By Mica Bale

Reusing vintage machinery for modern purposes, talented local typewriter artist James Cook’s work transcends the scope of upcycling – and has even earned him an A-list fan!

Braintree-born James Cook is reimagining how modern art can be accomplished with seemingly old tools. He explains what a typewriter artist is, ‘I describe my drawings as being a picture worth a thousand words. Because the drawings are hand-typed I will hide messages, words and phrases for people to find when they look at the drawings up close. The great thing about typewriter art is that you can’t see those messages when you stand way back to see the actual drawing, so you have to get really close and then you can read it like a book. I like how typewriter art has those two dimensions to it.’

Great British Life: FinchingfieldFinchingfield (Image: James Cook)

But how did James come to be a typewriter artist? 'I had been rummaging around all the local charity shops in the Braintree area trying to find a typewriter, with not much success. An elderly couple overheard my enquiry at the British Heart Foundation and they wrote down their address, and later that afternoon, I picked up my first typewriter. It must have been less than a week before that I had read about the history of typewriter art, and became completely obsessed and enthralled with the idea of getting my hands on a typewriter.

‘The idea came from reading about an artist called Paul Smith who had cerebral palsy. His parents gave him a typewriter to learn to write because he couldn’t hold a pencil. What he actually found himself doing was typing drawings and recreating famous paintings, such as the Mona Lisa, from the age of 11.

‘I have loved drawing from a very young age, in particular, drawing buildings. Originally, I would draw mostly in pen and ink, and as a child, was inspired by the panoramic drawings of Stephen Wiltshire who has this incredible photographic memory of being able to draw cityscapes from memory. One of my sixth form art projects was recreating the London skyline as a panoramic drawing.

Great British Life: Tower BridgeTower Bridge (Image: James Cook)

‘My parents and art teachers encouraged me and gave me the desire and eagerness to draw. School trips to London galleries and looking out the coach window at the capital's architecture had a profound effect on me as a child. Also, I was told later in life by my first primary school teacher that I was the only student that knew how to draw a birds-eye view of my street, which surprises me to this day that I even knew what that was at such a young age. But I do remember drawing maps of Braintree and Chelmsford around that age on the back of receipts and sometimes getting into trouble for drawing onto the blank side of book dust covers.’

I was intrigued to find out about James’ creative process; how does he get in the zone? ‘I can’t live without a pair of headphones. I like to type quite fast so sometimes it can sound like someone has brought a pneumatic drill into the house! Thankfully, wearing headphones and listening to a podcast goes some way to blocking out the tapping noises. This is why I prefer to work outdoors and on location, because then there are less people to annoy with my loud typing!

‘Artwork on a single A4 sheet of paper can take four to five days depending on the complexity. If it’s a panoramic drawing, such as my latest London scenes, then it can take two to three weeks. Each drawing on that scale easily has more than 100,000 individually stamped type-written marks on the page, and it is so easy to make a mistake!’

Great British Life: Tom Hanks signed James' portrait of himTom Hanks signed James' portrait of him (Image: James Cook)

James’ work is getting global recognition, with appearances on BBC News, The Morning Show Australia and The Kelly Clarkson Show in the States. ‘When I was on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the producer told me that Tom Hanks had been on a couple of episodes earlier,’ James recalls. ‘Tom collects typewriters and has amassed around 120 of them, and he even wrote a book based around typewriters. The producer gave me some contact details for him, so I sent him a letter and two portraits that I’d done of him. Six months past, and I had all but forgotten about it, until one day a letter arrived with Playtone (Tom Hanks’ production company) on the envelope. Tom had very kindly signed one of the prints and returned it. I was nothing short of gob-smacked!’

The true skill of James' works can be seen in real life, which is why he is excited for his upcoming exhibition. ‘It’s at London’s Trinity Buoy Wharf. There will be more than 25 typewriters and their respective drawings on display, as well as an additional 30 artworks and my most recent, never-before-seen typewritten panoramic London skyline drawings. I will also be holding live demonstrations and bookable workshops so that the general public can have a go for themselves. The dates for the exhibition are March 30 to April 10. The exhibition is entirely free to the public and I will be there every day of the exhibition to chat to visitors about my work.’

Great British Life: Horham Hall, ThaxtedHorham Hall, Thaxted (Image: James Cook)

What does James have planned after his exhibition? ‘I really enjoy working on location, and I have been very lucky in the past to have been given access to some buildings with amazing views. My dream project is being given the opportunity to visit rooftops, a balcony or even a space that looks out onto an amazing view of a city.’