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Local man reinvents career moving from cleaning cars to creating artistic visions of them
18/10/2020
“I knew that the lockdown was going to be very difficult”: pandemic used as an opportunity to change direction
A Banbury man has taken the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to reinvent his career. Now he’s gone from cleaning cars to creating artistic visions of them on paper.
Anthony Fowler had spent 13 years building up his car valeting business, but then coronavirus bought that crashing down around him. Mr Fowler decided to use lockdown as an opportunity to revisit skills he had learned long before setting up his car valeting business.
At the start of his working life Mr Fowler had trained as a graphic artist. He lost his job in this industry after the local Banbury printing firm he was working for closed. It was the knowledge he was getting married and the desire to start a family that led to him setting up his own business cleaning and valeting cars.
13 years later and COVID-19 has again forced Mr Fowler to rethink, but this time offering a chance to rekindle his original passion for art and design.
Mr Fowler said: “I knew that the lockdown was going to be very difficult and being self-employed, hard on my family, but I also knew I had an opportunity, and I am grateful for the support and encouragement I have had from my family, the community and local businesses to fulfil this dream”
The images Mr Fowler creates fuse graphic design with his artistic vision. His technique has been used to create stunningly rendered images that speak to the power and beauty of the greatest creations of the automotive industry.
His company Exclusive Designs is now marketing these images and where better than here in a region renowned for its love of motorsport. Mr Fowler’s passion for the natural world has allowed him to extend his portfolio to include images of nature.
At home Mr Fowler receives encouragement from his wife who works as a teaching assistant and his three children. He is now actively working to showcase his portfolio around the region and wants to work with local businesses to print, frame and market and distribute his pictures.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam