Since the Tour de France came to Yorkshire in 2014, I have created cycling artwork to commemorate the great events our county, and in particular Harrogate, has had the pleasure of staging. The UCI is no exception.
My cycling story began with a map showing the route of Stage 1 of the Grand Départ 2014 which started in Leeds and finished in Harrogate. This was hand paper-cut from a single piece of paper. It shows all the towns and cities along the route - notable attractions, stately homes, animals, landscapes, cyclists, spectators and much more. It took six months to complete and was unveiled by the Mayor of Harrogate.
I then became the first official artist of the Tour de Yorkshire - creating a stainless-steel version of my paper cut in 2015.
In September this year, the world-famous Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) race was staged in Harrogate. The races started in towns around Yorkshire, eventually all making their way to the finish line in Harrogate.
I was contacted by British Cycling two weeks before the event and was asked to create a piece of artwork made from stainless-steel to present to the President of the UCI. It was a tight deadline but thanks to amazing suppliers and with the help of my brother who is an engineer, I managed to meet it.
The sculpture measures 50cm wide and features a cyclist, arms aloft, at the finish line with other cyclists riding around a wheel and the words ‘Together we can build the cycling tomorrow’ around the edge.
It was presented by the chairman of British Cycling, Frank Slevin to the President of the UCI, David Lappartient at the UCI closing awards ceremony at Harrogate International Centre. Frank Slevin is pictured on the left.
The feedback from British Cycling was that ‘it was extremely well received and the chairman was delighted with it’.
As a Yorkshire artist based in Harrogate, I was thrilled and honoured to have been asked to create this artwork for such a momentous, international event and glad British Cycling and the President of the UCI loved it.
My background to painting outside stems from early childhood. No matter what the weather - I'll always try and paint outside of my studio to capture the subject matter be it animals, landscapes or as is often the case - a combination!
Beautiful autumn colouring this year inspired me to capture the cherry trees on the stray in Harrogate - slightly windy conditions made the outdoors challenging but well worth the effort - !
Had a fabulous time at the gardens of Monet in the tranquil village of Giverny. Made all the more exciting when a massive storm hit the village the evening we arrived - ended up eating my Sea Bass in a plate full of rainwater..... as the restaurant got deluged!
Anita Bowerman
Author