Most successful artists are driven to create, but a love of cars has steered Ian Cook into new directions.
Cook, 29, specializes in paintings of automobiles. In order to get the right feel of movement, he uses a fleet of remote-controlled cars as his brushes.
He started using cars back in 2006, but really got into gear in 2008.
“Back in Christmas 2006, My ex-ex girlfriend bought me a radio controlled Lightning McQueen from the film ‘Cars,’ the red ’95’ one,” he told The Huffington Post. “And she told me, ‘Don’t take it down to your studio, and don’t get paint on it.'” Thus, a new career path was born.
The relationship ended, but Cook still keeps that first car on the windowsill. “We’re still Facebook friends… like many artists, whether musical or painting, things happen that influence you. I was always going to create artwork with cars, as it’s my passion and interest.”
Cook, a lifelong car aficionado, originally had plans of working in the auto industry. “I did a week’s work experience shadowing engineers and car designers when I was 16, and realized it wasn’t quite the glamorous job I expected,” he told The Huffington Post. “I like how cars look — the visuals — but I’m not an engineer though.”
Cook uses remote-controlled cars in a variety of ways, but it’s all with one goal in mind. “I like that the cars I create look like they are moving at speed, as after all, this is what the cars do,” he said.
He has nearly 150 different remote-controlled cars that he uses for work, most of which are covered in paint.
“If I do brand-associated work say with Jaguar, or Chevrolet, I’ll buy cars that represent that manufacturer,” he said. “This can be really important as when I am being filmed — like for the Jaguar Land Rover careers advert last year — or if creating on a stand at a motor show.”
Cook uses cars of different scales and sizes so different marks can be made with the tires of each vehicle.
