MY 2020 YEAR IN REVIEW

The year 2020 was very different from what I have experienced since my beginnings in the Lemireart artistic project. There was the pandemic that forced me to a 2 months of commercial inactivity during the lockdown. Sales have been quite numerous since last May.

MORE PERSONALIZED REQUESTS TO START 2020

A BOSS LIKE ANY OTHER The start of the year got off to a flying start with an order for a very personalized portrait of a slightly modified 2012 BOSS 302 Laguna Seca.

Custom black RTR Tech 7 wheels designed specifically for Mustangs, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires different from those installed at the factory, and added front spoiler have been the changes made from the drawn portrait of the regular BOSS 302.

I offered the client to add the road racing circuit to give a more complete competition atmosphere. This will be the first of a handful of such orders I have secured during the year, driving revenue upwards with the addition of extra options. Here are 2 enlargements of the very personalized drawn portrait in question.

The others have been a Corvette Z06 C7 with particularly thin spokes Signature SV303S rims, and carbon fiber parts in great number, a Shelby GT350, for its part, with Vossen MX-3 wheels with a particular pattern mounted on Toyo Proxes R888R tires, and a 2015 Camaro 1LE whose tire patterns on the Bridgestone Potenza RE-Z1R tires show how useful they were installed for the track in addition to showing the car in its natural habitat. The addition of the helmet is the supreme touch!

STARTING PRICES FOR PAYABLE PERSONALIZED OPTIONS

Note that tire and rim change prices start at US$40/CA$50 (tires) and US$40/CA$50 (Rims). The complexity of the rims and tread patterns of the tire are the factors that determine a higher price. The addition of the helmet also starts at US$40/CA$50, depending on the complexity of the design on the helmet and the photo provided by the owner.

A RARE PRESENCE AS AN EXHIBITOR

In February, Les "Puces Mécaniques", an event organized in Drummondville, Quebec by a group of 4 people, was my only physical presence as an exhibitor for 2020 due to the pandemic situation. The event was in its first edition, which was very popular on Saturday.

No less than 2,500 people showed up during the weekend.

My friend Jacques Gaudet came to the rescue to help me set up my booth and lend a hand during the event. I presented for the first time a frame that includes glass with reduced reflection especially used in museums.

Two other limited edition printed artworks in the form of a scene from old gas stations were presented there for the first time in the 14X21 inch format. The first which is a Texaco gas station is titled "In the middle of nowhere" gives us a glimpse of a scene from the mid-1930s and the other takes us to Texas on Route 66 around the 1950s.

"Les Puces Mécaniques" was also the occasion to show for the first time in a public exhibition the achievements of the "Vintage looking drawing" collection. Mustangs from 1969 to 1973 printed in 11x14 inch format were the main feature of this presentation.

For more details, the 1973 Mustang convertible, 1973 Mustang Mach 1, and 1970 Mustang Mach 1 were on display. To see these illustrations and 6 other Mustang models from the "Vintage Look Drawings" collection, click here. There is a good chance that these designs will be offered in a larger 16X20 inch style following an order obtained for this size for a 1958 Corvette! Some pictures of my booth at "Les Puces Mécaniques".

WHAT SHOULD I DO TO TAKE CARE OF MY LOCKDOWN? My occupations during the lockdown were divided into 5 tasks spread over a period of 3 months.

1- UPDATE OF THE OLDEST CAMARO DRAWN PORTRAITS FROM THE "NEW GENERATION" COLLECTION

And the month of March arrived and the state of health emergency led us to confine ourselves for a period of 2 to 3 months depending on the regions of Eastern Canada. I then began my lockdown activities by enhancing the first drawn portraits of the 4th generation Camaros from the "New Generation" collection that begin in 2016.

It will therefore be the 2002 Camaro SS 35th edition which will be given a spectacular upgrade, as will the Camaro Z28 from 1993 to 1997. The drawn portrait of the 2016 to 2018 Camaro SS has also received this very special treatment. You will see below, the transformation between the drawn portraits made before 2018 on the left of your computer screen and the enhanced versions on the right!

Over the course of the year, the drawn portraits of the 1985 thru 1989 Camaro IROC-Z, 2014 thru 2015 Camaro SS 1LE, and 1998 thru 2002 Camaro SS were also revamped. The much more realistic tire treads are the most noticeable change in these drawn portraits of Camaro. It is now possible to have the tire lettering offered on most drawn portraits done in 14X21 and 16X24 inch sizes, which gives me a difference over my competition that draws cars built after 1982.

