I was approached on Instagram by a previous customer who had bought one of my chopping boards at Manchester CheeseFest a few months previously. After discussing themes and colour schemes for the racetrack art I was ready to begin!
The racetrack sculpture depicts the complete current layout of Nurburgring, which is located in Germany. Nurburg racetrack is 13 miles long with 70 turns, blind corners, jumps and drops.
Major events such as FIA Formula One, the German, Luxembourg and European Grand Prix, Superbike World Championship and many more have been held at this racetrack.
To begin with this unusual sculpture I taped off the back (to prevent drips from occurring) and put down a base layer of colour - in this case, orange and white. Once that was dry, it was time for the resin!
For my colour palette I used 7 different tones - two different shades of orange, red, yellow, white, black, and a shimmering gold. Over the space of several hours I applied the tinted resin to the sculpture.
Racetrack art time-lapse creation video:
After leaving the piece to dry for 24 hours I noticed that some of the edges needed touching up. Once I had done this I applied a clear coat of resin to finish the piece off.
Packaging the artwork:
Please note that since first writing this article several years ago I no longer use plastic bubble wrap to package my pieces. I have switched to a cardboard alternative to be more environmentally friendly.
Packaging an artwork is very important to me. Unfortunately, delivery drivers aren’t always as careful with our parcels as we would like them to be!
The first step when it comes to packing an artwork is to wrap it in acid free tissue paper.
"Why?" I hear you ask!
Well, acid free paper has many benefits when it comes to storing art. As an archival paper it is PH neutral, and it eradicates the risk of damage and discolouration.
Next, I wrap the artwork in bubble wrap. In this case, I wrapped the bubble around the track path.
Once this was done I added a further layer of bubble wrap around the entire piece.
For years whilst I was studying art I volunteered in several galleries in Liverpool. During my time at these institutions I learnt how to properly package and care for artworks. This knowledge has proved invaluable when posting artworks to customers.
True story - Royal Mail once managed to damage one of my parcels so badly that it had a huge hole going through it! But because I had packaged the painting so well, wrapping it in layers of protective bubble wrap, the artwork was undamaged!
Stay Tuned!
In the next few weeks I will be doing a blog post about the tips and tricks that I use to take photographs! With a few super affordable pieces of equipment you'll be able to take beautiful and well-lit photographs yourself!
In the mean time, let me know in the comments below what you think of this newest creation of mine! Maybe you'd want your own unique racetrack art work? Get in touch, let me know!
