Biro Drawing.co.uk

The Artist

This site is meant to serve as an information base about & relating to ballpoint art / drawings. The above image gallery shows drawings done in ballpoint by London artist James R Mylne (JRM), who set up and runs this web site. JRM has been using ballpoints for photo-realist drawings since 1994.
JRM official art portfolio is here: jamesmylne.co.uk, JRM Flickr photostream, JRM Blog: jamesmylne.co.uk/blog.

Biro Artwork

This site hopes to help elevate awareness of a rare art form which deserves more respect and acknowledgement across the art and wider world.
People are often surprised by the quality and realism possible from drawings created by simple ballpoint pens. A common response from people who hear about artwork done in ballpoint is that they expect cartoon style artwork in black and white. People don't assume shading of any kind is possible apart from perhaps a simple crosshatching technique. In fact I believe the humble biro to be the most precise instrument for fine drawing. Smudging is actually easily avoidable in fact, rare, as the ink dries almost immediately. The black is 'real', unlike what you get from a pencil. One pen can last for a long time, no sharpening involved - but of course you can't rub out any mistakes - which forces a great deal of concentration. For any interested artists I have provided some tips and insight into my techniqe on the page: Technique & Tips.

When I started using the internet in 2002, there were almost no artists in the world who used biro as their primary medium. It seems now that more and more artists are prepared to experiment, and many have turned to it as their medium of choice. Information and links to ballpoint artists from around the world (with galleries submitted by artists to this web site) are listed and linked to, on the Artists page.
A few links and bits of info on me (JRM) can be found here. I have a bunch of videos showing the progression stages of my main pieces on YouTube here.

Below is a video showreel of JRM drawings done in ballpoint biro. Some progression shots + zoom footage into detail areas.