Olivier Gendebien - A Racing Talent

Belgian Olivier Gendebien and American Phil Hill celebrate their first of 3 Le Mans wins together; they also won together in 1961 and 1962. Gendebien also won in 1960 with fellow countryman Paul Fr�re.

Prismacolor on gray-brown archival stock � Paul Chenard 2010
Nicolas Cancelier Collection

Available as a 14.5"x 11" limited edition.

Their 3 wins together were with Ferrari; here they're driving in their winning 250 Testa Rossa.

Mike Hawthorn 1929-1959

I now have my Mike Hawthorn sketch available as a limited edition of 50 Giclee prints.


Pen & ink with watercolour and Prismacolor pencils on white archival Strathmore stock
� Paul Chenard 2009

It is currently featured in the Automobilia section of Classic & Sports Car magazine. This has lead to the first order of the print from a gentleman in Boston; he ordered it for his very best friend's birthday in England, who is a Hawthorn fan.

Once I packaged it up for shipping, I decided to decorate the back of the packaging with an original marker rendering of Hawthorn racing a Ferrari in the 1958 Grand Prix de Monaco.


Markers on corrugated cardboard � Paul Chenard 2009

Birthdays should always have happy surprises!

Mike Hawthorn 1929-1959

Pen & ink with watercolour and Prismacolor pencils on white archival Strathmore stock
� Paul Chenard 2009

John Michael �Mike� Hawthorn was a well-liked British racecar driver from Farnham. He was popular, and fun-loving, almost always sporting his trademark bowtie, even when racing.

His father Leslie owned own and operated the Tourist Trophy Garage and Mike spent most of his spare time working in his father�s garage, located close to the Brooklands race track.

He started racing motorcycles with some success, and in 1950, raced automobiles, also with success. In 1951, he graduated to a Formula 2 Cooper-Bristol that his father bought.

His racing prowess caught the attention of Jaguar�s Lofty England and Enzo Ferrari. Hawthorn was offered a contract with Ferrari and signed up for 1953.

His first F1 win came in the 1953 French Grand Prix at Reims, driving a Ferrari 500. Though less consistent and successful than others, he won 4 pole positions and 3 Grand Prix races in 45 starts. In 1958, he won only one race, but place 2nd in five races, allowing him to take the Formula 1 Driver�s Championship.

After winning, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula 1 to pursue his business interests. Sadly, less than a year later, he was killed in an automobile accident.

Note: The sketch above is available as a 11"x 14.5" limited edition of 50 signed/numbered archival Giclee print for $150 USD each plus shipping/handling.

Phil Hill in winning Ferraris - 4 Print Series

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted � Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great successes in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win. This is the only series ever created on Phil Hill.

Each illustration is available as a limited edition of 250 signed and numbered 22" x 17" premium archival Giclee prints.

Mr Hill signed the first 25 of each of the 4 illustrations, which are available directly through me.

Phil Hill 1927-2008: An American Hero

Working drawing for future serigraph limited edition, pencil on board � Paul Chenard 2007


Hand-drawn birthday card, pen and ink on card
� Paul Chenard 2007
Phil Hill Collection

I�m very sad to hear that Phil Hill, one of my great heroes, has passed away.

Here is a quote from the Race Legends website:
Hill had a varied racing career beginning in 1947 and stretching over 20 years. He was remarkable in winning both his first and last race outings. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times for the team of Enzo Ferrari, Sebring 12 Hours three times and a host of sports car, endurance and Formula One races. He was also the fastest man in an MG, setting a land-speed record for the British firm. Hill was a long-time contributing editor to Road & Track Magazine.

I actually never heard of him until I started reading his Salon features in Road & Track magazine. His articulate and retrospective analysis�s actually nurtured my curiosity in the history of motor sports, and pushed me to find out more, to read as much as I could on the subject.

That�s when I really learned of his amazing accomplishments in a great variety of racers, and his artistry in Ferraris. My research also showed me that no one had encapsulated his success for the Ferrari Team in art. This led me to create a series of illustrations on his wins with them.

Mr Hill not only chose to feature them on his website, but also agreed to sign 100 prints of the series. Keep in mind that this happened just over a year ago, so it was an incredibly difficult task for him. His signature was obviously effected by the Parkinsons, but he none-the-less pushed on and did the series.

His son Derek was kind enough to take some snapshots of his dad signing, and sent them out to me, and they are now my treasured keepsakes.

Godspeed, Phil Hill 1927-2008...

1 Ferrari 750 Monza Pebble Beach 1955

2 Ferrari 250 TR Le Mans 1958

3 Ferrari 246 F1 Monza 1960

4 Ferrari 156 F1 Monza 1961

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted � Paul Chenard 2006

This series highlights Phil Hill's great success in Ferraris, culminating with his 1961 World Championship win.

* Note: At a request of Phil Hill's Family, all Phil Hill artworks are removed from his website until sometime in November, 2008.