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racing bicycles. the illustrated story of road cycling. nick higgins. laurence king publishing hardback 128pp illus. £12.99

racing bicycles - nick higgins

were you to take up pencil and paper, the world is full of things to draw, some considerably simpler than others. houses are perhaps considered the province of early school years and i know when teaching beginners to use a computer mouse, that was precisely the subject matter they were tasked with, concentrating so hard on making the windows square that they momentarily forgot any hardships associated with the device. animals are also a favourite, but rarely one tackled by adults; too complicated and too many limbs that might flout the laws of proportion and/or perspective.

featured under the same heading of awkward would surely be the bicycle? though many of today's professional peloton can be seen aboard swooping carbon sculptures, closer examination of their more rustic predecessors or contemporaries would undoubtedly reveal a myriad of diffculties, not least those of the spokes. it's unlikely too, that members of the civilian population would undertake such subject matter on the basis of incomprehension as to the nature of the festooned componentry. on more than one occasion have i come across drawings of bicycles with the chainset on the wrong side.

racing bicycles - nick higgins

but if we add the complexity of the bicycle to that of the portrayal of movement expressed by their often competitive riders, it strikes me that you have a recipe for artistic disaster. not only the fear of rendering the velocipede disproportionately, but observing the relationship of one difficult subject with that of another. suddenly the idea of remaining true to the bikeshed/house ideal no longer seems as childish as it appeared above.

however, there are always those with the confidence, skill and temerity to take on the aforementioned and get it absolutely right. not just once, but throughout the pages of even the compact and bijou hardback book. illustrator, nick higgins, has produced this superb compendium of cycling inspired images accompanied by a narrative that treats the reader to a précis of road cycling's rich heritage. i could wax lyrical over several paragraphs, determining whether this is a book of pictures with elaborate captions, or whether 'tis the converse, but i think final judgment on which is the headlining act ought best be left to the individual reader.

racing bicycles - nick higgins

it works either way.

higgins' illustrative style is hard to pin down. there are technically correct drawings that may well have been influenced by those of daniel rebour, yet many of those illustrating his chapters on the classics and the stalwarts of cycling podiums past are of a looser, more fluid description, emulating the works of the impressionists. i have suggested that several of the latter would sell well as individual (preferably signed) prints, rendered more than well enough to decorate the walls of the clubhouse.

i believe the word 'consummate' could be applied.

the book's opening chapter deals with a bit of history, detailing the evolution of the modern-day bicycle and including an admirable page of finely executed drawings relating the oridnary (penny-farthing to you and me) with the sculpted pinarello time-trial bike as ridden by 'big mig'. once mr higgins has enlightened us both literally and visually of component development (gears, brakes, chains, frames, wheels; you get the idea?) he moves onto the races in which they participate, at which point his artistic endeavours step up several gears, having me wonder if there isn't a touring exhibition to be realised from this, always assuming the originals are of a size larger than reproduced here.

racing bicycles - nick higgins

the image of pantani climbing the alps on page 53 is darned near worth the price of admission alone.

which brings me to the realities of the tangible publication sat on the arm of my chair. though you'd struggle just a tad to fit this book into a jersey rear pocket, in truth it is one crying out to be at least double this size. and i worry that the price of £12.99 imprinted on the back cover is surely some mistake? it's a price that seems far too low, when related to the book's remarkable contents. even were you to remove every image from its pages, the text alone offers a concise history of competitive road cycling; this is not simply a narrative employed to fill the white space round the pictures, but a little gem of a book occupying a niche portion of a niche sport. publisher laurence king is to be highly commended for not only having the nous to publish it in the first place, but at such an incredibly attractive price.

now, where did i leave those watercolours?

saturday 28 july 2018

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................