NZ Hot Rod – August 2019

> 35

ffour-second bracket and the 300 mph
barrier – I was in the crowd watching.
After spending a couple of years doing
my OE in the late 1980s, I returned to
New Zealand to be with my wife-to-be,
JJanice. I spent a bit of time looking for
a job- so had time on my hands. At the
time Janice was doing art classes and
had some art books lying around the
house. One night I picked up a book and
had a go at drawing. To my surprise, I
discovered I had the knack. I continued
experimenting with different mediums

• and so began the journey into my
  artistic pursuit of pencil drawing.
  One day, as I was going through my
  collection of NZ Hot Rod magazines
  ffrom the ‘70s and ‘80s, I decided to

have a go at drawing some cars – and

so the passion grew. This was a great

way to combine my joy of drawing

and my passion for drag racing.

Over the years, I have followed many

drag cars, but my favourite would

have to be Pete Lodge’s Hombre. I

have done many drawings of Baloo

and Hombre. There is something

intriguing about a Fiat Topolino with

a short wheelbase which makes it an

adrenaline machine. Similarly, Dave

Gauld’s Altered ‘Nightmare’ makes for

great entertainment. Pete Lodge is a

legend of New Zealand drag racing and,

along with Garth Hogan, they were my

drag racing heroes back in the ‘70s.

I am a self-taught artist with a focus

on pencil drawings and watercolours

across diverse subjects – but drag

cars and hot rods certainly are my

favourites. My works are hand-drawn,

created by copying photos from

magazines or, in more recent times,

crafted from my own photos. NZHRM

recently published my sequence

of shots of ‘Strange Magic’ famous

wheelstand at Meremere Dragway.

I believe that enjoying your subject

helps motivate you to draw. I have

also found that drawing is a great

stress reliever after a hard day’s work.

I get great satisfaction seeing the

drawing develop as I complete the

detail and the darker, shadow areas.

I begin each drawing using a 2H