Featured work by Tony Smith

From my early childhood days I knew I wanted to be an artist. My brother Gerald and I grew up with the smell of linseed oil and turps, watching our father paint for his living at home in Birmingham. Drawing pictures of everything we were interested in was second nature to us.

After graduating from art school with a distinction, my parents, knowing the fickleness of the fine art world, decided that I should have a proper job. I was therefore sent to work in one of Birmingham’s biggest advertising agencies for five years, after which I completed a year’s national service as an infantryman. Neither was a happy experience for me and my painting remained my first and foremost love.

I became passionate about motor racing in the mid forties at a time when there was no racing, so all my research was developed from books about the pre-war period of motor sport. The only speed I could personally indulge in was cycling and I became a keen racing cyclist. My first major journey took me from Birmingham to Silverstone for the 1948 Grand Prix, which I enjoyed immensely.

My subjects have ranged from portrait painting & drawing planes, Trains and military scenes, but it is the challenge of capturing speed in motor racing that occupies most of my time.

Another of my passions is building sports cars, something I have done since long before I was even able to obtain my driving licence.

My collaboration with Washington Green and the Halcyon Gallery began in 1987 and since then I have produced many limited edition prints.