Seaford Art Club
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Programme
  • Events
  • Art videos etc
  • Links
  • Work
  • Contact us
  • Framing Guidlines
  • Blog

The Story of Peter Baker's Bentley

17/10/2014

0 Comments

 
Peter Baker Bentley Seaford artClick on image to enlarge
It was one of those happy occasions where coincidence becomes good fortune – all because I took a photo of a vintage Bentley 30 years ago. But then, if I hadn’t been stumped for a subject to paint in April this year, that photo would still be in the drawer.

When the picture was taken, the Bentley was parked with a large group of other vintage Bentleys (probably some kind of club meeting) in front of Prince Albert’s Memorial statue, beside the Royal Albert Hall in London. But to enhance its character in my painting, and remembering a birthday card sent to me by Mike, I decided to use artistic license and place it in a dusty old garage on an ageing flagstone floor. Slanting sunbeams and a dim, shadowy background would add some drama.

Pleased with the final result, I decided to include the painting among my pictures in Seaford Art Club’s annual exhibition at the Crypt last June – but I didn’t bargain for the impact it made...

Among the browsers at the Crypt was a man who, we later learned, was a former member of the vintage Bentley club. For him, my painting was instantly intriguing, prompting him to ask duty steward Anne Benson if the number plate on the car was genuine or simply made up? “If it’s genuine,” he said, “I can probably find the owner.”

“You’d need to ask the artist,” Anne replied and, after further discussion, she decided to give him my number.

Being a Bentley enthusiast he did what he’d proposed and tracked down the car’s current owner - company owner Chris Batty who lives near Leicester - phoning him at 11:30pm to tell him about my painting and give him my number!. Chris was keen to find out more, but thankfully held off phoning me until the following morning.

I was out when he rang, but my wife Sue confirmed that I’d painted his car and told him about my former occupation as a technical illustrator for Reed publications – which included detailed cutaway drawings of cars for Autocar.

Fortunately, the more he learned the more interested he became in my painting, eventually suggesting that, if he liked it, he might like to buy it. When I got home, my wife gave me the news and I called Chris back to arrange to email him the image and give him the picture’s dimensions.

Having seen it, liked it and agreed on price, he then told me he had some other vintage cars that he might like paintings of. “I can also think of a couple of other projects,” he said, “such as some illustrations to hang in my company’s reception area.”

“Well, if that’s the case, its probably best if we come up and see you,” I suggested.  “Actually, I could probably come to see you,” he said. “Sleaford isn’t far from Leicester.” “No, no! We live in SEAFORD - on the south coast – near Brighton.” “Ahhh… you sure you want to come all that way?”  “Yes, of course, no problem. We’ll turn it into a short-stay break.”

With that, he gave me the name of a good place to stay near Leicester and we fixed up a date to meet.

Some three months later, following an overnight stay in Milton Keynes, we drove to Chris’s company on the outskirts of Leicester. His company is called Lestercast, a specialist in investment casting, making all kinds of things from metals and alloys. These include badges for cars, such as the ‘winged B’ emblem for Bentley cars and the ‘Spirit of Ecstacy’ statuette which tops the radiator of every Rolls Royce.

In person, Chris couldn’t have been friendlier, giving us a guided tour of his factory and talking me through the pictures he wanted: an exterior view of his factory building and a series of little montages illustrating the series of processes employed in investment casting. As you might imagine, I took lots of photographs.

That evening he and his wife took us to dinner, during which he mentioned that he also had a house in France that he’d rather like a painting of… As a result, I’m currently painting a 1930 Ford Model A and have sketches to make of the production processes and the factory building. As for the house in France, I’m waiting for better photographs. But a sale and four commissions from a picture displayed at the Crypt is not a bad result. You just never know who’s looking.


0 Comments

    Archives

    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    60th Anniversary
    Art On The Web
    Art Show 2014
    Bill Savidge
    Brinkley Lectures
    Charleston
    Demonstration
    Dilys Seddon
    Drawing
    Events
    Friday At The Downs
    Ipad
    Life Drawing
    Maureen Black
    Members Feature
    Outside
    Paddy Simkin
    Painting
    Peter Baker
    Portraits
    Programme 13/14
    Seaford Art Club
    Special Feature
    Still Life
    Tom Benjamin
    Van Gogh
    Visits

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.