#ROADtoIMM17
a classic MINI adventure
Seven day road trip across 5 countries, 12 european cities, 2,452km, 1 plane, 2 cars,
3 boats, 5 people, 3 days in a teepee and 27 Sharpies later...
Photography: #AmyShawPhotography
The idea of road trip with a classic white mini and a bag of sharpies sounded like the trip of a lifetime and it was. But there was a huge amount of prep work involved too. We had the car covered in a matt white vinyl so it was possible to rough out in pencil. Each panel needed to tell a club/city story and needed to be researched and designed in advance. I also wanted all the panels to be connected by a road. The bit I was most worried about was the physical act of drawing on the car. I printed out a panel from the side of the car at actual size and stuck it to the wall of my office so I could get a sense of how difficult it was going to be lying on the floor and drawing on a vertical panel. I quickly came to the conclusion it's physically impossible to draw anything less than 20" of the ground.
Apart from my own part in this project, there was a huge amount of work done by the MINI classic team in both getting the project off the ground but all the logistics. Arranging to meet the clubs, working out the route, booking hotels and ferries and much more. Apart from the classic MINI we had a support car - Wolf, Claudia and Verena from MINI shared the driving across Europe (left hand side of the road). Amy and myself did most of the UK and Ireland driving. Below is a small portion of the 1500 photos Amy took - plans are underway to make a book of her #ROADtoIMM17 photography.
This was also the first time I've worn overalls to work :)
Road trip logo also used for our MINI classic team tees and hoodies
All the panel designs were printed out and laminated
The route
MUNICH BMW Group Classic Museum - Day1 - club: Mini Club München 1980 e.V.
Each panel was pre-planned in my studio before we set off
Film crew capture the first marks - no pressure :)
BMW Group Classic Museum and a few cars from Mini Club München 1980 e.V.
First leg en route to Stuttgart
STUTTGART - Day 1 - Clubs: MINI Scene Stuttgart & MINI Scene Stuttgart
It was raining when we arrived in Stuttgart - thankfully we were offered a garage to shelter in so I could draw
Le Corbusier House
FRANKURT - day1 - Club: Mini Club Frankfurt
Arriving in Frankfurt it was getting late, too dark and wet to draw
LUXEMBOURG - Day 2 - Club: Mighty Mini Frënn
We met Mighty Mini Frënn at this disused factory, just outside Luxembourg city - they brought a fine array of sandwiches and cakes for us :)
At this point I began to realise the enormity of the project - There simply wasn't enough hours of drawing time - to speed things up I roped in the rest of the crew to fill in the black bits :)
driving through the cobbled streets of Grund, Luxembourg
ANTWERP - Day2 - Club: MINIACS
Met the MINIACS in front of the Antwerp harbour building - not sure who brought the T-rex :)
Start of day 3 - Due to a mix up on the hotel bookings; ended up sleeping on this boat :) Up at 6am to catch the ferry to Dover.
The ferry from Dunkirk to Dover
Finding a few minutes on the car ferry to doodle before we disembark
BRIGHTON - Day 3 - Club: London & Surrey Mini Owners Club
Drove up from Dover to meet up with the London Brighton Run - 1200 classic MINIs on the seafront
Joined by my good friend, Brighton based Irish illustrator, Donough O'Malley. Managed to get 3 hours drawing time - nice little wall to sit on too :)
We took a bit of a diversion and headed for Goodwood motor circuit to sneak a few photos
nobody saw us sneak in :)
Great shot of the vinyl roof sticker
Team posing of a group shot outside the gates to Goodwood
LONDON - Day 4
We arrived in London late on day 3 and parked the car in a multi-storey carpark over night - The next morning I was up early and managed to grab a couple of hours drawing
OXFORD
We arrived in Oxford early afternoon of day 4 and stayed in a great pub B&B with a sunny beer garden - a rare moment to relax
It's easy to forget how much I rely on resting my arm/wrist when drawing - some parts of the mini proved pretty difficult when needing a steady hand
Next morning day 5 at the MINI plant in Oxford meeting Abingdon Mini Owners Club.
Another unexpected problem was the white panels became so bright in the sun my eyes would stream. You can just about see the umbrella they set up for me to draw under :)
BIRMINGHAM - Day 5 - Birmingham Mini Owners Club
The old MG reception building at Longbridge - The birth place of MINI
LIVERPOOL - Day 5 - Club: Wirral MINIs
We met the Wirral MINI owners at Port Sunlight, just outside Liverpool - Lovely surprise to see my parents and cousins who live locally
Penny Lane - Liverpool
10pm ferry from Liverpool to Dublin
On the ferry, support car parked behind the classic MINI
DUBLIN - Day 6 - ferry docks at 5am
Guinness Storehouse
Bord Gais Energy Theatre - Dublin
Temple Bar
Driving through Connemara - early evening
It was late by the time we arrived in Westport - took 17hrs to get across Ireland (the scenic route)
WESTPORT (West of Ireland)
Myself, Wolf, Verena, Claudia and Amy
Was so good to finally have the MINI stationary in the Teepee - I now had 3.5 days at the International Mini Meetup to complete the car
Loved the branded MINI_Classic deckchairs in front of our MINI Classic teepee - sadly no room in my bag to nab one for the garden
We shared the teepee with our friends from Damn Fine Print show ere screen printing my MINI logo on tees and totes
Getting comfortable
DAY 10 - Finished
Many thanks to Wolf, Claudia, Verena and Amy - there's no way I would have finished it on time without their help
I reckon I put 40 hours drawing into this and between them they probably added another 40.
The car is now back in the BMW Group Classic Museum where it was given a clear coat and form part of their permanent collection.
Special thanks to #AmyShorePhotography for documenting this epic journey