For grins, I thought I would share the process I used for my latest painting. First some background on the subject matter. . .

Finding anything British at my local VMCCA swap meet is like finding a diamond in the backyard. Nevertheless I check it out every winter, if for no other reason than to walk around with other gearheads when the snow is flying. It is no surprise that 99.9% of the parts and memorabilia are for American made cars. Imagine my delight upon finding a diamond at one of their swap meets some thirty years ago - an original first edition Annual Automobile Year 1955-1956. A rare collector's hardbound book in a gilt lettered maroon cloth binding. The 262 pages sized 9.5 x 13” contain a year in review of the automobile industry worldwide. Published in Switzerland in English, French, and German it originally sold for $7.50 US. In 2014 I found one listed for sale at Autobookworld in Sydney, Australia for $750. A softbound paper version currently lists for $350 on E-bay in the UK.

What’s the big deal about 1955? That was the official re-opening of the MG competition department after 20 years of absence and the year the brand new MGA would be introduced to the public at the 24 hours of LeMans. Sixty cars started the race. MGAs finished 5th and 6th in class plus 12th and 17th overall. A very encouraging result for MG’s introduction back into racing; the 1500cc cars were clocked on the straight at 118 mph which was terrific for a car not having much special equipment and quite heavy (1596 pounds). Ken Miles told Road & Track magazine a rev limit of 5500 rpm was maintained. They recorded an average speed of 86 mph for 24 hours.

The Annual Automobile Year book I found devoted 18 pages to the LeMans race. One of the black and white photos grabbed my attention. I immediately feel in love with the closely packed photo of the mostly small-bore cars grouped together after having just past under the Dunlop bridge and going through the “esses” on the first lap. With a backdrop of tented pavilions that offered everything from wine to sideshows, two TR2s lead the field of the three MGAs, two Porsches, a Cunningham, a Copper, and two Kiefts. I knew from the first time I saw the photo I wanted to paint it but it would take nearly thirty years to accomplish that.

For authenticity sake I did not want to simply assume all the cars in the photo adhered to the FIA’s national patriotic color scheme. Research to determine the correct colors for the cars and helmets was frustrating since period photos were all black and white, no matter the source. None of the monthly magazines at that time published in color. Then there was the challenge of transferring the image of twelve racecars shown in a 7x9” photo onto a 22x28” canvas while keeping it detailed to scale with accuracy. While researching art subjects online last fall I discovered a short-cut method for transferring a drawing onto a large canvas. I know the purest will find the process distasteful but the method comes from the website of a painter who does fine art at the highest level. Since I don’t sketch and paint every day I knew this was the way to go, as this was one of the major obstacles that caused me to put off the project for so many years.

The painting process - - I scanned the picture into the computer and then transferred it to a thumb drive. Using the services at Office Max I was able to obtain a 22 x 28” enlargement of the photo on paper. Using graphite paper and a red ballpoint pen I was able to trace the outline of most of the subject matter onto the canvas, while being careful not to smudge the work. This is the faint tracing.



Next, I retraced the subject with an India ink fine-tipped pen.


Next, I covered the white canvas using various shades of washes that start to set the tones for the under painting. In this shot you can see the original photo that I started with.

After establishing the tonal values I started adding form and detail progressively beginning in the background with the sky, trees, crowd, and the blue French Panhard. The small 850cc engine Panhard VM5 with its streamlined shape and tiny engines were favorites to win the Index of Performance award, a formula that was based on the distance traveled during the race against its piston displacement. This one dropped out of the race after 108 laps due to a broken gearbox.



To be continued. . .

 

Off to the left is no. 22, a Cunningham C6-R, carrying America’s white color with a blue middle strips. It was driven by its owner, American sportsman Briggs Cunningham and co-driver Johnson. Cunningham dreamed of taking on the Europeans best on their own turf in cars of his own design. He competed at LeMans from 1950 on. In the prior years he ran big V8 engines but due to the 1955 rule change he ran an Indy-type Offenhauser engine however it wasn’t up to the rigors of endurance racing. The year before Cunningham had finished 1st in the 8-liter class and 3rd overall. This year the 2942cc motor made 196 laps before dropping out with piston failure in the 18 hour.



