George
Formby's film 'No Limit' is a perennial favourite to watch in early June when
the Isle of Man TT races come around. His Shuttleworth Snap always seems to get
all the attention but the Rainbow he raced to victory has always fascinated me.
Studying
the movie and doing a bit of research, it's quickly apparent that it was an
Ariel, either 1934 or 1935 model year. But was it a Red Hunter or the lower
specification OHV Standard? I like to think it was a Red Hunter, with it's
sumptuous red enamelling on the tank, but the twin exhaust ports suggest a
Standard, which would have had black enamelling. Without access to factory or
film company records (which probably don't exist anymore) it's impossible to
say, as there seems to have been much chopping and changing of specification
brand new out of the factory!
In
this painting, I've tried to recreate the scene where George is struggling to
push his ailing Rainbow over the finish line and into the arms of the ecstatic
Florrie Dibney (Florence Desmond).
I quite like the way I've used a loose brush
style to capture the movement of the scene and the determination and physical
strain in George's face.
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