at least one a month, with plenty of special guests.
So, it was a genuine thrill when Annette replied and said, yes, John has agreed to come on the show!
What made this even more special was not that it was John Lund – the sport’s most popular driver – coming on to the podcast, but the fact that a shy and unassuming man who is not familiar with computers, let alone the internet, agreed to do it at all.
I was extremely touched by that. Despite being taken deeply out of his comfort zone, it meant he trusted us. And that was a very big deal.
And added to that was the fact Annette and John’s daughter Abbie had to bring her laptop to the farm one evening and set up the Zoom link for John to be on the podcast. As a family the Lunds went out of their way to help me.
I can’t thank them enough.
And it will be no surprise to anyone to reveal that as a podcast, where we also gave away one of the John Lund limited edition prints as a prize giveaway, it has become the most viewed we have ever done.
So far as the print is concerned and prompted by a message I received from passionate Dutch BriSCA F1 fan Luc Sijbers, who suggested – if he won the print in the giveaway – for me to put the print into an auction for charity, I have sent one to Sophie Clark of the BSCDA, who will arrange to have it auctioned.
The proceeds will go to the Let’s Fence Cancer charity. It is the very least I can do.
Once again, sincere thanks to all those who have supported this project – it means a lot.
It has encouraged me to draw more this year. A series beckons…