I had this commission to paint a scooter rider for a client’s husbands birthday. It seemed a simple at first. Just do a rider on a scooter I said to myself. Simple.
How wrong was I!
This first scooter I did was a Lamberetta which of course was totally not what was needed. A Vespa was what was required and doing a Lambretta was near heresy. OK I did an Vespa. Again i got it wrong. I did a Vespa with one long seat, I needed to do a Vespa with two separate seat, and in a certain type of blue too, and the rider was a ‘Scooterboy’ not a Mod. I eventually got the VESPA and the MOD correctly and all was happy.
The Vanity of Small Differences
This experience proves Freud’s and Grayson Perry’s ideas that people with minor differences between them can often be more combative than those with major differences. You see it everywhere. Arsenal and Tottenham in London, Catholic and Protestant in Northen Ireland, and of course Vespa and Lambretta owners. I bet there is even a ‘long seat’, ‘short seat’ division.
To outsiders they all look the same, although on the inside the small differences are 99% of the issue. I don’t want to get too deep. It was most enjoyable to do, and I am glad that whatever the flavour of scooter these dedicated enthusiasts are taking tme out to keep fine vintage vehicles on the road. Which is what it is all about.
Initial drawing of the scooter
