João was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1974. Since his early years João can remember starting to practice and cultivate a taste and technique of observational drawing and the automotive theme caught his attention. Influenced by relatives he discovered the motorsports from young age and then two passions emerged: Ferrari and Formula 1.
“This was in part due to the fact that I lived all my teenager years only a few kilometers from the Estoril formula one circuit and watched live almost all the Portuguese Grand Prix as well several winter testing sessions”.
Almost as an obsession João began to draw the most recognizable italian models of the 80´s, the Formula 1 cars and the GT´s.
One of João early references in classic cars is the Caramulo Museum in Viseu, north of Portugal, wich thru family connections has allowed him to get close to Bugatti´s and Rolls Royce from the 20´s and 30´s and also to ride on a 1951 Ferrari 195 Inter (see head photo) with just 13 years of age and a Ferrari F40 a couple of years later. Today João is an active collaborator with the Museum, attending some of the motorsports events organized by this well known institution and displays some of his works at the Museum´s shop.
Drawing and the observation of shapes are a fundamental part of his work as a designer and artist, from product design, painting, packaging, photography or graphic design. (in www.joaosaldanha.com you can have a comprehensive view of João´s design portfolio and also his work as an amateur photographer)
In 2012 a curious thing happened: “although I never stopped cultivating my taste for different kinds of classic cars and brands thanks to an increase of events taking place in the Lisbon area, and being formula my main reference in motorsports, almost by chance I started drawing cars again”.
The technique that he uses now is derived (although a clear evolution) from the one he started developing as a teenager, illustrating trough the use of different materials (watercolor, color pencil, wax crayon, gouache) that work together to reproduce the harmonious lines and shapes of the classics. In 2015 João started to work on canvas (besides the work on paper) wich allowed him to evolve his technique even further and diversify the thematics and scale of the projects.
Life and family has put João on the track to Macau and in October of 2015 he first visited this former Portuguese colony and was able to see the legendary Macau Grand Prix wich inspired him to produce some works related to the event´s history.
In November 2016 he presented his first solo international exhibition “MACAU GP LEGENDS – Motorsport Art by João Saldanha” at the Rui Cunha Foundation Art Gallery in Macau (China) during the 63rd Macau Grand Prix weekend.
João regularly publishes his work in portuguese and international magazines and attends Portuguese and international classic car events, such as MOTORCLÁSSICO (Lisbon) CARAMULO MOTORFESTIVAL (Caramulo) CASCAIS CONCOURS D´ELEGANCE (Lisbon) RETROMOBILE (Paris) GOLD COAST MOTORFESTIVAL and CHATER ROAD SHOW (Hong Kong).
His works are part of private collections in Portugal, France, Spain, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Macau and Hong Kong.
He has his portfolio of illustrations on his web site and his facebook pageOver the past years, João attended and showed his work at Motorclássico in Lisbon, Autoclássico in Oporto as well as other exhibitions.
At present he is taking commissions for a varied range of clients, taking pleasure in approaching each work as a unique and challenging project.
You can find our more about him and his work on his website; www.joaosaldanha.com. Why not follow him on Facebook here.
He has kindly sent us the images below for you to enjoy. Always respect copyright.
Today we have another great artist from Spain. Barcelona to be exact. Marc Carreras studied engineering in Barcelona after finishing his degree, which included Masters in transportation design as he always wanted to work in the car design industry.
"After finishing the Masters I started working as a designer and 3D modeler in an Automotive company in Barcelona" explains Marc, "and after that working as Engineer testing car engines."
Round about 6 years ago he moved to Germany and continued working as a 3D modeler and then to BMW, where he still works today.
He started with his "Remove Before" project about 5 years ago, with the idea of making art with a classic look in the transportation industry. "Just trying to give all my projects a vintage look" explains Marc.
Marc started by making illustrations of his favourite classic cars, trying to make them as simple as possible. He tries to find a personal style within this work.
He also has a bicycle project which involves getting an old bicycle and sourcing parts to customize it.
Marc looks to continue the development of his illustrations. As a project for the future he has customized a Triumph Scrambler motorbike.
You can see more of his work on Remove-before.com. You can also follow Marc on Facebook here.
Below you can enjoy some of his work. Always respect copyright.
www.in2motorsports.com
Our featured artist this week is from California, USA and is a professional photographer with a keen interest in cars.
Pursuing a lifetime interest in photography, Dave purchased his first 35mm SLR Camera in 1982, attended local photography classes, and as a hobby, started ‘clicking’ everything in sight. In 2000 with the downturn in American business, He was forced into retirement from a successful career in Manufacturing and Materials Management. In early 2005, Dave suffered life threatening health issues that required months of rehabilitation and rest.
Looking at this period as an opportunity to re-evaluate his life, and consider alternatives for his future, he renewed his interest and knowledge of photography through refresher courses, video and by reading the latest articles on Digital Photography.
As he had owned several Nikon film cameras over the years, Dave had grown fond of their performance and quality. And, with this in mind he purchased his first DSLR camera, a Nikon D200 and an assortment of compatible lenses. Upon mastering his new camera Dave started to shoot ‘stock photography’, submitting the images to various websites for sale. His ‘stock photography’ is now sold exclusively through CanStockPhoto. Inc.
Dave’s passion for automobiles now needs to be introduced. He often reminisces about his 1964 Corvette, 1967 El Camino, and his 1930 Ford ‘Hot Rod’ Coupe - as well as other high-performance vehicles that he has owned over the years. His memories are fond, with his only regret of not having photographs of them to share with other ‘car nuts’. He will be the first to tell you that ‘if you can’t show me a photo, then you’re just swap’n lies’! His own car ‘stories’ are greatly embellished each time they are told.
Okay, Where are we going with this? Photography and Cars, why not ‘double the pleasure, double the fun’? One of Dave’s friends in San Jose, CA was the owner of a beautifully restored 1963 Ford Thunderbird, and an even nicer, award winning 1970 Corvette Stingray. ‘The friend’ asked Dave if he would take photos of the two cars, the photo shoot was scheduled, photos were processed, the owner was extremely happy and Dave looked forward to his new career ‘focus’. From this shoot, and from word of mouth, other car owners/collectors contacted Dave. His reputation and business has grown since this first seed was sown.
Fast-forwarding to today, Dave has been published in Sports Car Digest, several Hot Rod and Sports Car Magazines as well as magazine advertisements and other periodicals. In addition, over the past two years he has had the privilege to work with Ron Lonberger as a contributing photographer to Roy’s new book ‘Maestro’. The book focuses on Bill Mitchell, his contribution and leadership of the General Motors automotive design team in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The book is scheduled for publication, first release this coming December (2015).
Dave now shoots exclusively for several Automotive and Motorcycle specialty businesses as well as provides images to select Internet sites that sell his images internationally.
Check out his work on Fine Arts America here.
You can also purchase prints here.
Meanwhile, you can enjoy some of Dave's work below. Always respect copyright.