Next I started working on the banners from the background forward and the people/grass on both sides of the track.


With the banners done, I began to detail the race cars starting with their number roundels. As you can see the leading TR2's had unique nose jobs to make them easy to spot on the track for the pit crews and spotters, especially at night.


The British are coming! The British are coming! All sporting the nations colors in various shades of green. Looking at them from the back forward are two Kieft cars. Both dropped out of the race in the early stages. The final car sported an aluminum body with a 1493cc Turner engine. It had a large crude air box on its hood resulting from the special Solex carbs installed. Coming forward, that Kieft had a fiberglass body with a Climax 1097cc engine and completed 47 laps; dropping out in the 5th hour due to an oil leak. No. 47 is a Copper T39 powered by a 1097cc Climax engine. The stub-tailed Cooper completed the race by nursing the car in the final hour due to a sick engine and finishing 3rd in class and 21st overall.

No's 64, 41, and 42 are the MGAs. Like its two stable mates no. 42 was powered by MGs 1489cc motor. Unfortunately at the five-hour mark the no. 42 Jacobs/Flynn car with Flynn at the wheel had a serious accident at the White House corner where it crashed, over turned, and burned. Jacobs was seriously injured but lived; he would retire from racing and focused on running a successful MG dealership.
The no. 41 was the highest finisher - 5th in class and 12th overall. A very encouraging result for MG’s introduction back into racing. The car was clocked on the straight at 118 mph which was terrific for a car not having much special equipment and quite heavy (dry weight was stated to be 1596 pounds). Ken Miles told Road & Track magazine a rev limit of 5500 rpm was maintained. They recorded an average speed of 86 mph for 24 hours. No. 64 finished 6th in class and 17th overall. Decades later, a Canadian would discover the car and restored it; it has since passed through many hands and museums..


To be continued . . .

 

A pair of silver Porsche 550 Spyder’s trail the MG in the esses but not for long. No. 62 and no. 37 (only the right side is visible) wore headlight covers during the daytime racing. After a poor showing in the previous LeMans, Porsche decided to go all the way for a win and did so in three categories. In addition to finishing in 4th, 5th, and 6th place overall among cars with twice its engine size, five of the marque’s entries made up one quarter of the cars still on the circuit at the races end. Remarkable by any standards and a terrific accomplishment with mere 1500cc and 1100cc motors. No. 37 took 1st in class and 4th overall after covering 2,378 miles. In addition to proving to be the fastest of all the 2-liter cars, it took first place in the Index of Performance class. Its stable mate no. 62 was 3rd in class and 6th overall. While not in the painting, a 1100cc Porsche took first in that class as well.
As far as the painting goes I continued to define the crowd and people on the sides as well as the cars.


The lead cars in the painting, no. 29 and no. 68, are Triumph TR2’s. Ken Richardson, test driver and development engineer, was put in charge of refining the TR2 after its introduction at Earl Court Motor Show in 1952. By 1955, the factory competition department sent a full team to LeMans under Richardson’s charge. The goal was to finish strongly, and all did, and to prove or disprove the new-fangled invention called disc brakes! These works-built cars were powered by Triumph’s 1991cc motor with little mechanical modifications. Their best speed along the Mulsanne straight was about 120 mph. No. 29 finished 6th in class and no. 68 was 7th. The following October the TR3 was introduced using a modified cylinder head casting first tried at this race.

After some final touches it was time to sign it and check it off my bucket list.



