The Artist
Steve Whyman has a reputation for producing the kind of art that commands respect.
On first sight of this work it is easy to see that his eye for detail and stunning
technique suitably reflects the talent of his subject matter. So much so, that he
is widely known as The Pencil King.
I was born in Nottingham in 1955 and I think from
a very early age my parents realised I was somewhat artistic - I used to shade and
blend colours together even in children’s colouring books! I don’t know where it
comes from, none of my relatives, past or present have a similar gift. I went through
school in the normal way with no extra tuition in art, everybody just thought of
me as being “a bit good at it”. On leaving school, I wanted to get a career with
some kind of artistic input, but my careers teacher said “no, you’d be better off
getting into the electronics industry” – which I must admit, was one of my other
interests. So at 17 I started working for BT in telecoms, and that’s where I stayed
for the next 23 years, so it probably wasn’t such a bad move after all! Whilst
in full time employment with BT, I tried to make use of my artistic talent. At work,
because I was in the planning and design department, it gave me certain opportunities
to use my skills. At home, because of my other interest of dog training and dog
shows, this gave me a constant source of work, drawing people’s pets! – This still
continues today, when time allows.
My interest in bikes started in the early sixties
when my cousin and I were taken by my uncle to places like Mallory and Cadwell in
the back of an old A30 van to watch the racing. When I was in my early teens, me
and a friend used to cycle from Nottingham to Mallory Park in Leicester to watch
the more “important” meetings like “The Race of the Year”. I remember my excitement
when I saw the first of the “Transatlantic Trophy” races! Americans like Gary Nixon
and Dave Aldana riding like I’d never seen before, with full face helmets and coloured
leathers! Wow! I suppose my hero then became Barry Sheene, one of the first to
bring a touch of glamour and personality to the sport. All forms of motorsport
interest me. Other than bikes, I still like to watch rallying, motorcross etc and
I try to get to Santa Pod a few times a year to watch the drag racing (if you’ve
never been, give yourself a treat).
During the late eighties, like most big companies,
BT was privatised and the inevitable redundancies started to happen. So in 1996
I decided it was time to take my redundancy package and try the “art thing” full
time. The plan was to draw dogs and pets, and as I had plenty of contacts in that
area, getting the work would be no problem. However, as a bit of a change, I decided
to draw a few motorbikes. Because my friends and relatives thought they were so
good, I asked the manager at Clay Cross Powersports - which was about 15 miles up
the road from me – if they’d like to put them up on display in their new bike showroom. A
few weeks later, John Winthrope from Crossbow Calendars was there at an open day,
he saw my work, asked if I’d like to work with him and that was it really. John
became my publisher and retailer from 1997 right up until the spring of 2008
Since then, Ian Holmes, of Motogpgenius, is the man you will see at the race meetings or bike shows selling the art face to face.
Have a good look round the site, it will be constantly updated but it may not contain everything we have to offer, so please contact us........…
Steve
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The Artist - Steve Whyman
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