Austin Mini Cooper Mixed Media Canvas Print

Realistic acrylic painting of the Mini Cooper, painted by the Dutch fine artist Paul Meijering - digitally edited

The Mini is a small economy car made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s.

Its space-saving transverse engine front-wheel drive layout - allowing 80 percent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage - influenced a generation of car makers.

In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T, and ahead of the Citroen DS and Volkswagen Beetle.

This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis.

Issigonis' friend John Cooper, owner of the Cooper Car Company and Formula One Manufacturers Champion in 1959 and 1960, saw the potential of the little car, and after some experimentation and testing, the two men collaborated to create a nimble, economi...

For almost 33 years now, Paul Meijering has been active with the paint brushes. As a 17- year old inspired youngster he joined the Academy of Arts in Enschede (Holland) in order to receive a native training in drawing- and painting technique. At that time (1980) the tendency of the abstract was running riot, and to his dismay and disappointment Paul found that the trade of the ancient masters was merely 'old hat', the realistic art being disregarded and looked down upon. After two years of useless botchery, there was only one conclusion to draw: "get autodidact, be a self-taught person!" Paul then left the academy to work for a living, but at the back of his mind there always loomed the passion of his life: to paint. At his spare time...