Ferrari In Art: A Look Inside

Ferrari In Art: A Celebration of the Legend
Art,Text and Design by Paul Chenard
Paul Chenard, Blurb Books
ISBN 9781364577919
Hardcover, 10 x 8, 28 pages, full color art
$68.79 USD plus shipping
Order here

Review by Pete Vack
Click on art to enlarge

Paul Chenard has been around for a long time; his art has been featured in Classic and Sports Car, Motorsport, Octane, and Vintage Motorsport to name-drop just a few. Recently he sent us an email announcing his latest work, which he thought might be of interest to the VeloceToday readership.

He added an image of three Ferrari Sharknoses (pardon the use of a capital letter on Sharknose) in the garage at Spa in 1961. Instead of using red to attract attention, Chenard featured the yellow 156 of Gendebien as the focus of the pen, ink and watercolor painting. In the background brown is used to accentuate a busy scene of tires, trucks, boxes and workers. It is an image that comes to life and adheres itself to the mind’s eye. Send us more, we responded.

Chenard sent us his book, Ferrari In Art: A Celebration of the Legend and commented that there did not seem to be a lot of books about Ferrari Art, vs. the Art of Ferrari. “I did some searching on the Internet, and there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of books that feature art of Ferraris,” wrote Chenard. “But there some out there that feature Ferraris as art.” Off the top we recalled John Barnes’ superb pen and ink drawings made years ago … A bit of a market then?

Time will tell, but Chenard has added a twist to help market this relatively small volume (28 pages and about that number of illustrations) of art. “All buyers of my book have a choice of 1 of 4 free 10” x 8” Ferrari posters, with an added bonus of a book cover label and bookplate.” On the back slipcover flap there is a cut out that proves purchase and can be redeemed for the poster of your choice.

The cover depicts John Surtees winning the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix, a rain-soaked event which proved to be the last race Surtees would drive for Ferrari. Here, Chenard captures both the speed and the rain in the Ardennes forests which brings back memories of the movie “Grand Prix”.

In the caption, Chenard notes that he sketched this while attending a cricket match. He offers this several times and we thought we should ask why it was important to often note the locations he conceived of the original sketch. “I mention that I sketch some of the pieces in varying non-normal places like cricket matches to show that I do my art anywhere anytime, which is not very common with other automotive artist. I hope that it shows the complete passion and focus that I have for doing my art.”

Many of the illustrations are done using a reverse color method, i.e. beginning with a red colored paper then adding white, yellow, blue etc. to create the sketch. Chenard wrote that “The work on colored paper is a completely different approach that is always more ‘in-your-face’; it also has to tackled thoughtfully, because it’s much more conducive to errors. For example, doing it right, you would use yellow markers on blue paper to produce green.” Keeps one mentally alert, no doubt.

Our favorite art was done in that mode – Monza 1956. Brave and bold and red just knock you out. It is not subtle at all and could be considered garish next to the delicate and dance-like pen and ink watercolours. It is Red Macabre, but it shouts.

Chenard seems to work like that, combining delicate intricate lines with often bold colors, all in harmony with the particular subject. There is no doubt why his work has been noted by our print competitors; Chenard makes a difficult task appear easy.

So, how does one purchase the book? This is Chenard’s second book; the first, Silver Clouds: The 1934 Grand Prix Season limited edition book, which he wrote, illustrated, designed, hand-assembled, and self-published is now sold out. For Ferrari In Art, Chenard turned to Blurb to self-publish on a print-on-demand basis. The quality is superb, particularly for artwork. The cost, at $68.79 USD plus shipping, however, is relatively high due to Blurb’s take off the top. And it can only be ordered from Blurb at http://www.blurb.com/books/6772551-ferrari-in-art

Contact Paul Chenard for further questions on how to order prints or original art. Don’t miss his blog, a lot of great illustrations and artwork abound.
Automobiliart.com
paul.chenard@hotmail.com
1 902 817-9273
http://www.pinterest.com/automobiliart/
www.facebook.com/automobiliart