Extended Artist Bio: Salman Anjum

UK bloke Salman Anjum loves to draw. Though most of his talent is put to work by day as a visual designer, Salman never misses a chance to put his automotive passion onto paper. Currently driving a 840ci as he laughs in the face of reliability, Salman never misses a chance to put his automotive passion onto paper. One of our most prolific artists, his designs include "Tri-Luminati", "Aging Well", and "Use The Force" among many others.

Salman put down the sketchpad to answer a few questions:

How did your interest in cars start?

By looking forward to the week ending and Sunday rolling around so I could watch Top Gear with my dad, and record the episodes to a VHS tape. I would then re-watch them after coming home from school. I remember it starting from season 4 and I could probably quote the Aston Martin vs Train episode by heart.

How does your interest manifest itself?

Mainly watching car shows or producing automotive related artwork. With my automotive related artwork, apart from blipshift, I’ve worked with The Smoking Tire and a few local car clubs in the UK.

What is at the top of your automotive bucket list?

To own a five car garage consisting of a BMW M Coupe, Citroen SM, Morgan Aero Super Sports, Alfa Romeo GTA, the original Fiat 500, and I guess a 911 as a nice bonus. I’ve started already and own the Fiat 500, just a shame it’s a Burago 1:18 scale model. Sitting in or even seeing a Daimler Double Six Drophead Coupe would be pretty cool as well. It just looks so imposing and cool – like something Al Capone, Sammy Davis and Jean Reno would take a drive in!

Describe your vehicle, and what makes it special:

Well I’ve just bought a CLK Sport for the winter (I did what I thought never happened and bought it on Christmas day) and right now the only quirk is the luxury of heated seats with the inconvenience of having to rip CDs again. I sold a 1990 Eunos (aka Miata) to make way, and I intended to keep the Eunos for a long time, so I’m still a little upset about it going. I had started a round-about build thread of it – having focused on aesthetic upgrades before mechanical. I had managed to get the paintwork nice and scratch/hole free, had changed the headlights to rectangular versions, relocated the number plate, put a 1970s Alfa Momo Indy steering wheel, retro bucket seats, changed the door cards to Liberty print fabric, a Nielex brass gear knob, an IL Motorsport Cobra style mirror, bullet mirrors and a radio delete.

What was your first car? Do you have any sort of brand loyalty?

My first car was a Peugeot 206 1.6 GLX Auto my mum bought me, as she was worried about me taking the 11pm coach to university every week! The first car I bought with my money was the Eunos. No real brand loyalty, and if I had any it changes all the time (for instance I used to like BMW M over Mercedes AMG but now it’s the other way round). The only thing that’s been constant is how much I find Ferrari up their own a*** and un-humorous, and their only car that appeals to me is the 288GTO.

What is your dream car?

Realistically a Morgan Aero 8, with a lottery win the Morgan Aero Super Sports, and if I become the luckiest man in the world the Daimler Double Six Drophead Coupe. As with most people my dream car does change from time to time, and I saw a Lancia 037 in a shop window recently (my work office is on the same road as Coys of Kensington) and that looked rather tasty.

Coys of Kensington are a very old auction house/dealer (since 1919) who sell historic automobiles and race cars. As a result they always have different and eclectic cars – in a two week period I saw the shop window change from a Ferrari Daytona to a Lamborghini Countach to pre-war Bentley.

What do you do besides designing awesome shirts?

I try to be an awesome graphic designer at work, which is an educational charity called the Institute for Optimum Nutrition. I’ve been there for just under two years and I am responsible for/design it’s quarterly magazine and all print material. The highlight has been having advertisements I designed on billboards at rail stations in London, including Kings Cross, Victoria, London Bridge, Paddington and Richmond.

What are some of your hobbies, not relating to cars?

I play football (not the Freedom Version but the OG version), am quite into music, or practice Go-ju Kai karate (a style of karate which has origins in Okinawa, Japan). I used to do this when in secondary school and am slowly getting back into it. I also torture myself by supporting Manchester United and watching them attempt to play. Their playing style has changed considerably and it's more cautious than before, yet I am in the minority who want to give the current manager, Louis Van Gaal, more time.

But I mainly just draw.

What have the funds from blipshift helped you accomplish?

I’ve budgeted anything from blipshift as a bonus so it all got spent on car parts for the Eunos or helped purchase the CLK.

What's your favourite blipshift shirt?

Either the Run DMC or the First Responder. They’re clever, feature good/classic cars, and provide “normal people” a good way in with car culture and car enthusiasts.

Any advice for fellow artists? How did you find the process overall?

Have more than one idea, be patient and never get attached to any one idea – you’re up against a lot of artists and the competition is tough. The process is quite good and with blipshift expanding the feedback is more prompt than ever now. Also with more sales per week it allows you the opportunity to respond to news/viral items as well – opening up idea streams.

Thanks for your time Salman. You can find more of his art and get in contact for freelance projects on his personal website.

Apex Everything!