GETTING READY FOR (NEXT) CHRISTMAS
magazine last month as ever, thanks for putting my letter in and I hope the Desert Island piece will provoke some response, as I really love those models! As a Christmas card to you, I’ve attached the image of my Jensen painted by Richard Wheatland, a well-known artist and enthusiast of classic cars – he owns a TR4A. I guess it’s too late for the magazine now, but do as you will with it, maybe you can find a slot out of season! As many readers will know, I’m a Jensen owner too. Many Jensen owners have a strong desire to promote the Jensen Marque far and wide, and Classic Car Shows magazine features and public car runs are the main vehicles for doing this. So when another possibility begins to hatch in one’s brain, it’s quite exciting! For many years I have purchased a supply of Ben Christmas Cards, (www.charitycards.org/ ben/), as I just adore the artists’ illustrations of classic cars in period settings in the UK, at Christmas. Call me corny, old fashioned if you like, but they have a really warm feel about them! As most of these are of cars of the 1940s and '50s, some time ago I wrote directly to the main artist, Richard Wheatland, and suggested some cars of the 1960s. Two years later, I reminded him again, and this time I told him about my Jensen C-V8 Mk III. Not living too far away, Richard came to visit, and to see my car, driving his immaculate white Triumph TR4. We kept in touch, and some months later he emailed to say he was nearly finished, and that Ben was definitely interested in his proposed design. A first shot image dropped into my inbox, and wow, I was truly impressed. He had given a lot of thought to the period surroundings, and also captured the complex curves of the C-V8 incredibly well. Needless to say, I was tempted to buy the original painting from Ben, and have received it as my Christmas present from my wife Chris!
David Wright, West Sussex
ED Wow, that is stunning! Thank you for sharing, David. We might be a tad late for Christmas 2022, but hopefully we could do something in time for the festive season in 2023. I’m sure I know someone who has some models to photograph that we could tie in to the various cards Richard has produced for Ben!