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Little Things Mean a Lot

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By Pete Vack

“Back in 2015, VeloceToday’s editor Pete Vack came searching for that fellow Diggens, and in particular an illustration of Jean-Pierre Wimille. Seems that he remembered my work for the British magazine, Thoroughbred and Classic Cars. And that was many years ago, in the 1970s!” – Rodney Diggens

From this relationship developed a three-part series about Rodney’s life in the UK, published in 2024, from growing up in London during the Blitz, to becoming a very well known artist, to working with the great team at T&CC.

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About Time: Rodney Diggen’s Art

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Gouache of Alberto Ascari Ferrari 500 British GP 1953.

Maybe we’ve done this backwards. Not the first time and we try to avoid it. But in the past months, Rodney and the editor have revealed to the readers a life of excitement, danger and art. We said he was an artist who worked for Thoroughbred and Classic Cars magazine, and we told of how the magazine was founded by Lionel Burrell and edited by Michael Bowler.

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Rodney Diggens’ Art Gallery

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Gouache of Alberto Ascari Ferrari 500 British GP 1953.

Maybe we’ve done this backwards. Not the first time and we try to avoid it. But in the past months, Rodney and the editor have revealed to the readers a life of excitement, danger and art. We said he was an artist who worked for Thoroughbred and Classic Cars magazine, and we told of how the magazine was founded by Lionel Burrell and edited by Michael Bowler. [Read more…] about Rodney Diggens’ Art Gallery

Motoring Artist Rodney Diggens Part 2

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Rodney Diggens, with camera at the British Grand Prix, 1953, inspecting Fangio’s A6GCM.

By Rodney Diggens

Read Part 1

Back in London, the war was over and my education had just begun in earnest. I started my art training at The Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts in South London aged just 13 in 1950. And it was all about drawing and yet more drawing. But then as now, it’s hard to earn a living as an artist. We looked at other possibilities. [Read more…] about Motoring Artist Rodney Diggens Part 2

Motoring Artist Rodney Diggens Part 1

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Rodney Diggens is known for his dramatic paintings of automobiles and aircraft. But before he found success as an artist, Diggens experienced the bombing of London and the evacuation of the children to the safer countryside. This is his painting, and this is his story.

Editor: It’s hard to imagine that there are still many about who are old enough to vividly remember the war years in the UK. But Rodney Diggens lived through those years and in fact participated in one of the great social experiments ever – moving out thousands of school children from London to the countryside where they would be safe from German bombing. He was part of the biggest migration in British history. Augmenting his story is information gleaned from the Imperial War Museum’s website.

Story and art by Rodney Diggens

Back in 2015, VeloceToday’s editor Pete Vack came searching for that fellow Diggens, and in particular an illustration of Jean-Pierre Wimille. Seems that he remembered my work for the British magazine, Thoroughbred and Classic Cars. And that was many years ago, in the 1970s!

Well, of late, I’ve been taking a more leisurely approach to life. Painting mostly for my own amusement, slipping back in time hoping to recapture those wonderful days of yore. And thanks to VeloceToday I’m getting lots o’ that. This time around, the editor asked me to talk about my life as an artist. [Read more…] about Motoring Artist Rodney Diggens Part 1

The Birth of Thoroughbred & Classic Cars

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My first Thoroughbred & Classic Cars.

By Pete Vack

When I first discovered Thoroughbred & Classic Cars magazine in the mid-1970s, I was beyond thrilled. But until now, I knew very little about how it came about, so I asked an early contributing artist, Rodney Diggens, to give us his insights. He did so, then got in touch with TCC’s founder Lionel Burrell, who in turn emailed first editor Michael Bowler and features editor Jonathan Wood, and suddenly we had a great story! We hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed those early, breakthrough issues of this incredible magazine that changed our hobby. [Read more…] about The Birth of Thoroughbred & Classic Cars

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