The above portrait of 2008 F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is due to make its first public unveiling at a VIP event at the British Grand Prix, an event the British-born Hamilton won last year. What makes it particularly notable is that the artist, David Macaluso used the race-oil from Hamilton’s championship-winning McLaren as his supplies. The portrait, paid for by Hamilton’s sponsor, ExxonMobil is not the first that Macaluso has done using motor oil, portraying President Obama in a similar style painting as well.
When explaining his choice of materials, Macaluso said (through an ExxonMobil press release) that,
Painting with the Mobil 1 used motor oil offered a wide range of tones and was obviously a very refined product from its texture. It was extremely smooth and very particle-rich, with all the engine dirt in perpetual suspension, making for a great painting medium.
Hamilton himself likes the painting saying he was “very impressed with the oil painting.”
For more of Macaluso’s work, check out his homepage here.
[Jalopnik]
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