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    Sunday, May 3
    Art & Creative

    Artist James Cook Uses A Typewriter To Create His Unique Artwork

    typewriter art

    Try to show a typewriter to the young people of today and they’re likely to say that it’s an ancient artifact. Well, we can’t really blame them because these bulky, heavy machines have long been supplanted by personal computers running word processor. But UK-based artist and architecture student James Cook gave these obsolete machines a new lease of life by using them to create stunning typewriter art.

    By typing the characters directly on the paper, Cook draws detailed portraits and landscapes. The 24-year-old artist from Braintree, Essex finds inspiration from architectural and historical landmarks of the Essex countryside. Cook has been making typewritten drawings in the past seven years with more than 100 stunning artworks under his portfolio. Back in 2014, he was inspired by an American artist who had cerebral palsy. Since the artist couldn’t hold a pencil or paint brush due to his condition, he cleverly made use of the control and precision of a mechanical typewriter to create fantastic drawings.

     

    Typewriter Art With Amazing Detail

     

    Cook then bought a second-hand typewriter and began to create drawings on paper by using combinations of characters from the stiff keyboard. Of course, this unorthodox approach in making art was more challenging than the traditional hand-drawn method.

    Furthermore, the artist was essentially using a typing device to draw images which is something it was not designed to do. He takes advantage of the different shapes of the letters, numbers, and symbols to draw lines and build up tones and shading. Cook decides to call his creations ‘typictions’.

     

     

    Cook currently owns more than 35 typewriters and his unique typewriter art continues to attract global interest. It usually takes him between 15 – 30 hours to complete a piece, depending on the complexity of the subject. Some of his drawings also feature hidden messages which can only be seen if you look closely.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    You can buy his original artwork and limited edition prints via Wonky Wheel Gallery website. Or you can follow the artist on Instagram to see his wonderful collection of typictions.

    Source: Instagram

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