James Mylne is a British contemporary artist known for his drawings in ballpoint pen. His technical abilities with this unorthodox medium have earned him recognition in Europe and the UK. The Ballpointer online journal described him as Britain’s premier ballpoint pen artist in a 2015 feature article. His photorealist likenesses of iconic celebrities attracted early media attention and continue to be a notable part of his work. Mylne also creates mixed-media pieces, incorporating spray paint, magic markers, and other materials into his ballpoint originals.

Mylne attended foundation courses at Chelsea Art College, London, in 2002. He went on to study at Camberwell College of Arts, where he received his BA in Drawing in 2005 and his MA in 2006.

Mylne works exclusively with black ink when using ballpoint pens. Although many brands are available, he is known to favour the Bic biro. To add colour, he employs acrylics, gouache, spray paint, and paint pens, which he finds particularly useful for filling larger black areas. For background colour, he masks off the silhouette of a figure before applying flat fields of spray-painted colour.

Mylne is passionate about detail and maintains that ballpoint pens allow for great precision and subtle halftones when handled correctly. These halftone effects are created through the controlled spacing of parallel ballpoint lines while closely referencing source material. During a live appearance on the BBC’s Blue Peter, he explained that he works very slowly, beginning with a pencil outline. He typically starts with what he considers the most difficult and important part — often the eyes — to ensure accuracy at the outset.