2- THE CORVETTE DRAWN IN PROFILE VIEW ALSO UPDATED

        The profile view drawings have also
        been updated with the addition of lettering on the tires, increasing the realism a bit more. The test was done with a customer who owns a Corvette Stingray C7 who accepted
        the addition of Michelin Pilot Super Sport lettering on the tires.

        The addition of 2 replicas of
        Indianapolis 500 mile pace cars was also a significant addition for 2020. To see all of the Corvette C4, C5, and C7 profile view drawings, click here. Here are the other new features uploaded in 2020 and an update of the Corvette section in
        profile view!
    

3- VINTAGE LOOK DESIGN PRODUCTION OF CORVETTE MODEL The idea of having Corvette designs from the years 1953 to 1982 appeared in 2018. The confinement was the opportunity to be able to create these illustrations in the style of the collection of "Vintage look drawing" collection that I made with the high-performance Mustangs from the years 1969 to 1973. It was the Corvette models between 1956 and 1972 that were started and are presented to you first in their uncolored body configuration. 1956, 1957 model is at the stage of hand done linear drawing.

TO OFFER A 2nd BIGGER SIZE OR NOT!

These drawings are not yet live as of December 25, 2020. The arrival of a larger format with added background decor for the “Vintage Look drawing” collection is a possible option.

Following an order for a 1973 Mustang convertible drawing ask by a Canadian client who requested me to have a bigger size, I thought that it could be a second size to offer, especially with the added backgrounds! The added background is the Arizona's Route 66 Double Arrows.

I took advantage of this order to push the limits of realism a little further, such as the reflection of the blue sky on the bodywork.

4- AND WHY NOT EUROPEAN CARS I LOVE SO MUCH

After making the illustrations for Corvette, the idea to start a collection of European car designs came to me. It is therefore Triumph TR6 and Spitfire, MGB, and VW Karman Ghia which will be the first cars to be illustrated.

The models were chosen for their popularity on the North American market back in the days. So here they are first in their non-colored body version except for the Triumph TR250 which is represented in the form of a linear drawing. I have to change the wheels for the wires one!

5- THE CONTINUATION OF MY RESEARCH AND CREATION WORK ON THE THEME OF 24 HOURS OF LE MANS 1964 GT CLASS

Following the portraits of Carroll Shelby and Enzo Ferrari artworks made last year before the release of the film Ford vs Ferrari, I embarked on illustrated imagery on the cars entered in the GT class during the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1964. It has been an opportunity for Ford-backed Shelby American race cars to beat Ferrari and their revamped GTO.

        FROM DIECAST
        PICTURES TO ACTION SCENE SKETCHES
    

        Pictures were taken of the 2-star cars
        from 1:43 scale models. The Dunlop small bridge and Total runway track-side advertisements have been drawn to the same scale as the models for a realistic staging.
    
        The 4 retouched photos visible below
        are part of my point of view study of the scene to be illustrated! 2 portative flashes were used for this picture series featuring mid-June end-of-day lighting at the Dunlop small bridge
        located near the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit area called Tertre Rouge, to put the scene in context.
    
        Clarifications to be made on the Shelby
        Cobra Daytona. The diecast has the colors of 1965. In 1964, the blue was lighter and the decorative white stripes, narrower and more distant.

Some sketches were made from the pictures in order to see the interest for me in creating a great transposition of the 1964 Le Mans GT class vintage racing scene.

A TONE STUDY IN BLACK AND WHITE

In the drawing opposite, I wanted to see the atmosphere that could emerge from the scene in an atmosphere of dusk. The illuminated headlights of the 2 cars set the tone for the lighting effects on the elements of the Sarthois racing circuit.

I would have to almost put the Ferrari lower in the drawing and the Shelby higher so that the side of the Cobra Daytona could be lit by the headlights of the Ferrari GTO. The visual impact would be greatly increased.

And to give more atmosphere to the scene, adding a few spectators at the edge of the track would be an interesting addition!

        THE AFTER LOCKDOWN ACTIVITIES
    

        From May, orders have surprisingly
        followed one another preventing the publication of vintage-looking Corvette drawings. The requests were more personalized and the formats, larger! The Camaro and Corvette were the most
        popular, not to mention the Mustangs. The vintage-looking Mustang drawings have also had some success since May.
    

        To meet customer demand, I had the
        opportunity to convert Camaro coupe models to convertible versions, including the 5th generation Camaro ZL1 available with 2 rim models and the 2013 Hot Wheels
        edition.
    

        The red 2014 Camaro RS was an exclusive private order made for a couple I met
        at the 2019 Rouville Car Show, an automotive event held Quebec.
    
        To know more about the Private Exclusive Order options, click here.

CUSTOMIZED VERSIONS WITH MORE REALISM

Since completing the 2002 Camaro SS 35th Anniversary upgrade that went online last spring, the decision was made to give more details on the 16X24 inch format. These details are the realization of the seat stitching, the addition of the carbon fiber pattern when possible, and the addition of background smoke (optional because not everybody likes it) which adds a bit of atmosphere.

Here are 2 examples of elements added in 16X24 inch format using the drawn portrait of the 2013 Camaro Hot Wheels Edition and the Corvette Grand Sport C7.

A REQUEST FROM A CUSTOMER WHO OFFERS ME INTERESTING IDEAS

A customer who bought me 2 Mustang drawn portraits asked me to add the specs in the same style as the Corvette profile view drawings and the vintage-looking drawings.

2 columns of specifications and a column of performance statistics take place in the text strip at the bottom of the drawn portrait. This is an option that is added to the 16X24 inch format, making this printed size a bit more exclusive, thus making it possible to satisfy the most demanding customers.

A FACEBOOK GROUP TO PROMOTE A DRAWN PORTRAIT

2 years after getting the first order for a custom copy of the 2013 Camaro Hot Wheels Edition drawn portrait, I thought to myself that creating a Facebook group to promote it could bring sales and above all bring owners of this model to be interested in it. This allowed the sale of 2 16X24 copies of the drawn portraits with all the visual elements related to this format, the creation of the convertible version of the drawn portrait. The Wisconsin customer requested the addition of the custom license plate drawn at the bottom left of the drawing.

The other client, the owner of a coupe, asked to have the option of smoke in the background as soon as he saw the publication of this option on the group. Both customers ordered the 16X24 inch version and saw the text section at the bottom of the drawing updated with the addition of the car's factory specs and performance statistics. As of December 25, 2020, the group includes 24 members and owners of the Camaro Hot Wheels Edition 2013.

Here are the 2 custom orders I got as of December 26, 2020.

A VISUAL REFRESHMENT FOR MY WEBSITE

It was at the end of summer that I tackled the much needed visual refresh of my website. The banner image of the site with the 4 framed drawn portrait was the central idea.

The welcome images on the pages of the drawn portraits of the "New Generation" collection will receive the same treatment, enhancing the visual appearance and professionalism of Lemireart products.

I also created navigation buttons visible on my home page and which are used in my newsletter with the same progressive stripe pattern.

The site's banner image was adapted to my professional Facebook page and newsletter.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of my very personalized orders that are higher in amount than in years past were due to this graphic style enhancement that seemed to have inspired confidence in my offerings!

A UNIQUE REQUEST One day, a Corvette ZR1 C7 owner from Granby, Quebec asks me if I know someone who could create an image for him to decorate his garage. Its printing size ... 8 by 8 feet ... Having never worked on a size that big, I thought it would be a great challenge for me to do it! The customer’s request was to have his Corvette in an auto show presentation setting.

I went to the customer's house to take pictures of his car! Once done, I tackled the photo montage and after some tweaking with the size of the car and the positioning of the car with the client, I got the final image.

A FEW STEPS OF PHOTOMONTAGE WORK

- The stages of construction of the photomontage begin with the photographic shooting with flashes.

- Then the pictures were assembled in Photoshop.

- Following the customer's comment, the flash reflections were reduced as can be seen in the 4th photos.

- Then the car is integrated into the auto show presentation environment as requested by the customer.

WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR CAR TO BE DRAWN ON A 8 FEET WIDE SIZE SURFACE

While creating this photomontage, I wondered if it would be possible to enlarge my drawn portraits to such a large size.

I printed a wheel from one of my designs in 11X17 with 8 feet wide ratio and the result is very satisfying enough to see the Chevrolet logo very sharply outlined on the center of the wheel.

So don't be surprised at a future exhibition to see one of my drawn portraits in my booth be printed in such a format, just to impress! A good way to open up my possibilities even more!

PRESENTATION OF THE MAIN SALES MADE IN 2020

Here is a good quantity of orders that I obtained during the 2020 year. The certificate of authenticity measures 8.5X11 inches and will allow you to visualize the size of the prints made.

Orders are presented by collections and printed sizes. "NEW GENERATION" COLLECTION 16X24 inch printed size