Parsons graduate David Macaluso proves there's other ways to depict motorsports than with crayons: he painted his corporate-commissioned portrait of Lewis Hamilton with the very oil from Hamilton's McLaren he drove to a 2008 F1 title.
The Hamilton portrait, which was paid for by McLaren’s fuel partner ExxonMobil, is far from being the only such piece in Macaluso’s extensive portfolio. While most of his motor oil paintings are abstractions, there are two portraits of another man of African ancestry who has gone where no man of his lineage has gone before: President Barack Obama.
Macaluso is clearly a fan of dead dinosaurs, as evidenced by this quote from the ExxonMobil press release:
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.
If he ever decides to branch off into rock music, “Engine Dirt in Perpetual Suspension” would be one hell of a band name.
The depictee himself was rather pleased, saying he was “very impressed with the oil painting.”
The painting will have its first public outing at a VIP event at the British Grand Prix, where Hamilton will arrive as the defending champion. Although given the pace of his McLaren this season, he will need nothing short of divine intervention to retain that distinction at the very last Grand Prix race held at Silverstone.
Where another Brit will arrive as the clear favorite—Brawn GP driver Jenson Button.
Image Credit: David Macaluso, ExxonMobil