Doug Nye: Immortalising period Goodwood on canvas

In addition to his artistic talent and accomplishments Mike is also an extremely nice bloke – very discreet and mild-mannered – and faultlessly friendly and helpful.

But there’s a landmark being reached by Michael the artist this year since – for the first time since 1963 – he is not issuing his long-traditional pack of Christmas cards recalling the year’s great racing exploits. He explains: “For me, there was no Monaco Grand Prix visit this year and generally the Formula 1 scene has got away from me. Most of the winning – as in the past three years – has all been done by the same drivers in broadly similar looking cars – people only really see the livery – and there is a sameness to many of the circuits – apart from the surviving traditional ones like Monaco, Spa and Monza which I find very limiting. Even Silverstone is more or less anonymous today… for preference, I wouldn’t have designed them that way… We usually do half-a-dozen Christmas cards as a Studio 88 set each year, but this time around – after 53 years – I’ve decided it’s really time to stop…”. 

Michael was born in Harrow, Middlesex, in 1934 and his wartime childhood in the London suburbs saw him absolutely inspired by the exploits of the Royal Air Force in the skies above. He developed an early talent for aircraft recognition, and his school books were quickly jam-packed full of aeroplane drawings.

Fortunately for us, his early talent was recognised and encouraged, and in the postwar late-1940s, this aircraft-spotting enthusiast found a parallel passion in the thrill of motor racing, triggered by his very first sight of a motor race while on holiday in the Isle of Man in 1947. The Turner family’s stay there coincided with the postwar revival of the BRDC’s British Empire Trophy race.

Michael recalls: “Curiosity took us to an evening practice session and, from the moment the first ERA blasted past, the thrill and excitement of the world of racing cars fired my imagination. I was committed to a lifetime attempting to encapsulate and record my visual impressions of the sight and sound of motor racing on paper and canvas.

“I cajoled my long-suffering parents into taking me to as many events as possible, setting off at dawn to get a good place at the front of the crowd – the first-ever meetings at Silverstone and Goodwood, and the Jersey Road Race in the Channel Islands.

Michael spent a year studying at Art College before two years National Service with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. Three years in advertising studios in London provided valuable experience before he went freelance in 1957 – sixty long years ago. With a strong belief that there is no substitute for first-hand involvement in order to portray such demanding subjects with authority and feeling, Michael travelled extensively to the world's major race tracks to satisfy his drive for absolute authenticity in each of his works.

For the same reasons, he has flown in many service aircraft, from Tiger Moth and Avro Lancaster to Harrier and Tornado, plus aerobatic sorties with the Red Arrows, to gain first-hand impressions for his aviation paintings. 

Michael also became a qualified pilot in his own right – zooming around our skies, yes, none of us are safe, in his own De Havilland Chipmunk aircraft. He is a founder member of The Guild of Aviation Artists, of which he has twice been Chairman and later President, and an Honorary Fellow of the Guild of Motoring Artists.

Over the long years his clients have included many racing drivers, teams, sponsors, pilots, motor and aircraft manufacturers, RAF and Army messes, museums and private collections worldwide, and he has held one-man exhibitions in London, New York, Australia and the USA, while also appearing in specialist shows in both the UK and Europe. Married to his very supportive wife, Helen, in 1960, they have two daughters, Alison and Suzanne, and of course son Graham who is also thoroughly well-established now as a specialist artist in his own right.

Looking back upon his early holiday forays with the family to motor sporting events, Michael explains how: “Later I was able to make my own way and leave my parents in peace to enjoy quieter pursuits. I owe a great debt to them. They not only indulged my passion but did all they could to foster and encourage my aspirations to follow a career in art – a dubious course in many people’s eyes, but even more limited given my determination to specialise in painting and drawing cars, particularly racing cars, and aircraft…”

And he has done it for so many decades so, so, darned well it just hurts. His first published drawings appeared in ‘The Motor’ magazine and in the ‘BARC Gazette’ – which led to John Morgan of the BARC providing Michael with his first ever track pass, to watch and photograph activities at Goodwood.

His paintings were shown at Morgan’s old Steering Wheel Club in London and – in 1956 – that led to his first commission, for Esso.

In later years he trotted the globe to spectate at major-league motor races, always taking reference photographs from which he would judge compositions, viewpoints and angles for his subsequent artwork. 

In his long career, he has attended races throughout Europe, in North and South America, Canada and South Africa. 

“I count myself incredibly fortunate, not least to have shared the camaraderie of the contemporary motor racing press, particularly the photographers, and to have enjoyed the friendship of so many of the great drivers as well as their entrants and sponsors…”

This year has seen Michael celebrating the 60^th anniversary of his debut as a full-time freelance artist in 1957, and here – with his permission – we present some of the many works he has produced covering a Goodwood event.

To savour more of Michael’s wonderful work, look out for copies – new or ‘pre-read’ – of his books including ‘The Motorsport Art of Michael Turner’ (with Damon Hill), ‘Formula One: The Cars and the Drivers’ (with commentary by Nigel Roebuck), ‘Drawing and Painting Racing Cars’, ‘The Aviation Art of Michael Turner’, ‘Royal Air Force – The Aircraft in Service since 1918’, or – to study the losing side (thank heavens) ‘Luftwaffe Aircraft; Paintings by Michael Turner’.

I personally recommend each and every one of them – but what am I going to do now for Christmas cards….? For more on the Turner family’s art see their website – https://www.studio88.co.uk.