Car distributor Mini Ireland has commissioned artist Graham Knuttel to paint a Mini car, which will be auctioned for charity later in the year.

The firm said that Knuttel, who owned several Minis when he was in his 20s, ‘‘encapsulates the true spirit of Mini as a hip urban style car with an abundance of spirit and an amazingly powerful drive’’.

‘‘When I set out to paint this car, it brought back many memories of when I was young,” Knuttel said.

‘‘I was starting out on life’s adventure. The fish symbolise that journey. I have used them to explore the car, swimming from behind the panels and across surfaces. The sailors . . . give a link between the fantasy of the images and the reality of the car. I used the images of the birds around the roof to reflect the sense of space supplied by the car’s glass roof.”

Posted: 09|2|07 at 8:22 am. Filed under: Auction News.