by Jon Parker

Created on: December 15, 2006   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

I asked Graham how he got started in painting, and he told me that, naturally, there was a lot of influence from his father. However, he originally intended to become an engineer, working on technical drawings. It was not until he was sixteen that he changed his mind and went to art college. He paints both motor sport and medieval scenes, although he does not have a particular preference.

He told me that he "tends to alternate between the two themes. But when it comes to motor sport, I prefer painting 1950s and 1960s cars. They have more curves to them and much nicer shapes. There are also less logos. Modern cars are covered in sponsors' logos. Its just like painting lots of text and font these days."

I also asked Graham how long he spent on his paintings, on average. "I usually spend about one to two weeks on the smaller ones, but I can spend up to three months on the larger ones.

"My advice to you as a young painter is not to put too much detail into a fast moving object, or else it will look static. For example, you should not make the logos too technical, and there should not be too much detail on the wheels. When a car is travelling at 200mph, the detail on the spinning tyres is rarely visible. Whatever you choose for your final composition, good luck for the exam."

After I had interviewed Graham Turner, I asked Michael Turner if I could ask him some questions and show him a sample of pages from this sketchbook. He was kind enough to let me talk to him in a private room of Halton House, and looked through my sketchbook from cover to cover. He was extremely helpful and friendly, and let me ask him about his profession. He gave me plenty of advice for my project.

I have always had an interest in motor racing, but it was only recently that Michael Turner's aviation paintings got me interested in planes. However, it was the other way round for Michael. He had always been inspired by planes, but it was not until he saw a motor race on the Isle of Man that he became interested in motor racing. "I was 14 at the time," he told me. "I saw one race and was fascinated by the sport from that moment onwards." He, like Graham, has no preference of theme for his paintings, planes or cars.

I told Michael that my preferred media is acrylic paints, which he also likes a lot. "The principle media are oils and watercolours, the former being associated with canvas, and the latter with paper. Two alternatives which relate roughly to each of these are acrylic and gouache, both are

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