LONDON: James Cook sits calmly at his desk, with the only sound the clickety clack of his typewriter. As he works, a portrait of a boy takes shape.<\/p>\n
From Hollywood star Tom Hanks to the London Eye observation wheel, the artist can turn symbols and letters into art, earning him increasing attention.<\/p>\n
Cook, 25, produces his work in a studio in London, surrounded by typewriters and artwork, with the white dome of the O2 arena visible outside.<\/p>\n
He began producing typewriter art in 2014 when he was in college studying art and came across an artist from the 1920s who produced similar work.<\/p>\n
Initially, he thought the idea was “impossible” \u2014 until he tried it himself.<\/p>\n
“It was simply out of curiosity that I decided to go out and get my own typewriter,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n
“Since 2014, I’ve just been slowly learning how to make drawings.”<\/p>\n
Cook first thought depicting buildings would be easier because of the straight lines and the ease of moving from left to right on a typewriter.<\/p>\n
“I couldn’t draw people’s faces before doing typewriter art,” he said.<\/p>\n
“In fact, I probably draw people better on a typewriter than I can draw free hand in pen or pencil.”<\/p>\n
Cook never set out to make it a career and went to university to study architecture but interest online encouraged him to pursue typewriter art.<\/p>\n
People donate typewriters to Cook as he gives the machines a “second life”.<\/p>\n
‘Always a challenge’<\/p>\n
Cook can produce art anywhere, including in the shadow of the London Eye or across the river from the UK parliament, the Palace of Westminster.<\/p>\n
As the sun shines bright in a clear blue sky, he delicately produces his images using the “@” symbol, numbers and letters including “W” and “P”.<\/p>\n
For a portrait, he uses the bracket symbol to recreate the curvature of the eyes’ pupils or to illustrate the skin’s complexion he will use the “@” symbol because “it has a large surface area”.<\/p>\n
Methodically typing outside, he soon grabs attention.<\/p>\n
“Before the invention of Microsoft Word and the rest of it, this is what we used to type letters with,” said David Asante, who works as an IT engineer at a hospital.<\/p>\n
“For him to be able to turn it into a work of art, it’s amazing.”<\/p>\n
Cook says it was “really satisfying” to use a “limited” medium.<\/p>\n
Smaller drawings can take up to four to five days but portraits can take longer.<\/p>\n
Panoramic drawings \u2014 pieced together at the end \u2014 can take between two weeks to a month.<\/p>\n
He will host an exhibition from July until August where people can make their own typewriter art, and see his work including the signed portrait of Hanks.<\/p>\n
But while it appears seamless to the viewer, Cook says it “never gets any easier”.<\/p>\n
“It’s always a challenge.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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