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Art Of Motoring

ART of MOTORING is the home of paintings and prints by well known English artist Roy Barrett.




Roy Barrett

You need to look very closely at a Roy Barrett painting to get an idea of the effort he puts into the detail, not simply the technical features, but the setting itself brings out the atmosphere of times past. The hairstyles, the clothes, even the way a cigarette hangs from a lip will reflect the fashion of the era. When he decided to paint Laurence (of Arabia) during a famous event riding his Brough Superior, Roy read Laurence’s book, and spent weeks with the help of the Laurence Society researching the man, the bike, and the location.

Roy is best known for his acclaimed motorcycle work, with wonderfully evocative pictures that capture the air of competition as two leather jacketed lads race to be first at the café, or the moment of expectation when an old barn door creaks open and reveals a long forgotten classic. His understanding of the emotion those pictures can arouse comes from a deep love of the subject, as far back as his own childhood in Birmingham, sitting on his grandmothers garden gate in Hall Green watching lorry loads of brand new Velocettes on their way to lucky new owners.

In the workshop behind the house was his grandfathers old Ariel, to look at, sit on, and let the imagination conjure up high speed laps at the TT.

The young lad was good with pencils and paintbrushes, and the family encouraged him to develop his talent. After graduating from Aston University, Roy spent some years working in architecture, before joining the BBC as a production designer, where he worked on programmes like ‘All Creatures Great and Small’, ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Howards Way’. He was developing his painting skills too, in between working on old bikes and cars, he had learned enough about mechanics to restore a Riley Monaco and a Sunbeam. Friends asked him for paintings of their own vehicles and his reputation began to grow.

A new life began when he married the lovely Sandy, who has an unswerving and total belief in her man’s artistic talents, one wonders how many watercolours of her hang in the Barrett studio. Volunteering for redundancy from the BBC, Roy and Sandy moved to a thatched cottage in Devon, where he could concentrate on succeeding as a full time artist, and with Sandy’s support ‘Art of Motoring was born.

Motorcycles still dominate Roy’s output, but his wide range of interests are reflected in works celebrating classic cars, aircraft, and railways. Many of which are one off originals, snapped up almost before the paint is dry. And he still finds time to keep his hand in with the real thing, currently restoring a 1970’s Suzuki, and has just taken on a 1935 Riley 9 special. He plays guitar and is learning to play keyboards….. Does this man ever sleep?

And here is the secret of Roy’s work…if he loves it, he takes time to get the details right, and then uses his years of experience in television to create the right setting, and tell a story.

As he himself says “ I used to tell stories with the TV camera, now I tell them with a paintbrush.”

Roy and Sandy’s ‘Art of Motoring’ range has sold throughout then world’ and Roy’s work is on show in galleries in Europe, Australia and America.

The nicest thing about the man is his ability to sit and paint in the details at busy shows, then take a break to chat to onlookers and explain what he’s doing.

The BBC’s loss is every motoring enthusiasts gain

(Acknowledgements to Jim Reynolds)



The Future

Roy is currently working on a number of new pictures and new ideas and includes Steam Engines.  If you are interested in ordering your limited edition numbered print please contact us or visit the new pics gallery and order online.

Still exhibiting at major motorcycle shows Roy continues to produce unique paintings of classic motorcycles that are collected throughout the world