Painting on a typewriter: an unusual hobby of a Briton

James Cook is a British artist who found an original way to use typewriters. With the help of a vintage object that has long lost its relevance, the craftsman creates unusual paintings: portraits and landscapes. The drawing appears as a result of a special technology of printing numbers, letters and signs in a certain sequence. James has been engaged in this kind of art for about 6 years. During this period, the world saw more than 100 of his creations.

Cook became interested in this work after he saw the works of the American Paul Smith. Paul, suffering from cerebral palsy, could not fully control the movements of his hands. Despite his limited opportunities, he managed to conquer the typewriter and "printed" pictures for over 70 years. This man became a role model for James.



James owns 30 typewriters. Among them there are both models from the 50s of the last century and mechanical machines from the 90s. “I feel the special magic of the keys. I am fascinated by the process of setting up and placing letters and numbers on blank paper. To get the shape you want, you have to think through all the steps down to the smallest detail, ”says Cook.
The artist knows ahead of time which of the cars he will need to fulfill this or that idea: whether it be a portrait of a famous person, an illustration for an album cover, an image of a pet or an architectural object.

James does most of the time at home. But some of the works were created by the artist in an open space with the help of plein air. For example, this is how paintings of ships, windmills and large buildings appeared.

One of the author's recent works was commissioned by Ian Hilton, Creative Director of Ms MIN Womenswear. The depiction of Jan's late mother is considered the most voluminous of all paintings that have ever been made on a typewriter. To create the masterpiece, James used 3 rolls of printing paper glued together and 100,000 characters. The artist worked on the order for more than a month.

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