Jamie Nardini: Making Art and Slinging Dirt

A Western Australia-based illustrator specializing in auto racing has pieced together his love for motorsports with creative skills.

Interview: Saroyan Humphrey + All Artwork: ©Jamie Nardini

Arts-y | Dirt track racing has helped shape 24-year-old Jamie Nardini’s personal story, and his vision as a professional illustrator. Racing Formula 500 micro-sprints in Western Australia with his brother, Luke, Nardini has cultivated a love for racing which he stokes both behind the wheel of his scaled-down racer and with painting and drawing.

Nardini’s work makes you long for the days before CGI, when comic books were the holy grail of action and adventure. Working both traditionally, with acrylic paint, and digitally, his work is bright, dramatic and bold and when printed on a speedway program cover, or poster, it roars with every bit of the here and now. Born and raised in the small town of Narrogin, two hours southeast of Perth, Nardini is a self-taught artist. His work is in a constant state of development, he says. “I’ve spent a whole lot of hours practicing, plus learning, and studying things from the internet.”

I first discovered Nardini’s work while checking out a recent event program cover from the Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia. I was drawn into the work through the gestural and painterly lines that made me think this artist has a vision beyond the obvious.

From the land downunder, across the Pacific, Nardini sat down for a few questions about his work and where it’s headed.

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How did you become interested in motorsports as a subject?
Jamie Nardini: I have always been into motorsport, mostly speedway and cars from a young age. We grew up going to the local speedway track here in town and then going to other tracks [in Western Australia] as we got older, Collie Speedway, Bunbury Speedway and the Perth Motorplex.

I started racing Dirt Karts at the age of 13 before moving to Formula 500's [micro sprints] in 2013 where my brother and I still compete at the Perth Motorplex and country tracks such as Narrogin and Collie.

What is it about motorsports that inspires your art?
Nardini: I love the atmosphere, the smells, sounds and speed of the cars and there is always a story, or something cool, different or unexpected, that can happen at any event.

Does your experience as a driver and racing competitively work into your art?
Nardini: I feel like it does influence the art in some way. I know how the car feels and what it's like to be out there. The mindset you're in when you're racing is similar to the flow-state you can get in when creating art

Is most of your work personal, or commercial commission?
Nardini: A lot of my work over the past few years has been commissions with some personal pieces here and there. I’m always sketching every day and am trying to push myself to work on more personal work and try different things.

What has been your proudest commission?
Nardini: I think the work I’ve done for the Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic has been some of my proudest work in terms of the opportunity to create something for one of the biggest sprint car events in the world. I try to find something I am proud of in every piece I do, but with art I will always see things I can improve on in my past work.

You seem to focus on dirt racing, specifically sprint cars, why?
Nardini: I think growing up watching speedway probably helped with that, but I also feel like it’s one of the most entertaining and crazy forms of racing. With the track always changing, you usually never know who is going to win, until the checkers have dropped.

Sprint cars are my favorite division to watch. They just look wild even when sitting still. They are crazy to watch, especially somewhere like the Perth Motorplex or Eldora [Ohio, Speedway] when they are up on the wall on a slick track throwing slide jobs or on a hooked up track getting the fronts in the air.

Where do you go to the races in your area?
Nardini: We mostly go to the Perth Motorplex to race and watch, but also Collie, Bunbury and Narrogin. In 2019 we travelled over [to Victoria] to watch the Classic at Warrnambool along with Avalon and Borderline [speedways]. My brother and I also travelled to the U.S. in 2016 and 2018 mostly to watch the racing at Eldora, Knoxville [Iowa, Raceway], and a bunch of other dirt tracks and Bristol [Tenn., Raceway] and Indianapolis [Motor Speedway] for NASCAR.

How did you enjoy your visits to the U.S.?
Nardini: I loved it, just experiencing a different country on your own feels surreal. Everything is similar in some ways, but different in others, and bigger to what you're used to.

It was cool actually going to places and tracks that I have only ever seen on videos and photos for years and actually experiencing it in person and traveling around the States where the population is so much bigger, you start to get a grasp of how big the world actually is.

It felt quite weird going to so many racing events in the span of only a few weeks and having many races on during the week days, which doesn't happen often over here. The atmosphere at the big events like the Knoxville Nationals and Eldora Kings Royal is quite surreal to experience and seeing so many people in one spot witness a form of motorsport you have enjoyed since you were a kid is pretty cool.

What is your process, what do you use for reference?
Nardini: For commissions I usually start off with a line sketch drawn on an iPad Pro and then get into painting the colors and details on my PC in Photoshop with a Wacom Intuos4 tablet. I usually reference photos of the car from as many different angles as I can when drawing so I am able to get an overall idea of the stickers, chassis and details.

For traditional acrylic paintings it is similar, usually I like to start with a line sketch in pencil and then get into painting in the base colors and then getting into details. I like acrylics. It dries fast and you can make adjustments pretty quick whereas with oils you have to really have a strong idea of what you want to create. I usually have a rough idea of what I want an image to look like but the colors in the background usually come from messing around and trying things.

What are the different sizes of your work?
Nardini: I usually stick to a pretty large size for digital, that way it can always be reduced down for printing rather then scaled up, and losing quality. For traditional, I haven't done many large paintings but want to look at doing more in the future.

Do you do other types of art, or design, commercial, or otherwise?
Nardini: I have dabbled in graphic design such as posters, but right now I am focusing on drawing and painting.

The feeling of speed and motion is strong in your work; sometimes the cars seem almost impressionistic and in other pieces your work is very detailed and technical, do you have a preference of style?
Nardini: I think I enjoy the more impressionistic and loose style in my work. I feel like it matches the action of the subject matter. Plus, it is a more flowing process and I don't get caught up in the details as much. Rendering can take a long time and I enjoy just getting straight into a piece as the overall idea usually comes a lot faster and can see the finishing line quicker.

I also like the more detailed pieces I do when they are finished, but I want to try and work towards more of a blend of styles so my workflow can be more smooth.

Are there artists that have influenced your style?
Nardini: I look at a huge amount of artists and photographers work, I do look at motorsport art but, I look at more work in illustration, game art, landscapes and portraits. All the fundamentals of art can be studied by looking at their work and seeing what I could do to improve my work. I feel like I have so much to learn when looking at some of the amazing stuff out there.

What are you working on currently?
Nardini: I have a few commissions on the go and some personal pieces. I am always sketching and practicing every day and looking at art, to learn new things.

What are your plans for the future; where do you see your art going from here?
Nardini: For now I just want to keep making art and pushing myself and improving as I enjoy the process of making something from nothing and see where it goes.

Above: Press play for a stop-motion video of a Nardini digital painting from start to finish.

Keep up with Jamie:
t: @jamienardini
i: @jamienardini
f: @jamienardiniart