In the lap of luxury

Whether it’s art or luggage, quality counts

Caroline Jaine
The art of motoring

Motoring artist Caroline Jaine combines a deep appreciation for the sensual beauty of car design with a passion for the power of motor sport.

“It is important for me to invest as much time and effort in a vehicle as the people who own them,” she says. “I love to see people’s cars shown off on their walls, not just in their garages. This also provides an additional legacy for the vehicle – an oil painting can last for hundreds of years, keeping the memory alive.

“I started off by photographing cars and bikes at events and races, and although it was great catching the moment in an instant, I somehow felt the subject matter deserved more artful crafting and care.

“Some of the vehicles I have painted are very special so I try to make a unique one-off that is equally exceptional. I am even about to try painting by mixing engine oil with my paints, something I haven’t done since I was at art school in 1990.

“I paint from my studio in the Cotswolds and whilst I am working I can almost smell the fumes, feel the pounding of the engine in my chest. It is fair to say that I fall a little bit in love with every vehicle I paint.”

www.motorarts.co.uk

Troubadour goes green

For the modern gent, bags can be a bit of a dilemma.

A briefcase in the gym just isn’t right, while attempting the rucksack/suit combo makes you look like a prematurely aged sixth-former.

Abel Samet and Samuel Bail set out to find a solution – to create a bag that would be at home anywhere. The former financiers left behind City life and headed on a fact-finding mission which brought them to a small, family-run Tuscan tannery.

In 2011 they launched their first Troubadour Goods collection, bags made out of leather that is treated for the optimum blend of softness and strength.

New for this year the bags are available in olive green, having been immersed in big wooden drums for two weeks so that the all-natural vegetable colouring fully permeates the hide. That ensures that the bags will age gracefully; hopefully their owners will too.

The Troubadour Olive Green range starts at £1095

www.troubadourgoods.com