Capturing Velocity: A Conversation with Motorsport Art Legend Juan Carlos Ferrigno

TorqArt: Can you briefly tell us about your life as an artist, from your beginnings to where you are today?

JCF: To tell the truth, I’d never really thought about spending my whole life painting. I always liked drawing, and I was very lucky to find excellent teachers like Bergandi, Cademartori, and Jorge García. They gave me the opportunity to learn in their studios from the time I was 18 years old.

Earlier in my career, I worked as an illustrator, and later (after moving to Barcelona) I started my career as a professional artist. It was a long path full of sacrifice, painting every single day of my life, but I would do it all over again. It made my life happy, doing what I love.

Fangio: Alfa Romeo

Andretti

TorqArt: You describe your approach as ‘dynamic realism’—a balance of anatomical correctness and abstraction. Did this style emerge as a sudden breakthrough, or was it a gradual evolution over many years of painting?

JCF: It evolved gradually from a very realistic style, which was required at the time for commercial art and illustration. Little by little, my mindset shifted toward focusing more on the speed of the car rather than the livery lettering and small details.

A fantastic teacher at Fine Art School made me realize that the most important thing is conveying the sensation of speed to the viewer, so I needed to focus on the feeling of a car racing at flat-out speed. I gradually shifted my style to become more and more abstract.

My goal is to create a powerful piece that stands on its own as a great painting, not just a painting about a racing car.

Porsche 917

TorqArt: Can you describe your approach to composition and its importance in capturing the drama of motorsport?

JCF: I noticed that people who appreciate motorsport art generally like to see the driver, a specific race, or a particular car. I try to give them that, but set within a very high-speed scene full of action and emotion.

I want them to feel the drama of the moment, while still being able to recognize their favourite driver or machine. I try to preserve that focal point for the viewer to discover and enjoy.

Normally, clients commission a painting of Senna or a Le Mans winner, so I don't lose that reference for them—you can still clearly see Senna, or that iconic Le Mans race.

Senna

TorqArt: Knowing when to finish a piece is often the hardest discipline in abstract painting. What are your cues to know when to stop painting—have you developed a process, or does it differ from painting to painting?

JCF: That is a difficult issue. Not all of my paintings reach the same level of abstraction because every piece is different and demands its own balance, depending on the subject, the scale, or what the client requested.

But I would say you get a certain feeling from the canvas—a whisper that talks to you over the hours you spend working. In a way, the painting guides you and gives you secret messages telling you the exact moment to stop. It’s entirely intuitive; you feel it in your body when a painting is complete.

Porsche 908

TorqArt: You’ve spent years of live performance painting at iconic circuits like Monaco, Silverstone, and Monza, surrounded by roaring engines and crowds. How does that noisy paddock environment alter your artistic choices compared to painting in your Barcelona studio?

JCF: Normally, I paint in my studio listening to music, so I’m used to a noisy environment. Whether it's F1 engines or rock and blues, I feel right at home. As for working at a circuit, I did that for more than a decade, so it feels completely natural to me.

That environment definitely influences the painting as I work—it makes it much easier to transfer the immediate emotion of the moment onto the canvas, and people can feel that energy. In fact, the paintings I created at the circuit were usually sold before I even finished them! Somehow, people picked up on that message, feeling the emotion and excitement of the moment. To paint racing cars, I need the exact opposite of calm.

Bugatti

TorqArt: Winning the 1996 International Motoring Art Competition with your painting of Juan Manuel Fangio in the Alfa Romeo was a landmark milestone. Having painted racing icons from Fangio and Senna to modern champions like Hamilton, is there a specific era of vehicle design or racing history you find most compelling to translate into art?

JCF: Someone once said that the cars we fall in love with are the ones we saw when we were around 10 years old. In my case, it was the Porsche 917, Ferrari 512, Alfa Romeo 33, Matra, Lola, and so on. My father took me to see the 1000 km of Buenos Aires, and I fell in love with racing cars forever.

From then on, I drew those fabulous cars first with my school pencils, and later with brushes. The 1970s is definitely my favourite decade. I grew up watching F1 races on a black-and-white TV, dreaming of Monaco, Silverstone, and Monza. Later in life, I was at those very circuits every year painting racing cars, so I consider myself the luckiest man on earth—it was a dream come true.

Ferrari 312T

TorqArt: Beyond motorsports, your portfolio features striking portraits of jazz, rock, and blues musicians, as well as dramatic maritime scenes. Apart from being interesting subjects, is there a personal connection?

JCF: Really just with music, because I love it deeply. I actually tried to play the tenor saxophone and learn to read music, but I didn't have the persistence or the time to practice, so I failed! Now I just love to paint great musicians.

Marine art is also a wonderful subject because of the movement, which is similar to motor racing. But I will always prefer painting cars. After more than 45 years as a professional, when I think of painting, I think of cars. It's in my blood.

Stewart

TorqArt: For aspiring automotive artists striving to find their voice in an era increasingly dominated by AI imagery, what advice would you give about capturing genuine human emotion on canvas?

JCF: It’s difficult for me to speak on this. Sometimes I feel like a very old man because I’m doing something that was done 200 years ago—putting colours on a piece of canvas. It’s an ancient craft. I feel we are losing the human touch with so many computers in our lives. Every era brings its own tools, and future generations will develop a different relationship with technology.

Perhaps painting on canvas will shift to screens and new mediums even more than it has today. The ultimate goal remains the same, just with different tools, but the underlying creativity must remain human. Otherwise, we just become another machine, and we have to protect that human connection. Personally, I’d prefer fewer computers, but I suppose that’s a lost battle now!

Abstract Speed

TorqArt: Looking ahead, are there any bucket-list subjects or ambitious projects you plan to tackle in the near future?

JCF: Like many artists, I would love to create the "perfect painting" one day. But as we all know, that’s impossible. We spend our entire lives trying and trying, believing the next piece will be the one—or at least better than the last. That is the great, beautiful trick of painting: you pour in all your knowledge, effort, patience, time, and love, yet you always feel it isn't quite enough.

So you try again and again. Then one day, you realize you've spent your whole life painting, enjoying yourself, and making a living chasing that perfect painting. Even knowing it doesn't exist doesn't matter; you built a career and enjoyed your life doing what you love, while bringing joy to people who appreciate your art. There’s no better way to spend a lifetime.

Jordan

TorqArt: Juan Carlos, thank you for sharing your journey and insights with us today. It’s been an absolute privilege to feature your story on TorqArt.

Juan Carlos Ferrigno continues to paint from his studio in Barcelona and his sensational artworks can explored directly through his official channels:

Official Website: https://jcferrigno.com/en/home

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jc_ferrigno/

Mazda 787B

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