Urban artist creates motor sport paintings for VMP

Today we are pleased to announce our new collaboration with urban landscape artist, Ross Ashmore. Keen to supplement Glen’s motoring books with further evocative motoring imagery, Ross will be creating a series of original motor sport paintings for Virtual Motorpix. As seen in this 2014 Le Mans 24HR race painting — the first of the series — his dramatic and expressionistic painting style brings out the raw emotion and atmosphere of motor racing.

You may recognise Ross from his art series on London Transport Underground Stations. Last year, coinciding with London Underground’s 150th anniversary, he finished his three year project painting all 267 tube stations. It was his fascination with the Underground, and his desire to document things as they are now, that inspired this particular series. “It’s the ordinary things in life, the mundane that I want to catalogue in my work. With all the relentless change, very soon, we may forget the way things were,” he says.

Working primarily with oil paints in a heavy impasto manner, Ross’ physical effort is evident in his artwork. His images are bursting with energy and movement, reflecting the guts, passion and drama of his subjects. In this new series of original motor sport paintings for Virtual Motorpix, Ross’ skill for capturing the moment will bring the excitement and action experienced at GT and prototype motoring races right into the room.

Ross has a degree in Fine Art and Illustration from Bristol, has illustrated for publications such as Radio Times and has worked in the commercial art sector as a graphic designer. Since 2008, he’s been working full-time as a freelance artist and has had solo exhibitions at SPACE Art Gallery (Southgate, London), Oxford House (Bethnal Green, London) and Thom & Turner (Eton, Berkshire) to name a few.

Ross believes art is a powerful form of expression. “That an artist should be honest, passionate and have conviction about his work — much at odds with the commercial world I had come from and today’s obsession with perfection. I didn’t want to be a chocolate box. The gesture of painting, the process, is just as important to me as the image. Every painting is an action — making the mark in paint creates energy and conveys emotion — it creates the mood — it begins to take on a life of its own. I love the physicality of painting. Many artists today are so obsessed with perfection and technique they don’t look like paintings at all,” he shares.

This Le Mans piece is the first of a series of one-offs Ross will be painting for Virtual Motorpix over the coming months. All paintings measure 100cm x 70cm and can be purchased from our eBay shop. If you have an image you’d like to see in Ross’ unique style, please get in touch, as we will also be taking commissions.

Written by: Margaux Doey