The Tour de France through the eyes of an emerging artist
Last year artist Gaby Zwaan packed up his creativity and took a trip to the mountains of the Tour de France to share his inspiration along the route of the world’s biggest bike race. It was stage 16 in the mountains of southeast France where Gaby made his mark on the Tour. He painted a likeness of seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong on the ascent of the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, and his work was an immediate hit. It wasn’t long before Zwaan was invited to the European headquarters of Nike and the opportunities began to roll in.
Gaby, who aspired to become an artist only three years ago, hasn’t always had things come as easy as they did last year. He grew up with dyslexia, a neurological problem that manifests itself by impairing a person’s ability to read. Throughout his life Gaby would find creative ways to make dyslexia work to his advantage, and his artistic interpretation is grounded in his view of the world – a unique perspective from a brilliant mind.
This year Gaby will again be sharing his inspirations on the roads of the Tour de France, only this time he’ll be doing it as a special guest of race organizers, the Amaury Sports Organization. VeloNation spoke with Gaby this week, and we’ll be working with him to share with you updates of his artwork as the race unfolds over the next three-weeks.
VeloNation: Being that you’re from The Netherlands, has cycling always been a part of your life?
Gaby Zwaan: Yes, I have enjoyed cycling since I was a child. I used to always watch the big races on TV, and there are quite a few in Holland and Belgium. Like any sport it has its ups and downs, but I’m a big fan of cycling.
VN: Since you were a young boy you have been dealing with dyslexia. Could you explain how it affects you and ways you have dealt with it successfully?
GZ: I think for me personally it helped me to become the person I am today. My art is the way it is because of dyslexia, and I think in different ways and that helps me have a unique point of view. When I was still in school I had much more trouble with it…people just think you are stupid…I’m fighting to change the way people think about dyslexia…we are not stupid, we just spell things different…or maybe the person with out dyslexia spells it different.. it depends from what angle you’re looking at things! [laughs]
VN: It seems like you have taken dyslexia and used it to your advantage – by that I mean you’ve taken what most people would look at as a negative and used it to give you a unique perspective on art?
GZ: Yep, that is correct…people who are dyslexic think different and once you’re not afraid of that [what others might think] anymore you can come up with funny new ways to show something…it’s also something that works very well in marketing and such.
VN: Which artists have been your biggest influences?
GZ: None…I only started painting 3 years ago [summer of 2007], and before that I thought art was stupid… I never went to a museum and I didn’t really know many famous painters by name. I still don’t. I just do what I feel like doing and I know people like to compare, but I’m not in that game.
VN: Last year you were at the Tour de France and painted on the route for stage sixteen and got a pretty major reaction from the race – could you explain what happened?
GZ: How long do you have? [laughs] So much has happened since…it opened the door for me to talk to major companies, I was invited by galleries and events, brands wanted to collaborate and it has inspired me to do it again this year, only on a much larger scale…
VN: You have been getting more involved with cycling since last year’s Tour de France – you were even at Eddy Merckx’s birthday celebration. How will you be working with the Tour de France for the 2010 edition of the race?
GZ: I will travel with the Tour for the whole three weeks and along the way I will create eleven paintings on the roads of France. I want to create memories that last… I will start with a exposition in Rotterdam of several original pieces, and then I will end things with an expo in Paris.
VN: VeloNation will be working together with you to feature your artwork throughout the Tour de France. Will you be working with the race organizers to help decide the inspiration for each stage?
GZ: Nope… my love for the race is what the topic will be…riders that move me will be painted on the roads. Creative people don’t like it when someone tells them what to do, so I will do what I want to do! [laughs]
VN: Will you be doing smaller prints of the art to sell them after the race?
GZ: I will sell the eleven original pieces and might do screen prints of pieces on the road, but first lets do this Tour and then I’ll have to see what will happen. I’ll take it day by day.
View full-sized images of some a Gaby’s artwork
Look out for Gaby’s paintings being posted on VeloNation during the following stages of the 2010 Tour de France:
-Prologue
-stage 1
-stage 4
-stage 8
-stage 9
-stage 14
-stage 16
-stage 17
-stage 19
-stage 20
-and during 1 of the 2 rest days
Visit Gaby’s website.