Sadly, the glow of the first lap would be dimmed, as race fans worldwide now know 1955 LeMans marked the darkest motor race ever. At 6:28 pm Levegh in a silver Mercedes hurtling along at 140 mph collided with the back of an Austin Healey, which acted as a kind of ramp that sent the Mercedes catching fire and flying into the grandstands. As a result of the greatest disaster in the history of motor sports 82 spectators were killed and 142 others injured. Wisely, no public announcement was made and the race was not stopped for fear medical vehicles would be grid locked while the over 300,000 fans tried to leave the 8.35-mile circuit. Thus very few immediately knew the enormity of the disaster. Sixty cars started the race on June 11th and 21 were running on the circuit the next day at the finish. The overall winner was no. 6; a Jaguar D-type driven by Hawthorn/Bueb after Mercedes called off the two remaining factory 300 SLRs while they were leading. It was an anti-climax win in the fullest sense of the word as French newspapers spread the word, along with grotesque photos, throughout the circuit. Silent, mournful people watched as the final car crossed the finish line at the Circuit de la Sarthe in the rain. The race ended, and with it a whole era of motor sport. Everyone knew from that day on safety changes in the sport would be coming.

 

Dave, that is AMAZING! I had to speed read the story as I'm at work, but will read it again this evening. You have talent. If that were a paint by number photo, or a page in an adult coloring book, I'd have a hard time staying in the lines....Amazing! Will you hang it in your MG garage?

 

That is very Dave. I bet you are happy to have finished it after all these years.

 

Garage! Who out there wouldn’t want this in their living room? Funny you ask, having just finished it I was forced to ask myself – now what? Where do I hang this? I’ve got every inch of the wall space in the MG garage filled; almost every area of the house garage walls filled; even every available wall space in my cold storage garage space filled. All have artwork, photos, posters, etc. that take up every wall everywhere. I even have car art on almost all the walls in one bedroom, as well as in my art room and the pc area. Do you see a pattern here? I don’t plan to frame it. Yesterday I painted all four sides of the canvas black, so I can hang it as is. Now I have to find a spot or make a spot for it. If I might say so, it actually has more pop to it and is better looking than how it appears in the photo.

 

Thanks. It was an interesting project. I know you liked France as well as I did. I found it enjoyable getting the story on all the banners. Hoping not to bore everyone but here's my notes on them.

Starting in the background and working forward: LABO is a French oil company and “huiles” is French for oil. EYQUEM is a French spark plug manufacturer, the world oldest active, and “bougies” is French for spark plugs. VEEDOL (partially hidden) was an American oil company, founded in Empire, PA two years after Drake’s well ushered in an industry. The worldwide company’s headquarters is in India. ESSO is a gasoline and oil company with a presence in France since the early 1900s. “Roulez aux deux” translates to “roll with both” with Esso Extra. REDEX is a British fuel additive company that began in 1922. MOTUL is a French oil company since 1853. DUNLAP is a British rubber and tire company. IGOL is a French oil company founded in 1949. LUCAS is a British auto electrical components manufacturer founded in 1860. MARCHAL (mostly hidden) is a French auto supply company founded in 1923 and primarily known for spotlights, rally lights, and spark plugs. PYRENE on the signs scattered throughout is a British home fire extinguisher founded in 1914. FERODO is a British brake company founded in 1897. HOUDAILLE is a French shock absorber company. “L’amortisseeur hydraulique” translates to hydraulic shock absorber.

 

AWSOME,Dave...

 

Dave,do you know,how many hours,invested in that project,+/- ?

 

I have way more time in researching it than actually painting it. Believe it or not I have a copy of a letter dated 7 July 1990 I sent an inquiry to Sports Car International magazine asking for assistance to determine the colors. With no response, eight years would pass before my interest peaked again when I sent an inquiry to Vintage Motorsport magazine seeking readers’ help in 1998. Nearly a year later I received a helpful reply from a reader who believed the FIA’s color scheme was followed. It turns out he was right. I got fired up this October thinking it might make a worthy winter project and spent many hours getting details on the event from every source I could think, now that so much more is on the Internet. I knew the Brits always held the 24 Hours of LeMans as the most important sports car race in the world and history continues to prove them right; I learned green appeared on 38% of the entire 1955 field, with blue coming in second at 20% and red third.

But to answer your question, best guess, maybe 50 or 60 hours over three weeks.