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Can a Triumph be art?

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NikolausConrad

NikolausConrad

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Can a Triumph be art? I asked myself the question a few weeks ago in painting class when we made our own canvases to paint on. I saw a few weeks prior to that a beautiful painting of a red Mk1 Spit and thought to myself 'Wow, I wish I could paint that' and soon had the urge to paint my Mk1 spit. However, since my car is halfway through being painted itself, I didn't have a good photo reference to go by. So I hopped on the internet and found this Mk1 Spitfire owned by David in Alabama:

https://www.triumphexperience.com/registry/FC39307L

I liked this angle the best of the ones I could find, it really gives the car that distinct timeless look, I feel. The grill will be different and the interior will be red to match mine.

picture0003-1.jpg


This is probably the best drawing of a Spitfire I have probably ever done. It kills me I'll be smothering it in paint.
 
Nik...No question about it....many of teh Triumphs have soem great lines! Probably not a person who is on this forum that could not point out the special lines of their TR. Just look at all the import cars of today...they all look about the same! Then look at some of our cars! Keep the pencil and brush work up. Gil NoCal
 
Yes, a Triumph can be art. There's a yellow GT6 body hanging on the outside wall of the local DMV office (Calif. tax payers' dollars at work!). I'll have to get a photo of it some time.
 
Not only can Triumphs be art... they ARE art. As far as I'm concerned, the TR2 and TR3 are "works of art" in design.
 
NikolausConrad said:
This is probably the best drawing of a Spitfire I have probably ever done. It kills me I'll be smothering it in paint.
Click to expand...
Then don't! Copy it and smother the copy(ies) in paint!

While you're at it, check out this page of Michelotti sketches; it was the first thing I thought of when I saw your drawing, which is why I suggest preserving the original sketch. To my non-artist eye, it has that same "look and feel" to it.
 
art –noun
1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Yep.
 
Isn't there a Jaguar E-type on permanent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, if an E-type can be art surely a Triumph can too.
 
GilsTR- I agree completely! I've been sketching new car designs in boring classes like math and philosophy, that's what college is for right? :thumbsup: I would like to be an industrial designer someday and I would love to design cars, I guess I would need to pay attention in math.. :rolleyes:
Alan_Myers- I would like to see that sometime! :smile:
Andy- I took a piece of tracing paper and traced my pencil sketch before I painted it, just as a back up in case something happened to it. I want to use it as a template for future projects, maybe put it on a T-shirt or something :jester:

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Last Thursday I decided to (finally) paint the sky. I was trying to make up my mind whether I wanted an outdoors look or a city look or a garage look to it. I can always add something in the background later if I want to :smile:

Also, you can see my iPod and coffee to help me concentrate while I paint. I'll have these items everyday.
 
glemon- I was just there 3 weeks ago and I saw no Jaguar! :frown: If I did I would have needed a huge drool bucket because that is seriously one of the most absolute beautiful cars ever made.
 
Nik...So glad to see you are starting the painting of the 6...
and setting the picture OUTSIDE! While these cars sometimes (SOMETIMES?) end up in the garage...we all dream of being on the road...with blue sky above! Brush stroke on! Gil NoCal
 
Well I don't get to them there fancy museums often, all I know is what I read on the internet:

I remember reading in a magazine or two that the E-type has been put on permanent display there years ago and a number of internet sites like this one:

https://current.com/art/89940459_moma-honors-1961-e-type-jaguar-as-art.htm

Confirm it.

Maybe you missed it, or maybe it was pulled off display for an oil change or buff and wax or something.

Regards, Greg
 
Often items in museums are on loan from a collector and only displayed for a short period or are part of a traveling show. Not so with the Jaguar, permanent exhibit in museum speak is that they own it, and will trot it out when ever they want to or when it fits with other displays. The only travelling that big cat does now is in and out of storage. If it were out and displayed all the time, they would say it is on permanent display. Even though exhibit and display are synonyms, museums use them differently and in this case they say it is part of the museums peramanent exhibit (collection), not on permanent exhibit (display).
 
To tell you the truth, that was my first time at the MoMA. I guess I'll just have to go back to see that Jag, darn :wink:

I decided to paint the car today. At first I was terrified but after a few minutes I started to absolutely love it! First, I painted a layer of gray for shading, then I painted the tires. the I continued to paint the rest of the body and always bounced back and forth between the fenders and the door nose and the tires. I have no idea why I painted like that, but it worked :smile:

0331111510a-1.jpg


The rear tire was giving me some trouble but I got it smoothed out. I apologize for the poor pictures, they were taken from my camera on my cell phone.

I was on a roll and I smoothed out the body and tire and it came together more clearly.

0331111614-1.jpg


It's starting to come together more, although it looks more gray than white in this picture. Good pictures soon I promise! You can see more brush strokes actually looking at the painting than on this cruddy picture :frown:

I plan to paint the factory 'pancake' sized hubcaps the car originally came with, along with red seats/interior (the little bit which will be painted) For the chrome trim, I had an idea which I believe will work well. Linseed oil used in painting with oil paint gives a glossy shine and with that painted on the bumpers, hubcaps, etc, I think it will add a nice touch :smile:
 
Hey Nick,
You can hang that in the shop gallery (office) when your done!
 
This just makes me want an early spitfire... :smile:
 
Round 4 on updates of my painting, I added the interior, lights, hubcaps. seals, grill, and pretty much everything except the door handle and mirror. I'm done with the body except for maybe some highlights later.

I promised better pictures and I thought my Olympus would take a good one but I guessed wrong. I'm involved in an advanced photography course at my school, so you would think I'd be smart enough to use a good camera instead of a 3 year old point and shoot :rolleyes:

P4010416-1.jpg


It's getting there, little by little. Tomorrow I plan to start on making a ground for the car to sit on instead of it floating in space. I planned to work on it this past weekend but I never got to it, so it's been sitting in the back of my Subaru going everywhere I go for the past few days :smile:

Ken, If I could that'd be awesome! Although I want to enter it in the student art show at Corning Community College which is at the end of April. I'm praying I'll have it done by then. I'm freaking out :eeek:

Oh and a side note, 2 weeks and the Spit is back on the road! :smile:
 
Nik,

There are a few of us on this board that have a load of photography experience that can help out. I have an Associates degree of Applied Science in Commercial Photography, a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography and am heading back to school this fall for my MFA in Photography intending to teach fine art photography at the higher education level when I am done. I've also done freelance Photography and/or held photography/video jobs for the last twenty years. Some of the photographers on this forum have even more experience than I do.

That aside, how did you light the painting to photograph it? With two equal lights, equidistant and 45 degrees to the surface of the painting? Standard copy photo practice? If you do that and get glare, you may have to cross-polarize the lighting. Using polorization filters on the lights and a polarizing filter on the lens. I may have missed it but what type of paint is it. Oil, watercolor? Different media will have different reflective properties. Cross polarizing will increase contrast slightly but if your colors are going flat in the photos, then it could be just the thing to make it pop.
 
Hey Nick,
It would look better with a ribbon attached! Swing on by this week and check us out. I've been driving the 6 working the bugs out.
 
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