James Mylne, was born in London in 1981. He is a contemporary artist known for his drawings in ballpoint pen. His technical abilities with the unorthodox art medium have earned Mylne recognition worldwide.The artist’s photorealistic likenesses of iconic celebrities attracted early media attention and continues to be one aspect of his output. He has collaborated with famous photographers, such as the late Terry O’Neill, Ex-Rolling Stones guitarist Bill Wyman, Roger Eaton, and many more.
James Mylne only uses black ink when working, so to add colour, he employs acrylic, gouache, spray paint, magic markers and paint pens. James admits to being “passionate about detail”, which explains why one drawing can take between 120 to 250 hours to complete. The longest he has ever taken on one single drawing was 495 hours, which was on a recent artwork in 2021.
His photorealistic ballpoint pen artworks are so finely inked, and detailed that they are often mistaken for photo prints, even when viewed up-close.