Volvo Amazon, Penang, Malaysia

Volvo

This was supposed to have been a “quick” photoshop sketch, but I fear I got a little carried away. I think one of my problems with photoshop is the “zoom” tool – in that I tend to work at 3 or 400%, which means that while there is a nice “sketchiness” at that size, when reduced to size as all of that (or most) is lost. Next time I’ll try working only at size as… I think I overused the “smudge” tool too – especially in the “drapery”.

I was a little surprised by Malaysia -I was expecting far more “classic” cars – after all – they don’t have the winters we do. Interestingly though, the only really old cars I saw (and these were few and far between) were Volvos and Mercedes. Then it dawned on me – this is really not a country for convertibles or cars without AC… it’s simply too hot. The owner of this car had it partially covered – possibly to keep it cool, but I also heard it was to avoid it getting constantly photographed – there is a well known image of a Yellow Amazon taken against a wall in Penang, and it may be that this was getting too much attention.

Didn’t stop me from taking a shot though… 🙂

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentines.jpg

…because, let’s face it, nothing say’s “Happy Valentine’s” better than a sketch of Audrey Hepburn in an Autobianchi Binachina convertible…

Bultaco Metralla… in situ

Bultaco Metralla

My friend, Gerald, is an inspiration to all of us… not only does he have (quite literally) hundreds of motorcycles in various states of repair and disrepair (mostly the latter) , but he has a lovely vintage Bultaco Metralla in his dining room. Yes. In his dining room.

I visited recently and took loads of shots of his shop to sketch from, but this is, I think, the pièce de résistance… while the rest of us mediate discussions of the necessity, or not, of more pillows for the sofa, Gerald has a Bultaco Metralla in his dining room. Sigh. Evelyn rightly points out (with ill-disguised relief) that as we live in a condo, there is no possibility of me taking such liberties… but I wonder – if not a full motorcycle, why not just an old  BSA engine to put in the spare bathroom? Failing that, how about an old Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine for the kitchen?

“Sigh”.

Decomposing Honda

Destroyed Honda

I found this leaned against a wall somewhere in a side alley in Malaysia. It was obviously seized, rusted, ripped,  and dented, but there was something oddly striking about it, mouldering away, forgotten in the baking heat.

Volvo Mystery Car, Malaysia

P1800

I came across this car in a covered parking lot in Penang, Malaysia.I recognized it immediately for a P1800, but as I approached it, noticed that it was missing the chrome flourish down the side and the “fins” on the rear end (red line, in the drawing). I looked at it closely and there was no evidence of obvious bodywork, so I presumed that this was a later model of the P1800 of which I wan’t aware that didn’t have those details, and endeavoured to look into it when I had access to the web.

When I checked, it seemed that this model doesn’t exist – at least – I couldn’t find it. I wished I’d taken a closer look and better photos of it , but if memory serves, the paint job was an old one (slightly crazed and lightly cracking in places). It seems an odd thing to have done – remove the most distinctive part of the car at what must have been great expense if in fact it is bodywork…

Any suggestions? Clues? Any Volvo experts out there who recognize this?

2016 McLaren Concept

2016 McLaren

I’m a McLaren fan – and I know this is nasty, but I just couldn’t resist… 🙂

Let’s hope their 2016 car is a lot less like this than last year…

2016 Aston Martin (Force India) Concept

Aston

I had a hard time with this one. I wanted to use the traditional Aston Martin colours from sports car racing in the late 50s (which is a sort of light metallic green) but I’m not sure how well I achieved it, or how well it sits with the Johnnie Walker blue and gold…

2016 Williams F1 Concept

2016 Williams

I liked last year’s Williams, but was surprised at just how “white” the car was – when you’ve got a great brand and logo like Martini/Martini racing, my argument would be to use it to best effect. With that in mind, is this a bit “overdone”?

2016 Renault F1 Concept

Renault

I’d love to see Renault come back with their yellow, black, and white livery. Somehow I think that sponsorship considerations will make this untenable. It’d be nice though, wouldn’t it?

2016 Ferrari F1 Concept

Ferrari

This is a tad late as I was having trouble getting the “higher res” picture to show (if you click on the pic, you should get a larger image in a new window). Have got that sorted now – and the Mercedes concept should be fixed too.