British artist paints larger-than-life-size painting of Lewis
Hamilton -- using remote-controlled cars.

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT - OCTOBER 20-24, 2008) WORLD
TELEVISION -
A giant portrait of British racecar driver Lewis Hamilton was
unveiled in London on Thursday (October 30).
The larger-than-life portrait, the size of two double-decker buses, was
painted by British contemporary artist Ian Cook. Cook did not use traditional
methods of painting, but rather his own unique style called "Auto
Drawings" -- where he dips the wheels of remote-controlled cars in paint
and drives them over the canvass.
It took the artist 8 days and up to 50 cars to finish his masterpiece.
Hamilton was in Brazil at the time of the unveiling, and was shown the work
through a computer. The sportsman, whose impressive performance on the
racetrack now has him vying for this year's F1 world championship, was in awe
at the artist's work.
"Well firstly I think it's incredible. I was first told about this
idea and I thought, okay, I couldn't really picture in my mind how someone
could paint, using remote-controlled cars, using toy cars. But to finally see
it and see, how he's doing it, how big the painting is, and the fact that it's
in his first attempt, and the fact that he has my body and my face and
everything to a certain scale. And just, it just looks great," Hamilton
said.
Cook's makeshift studio was open to the public who were equally
impressed with his work -- to the point of disbelief.
"It's unbelievable, he just did that by driving a car. (laughs)
You've gotta be joking man. This can't happen," said a passerby.
The 8x12 metre work was rolled out by iconic London landmark Tower
Bridge. A screen showing Lewis Hamilton's interview was installed
alongside.
Cook was really pleased to see the culmination of his work.
"I felt fantastic to see it, this morning being rolled down and
unveiled, it looks brilliant. Really, really happy with it so, yeah, it's an
amazing experience and to see it looking over the Tower Bridge and in situ
now," he said.
The painting will be displayed throughout this weekend.