James Mylne (artist)
[1] The artist's photorealist likenesses of iconic celebrities attracted early media attention and continues to be one aspect of his output.
[4] Although he has spoken of original aspirations to be a painter and was still painting at the age of 18,[5] James had already begun giving ballpoint pens greater consideration as an art medium since he was 16, or "around 1996".
[4] By his college years, prior to widespread popularity of the internet, Mylne was still approaching his ballpoint pen usage as if he were the only one using them to create art, ignorant of anyone else using them.
"[5] Upon completion of formal studies, he launched a website dedicated to disseminating information of ballpoint pens as an alternative art medium.
[5] England's BBC London News program reported in a 2014 interview that James Mylne sold his first work of art when he was nineteen years old.
[2][9] Mylne's ballpoint pen replicas of iconic photos of entertainers and artists from Britain and America, including Audrey Hepburn and Jean-Michel Basquiat, were the first to attract attention.
Two of the artist's photorealistic ballpoint likenesses of Moss were chosen as art magazine covers, the first in 2009[11] and again in 2012, which also featured an interview with Mylne.
[4] Mylne participated in the first two of an exhibition series titled Reworked produced by Rook & Raven gallery, London, his representative at the time.
The artist opted for a vintage photograph of Sean Connery as his James Bond character,[15] shot during filming of Diamonds Are Forever.
[10] Terry O'Neill made an appearance with the artwork (and the photograph from which it was copied) on British television, expressing amazement at the four weeks Mylne spent working on his contribution.
[18] The second installment of the Reworked exhibitions was held in March 2013, featuring the photography of Bill Wyman, the bass guitarist and founding member of The Rolling Stones who was also known as an avid photographer.
[19] One of Mylne's contributions was his black and white reinterpretation of a colour photo Wyman had taken of American model Jerry Hall, a former wife of bandmate Mick Jagger.
For background color, Mylne masks off the silhouette of a figure he'll be drawing, then applies flat fields of colour using spray paint.
[5] Mylne's Anti Con Art series shows ballpoint-penned characters interacting with others painted in acrylic or gouache.
[5] During a live show-and-tell appearance on Britain's Blue Peter television program, Mylne explained that he works "very slowly", using pencil for preliminary outlines.
[1] Other reviewers have described Mylne as a "master technician",[3] and commended the "stunning likenesses" he portrays, which "gain a lifelike presence".
[26] Mylne's photorealist ballpoint pen artworks are so finely inked that they are often mistaken for photo prints,[4] even when viewed up-close.
[1] Mylne acknowledges some artistic influence from street art during the early 2000s, owing to disillusionment by the sensationalism of the YBA generation prevalent at that time.
