Ray's paintings start much earlier than at his easel. Ray looks for reference opportunities whilst out and about and will take hundreds of photos hoping one will make that perfect picture.  Recent inspiration comes from the automotive world, but Ray will look at things slightly differently, choosing to capture subjects through reflections rather than the more direct approach.  This painting was created from one such photographic reference taken outside Lotus Mayfair in London Piccadilly. The main focus is the Lotus 72E as raced by Ronnie Peterson during the 1973 Formula One season. Finished in the iconic black and gold John Player Special livery, it ran on Goodyear tyres with silver wheels and remains one of the most beautiful and influential designs of Formula One’s golden era. Ray's painting evolved from his own single reference photo taken from outside @lotusmayfair on a rare day when its doors on Piccadilly were closed due to the volume of crowd assembled to watch the Pride in London parade . The reflections that have been captured show some of the crowd on the street opposite and others seated along the pavement, draped in flamboyant flags. Ray decided to represent the scene in black and white, whilst highlighting only the gold pinstriped elements. It challenges the viewer to establish what is 'outside or inside'.