Celebrity typewriter art

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Here are Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Cherie Blair as you have never seen them before.

And the story behind these eye-catching sketches is even more extraordinary. They were all created using a typewriter.

Keira Rathbone spends up to 90 hours on each work of art, constructing them from thousands of letters, numbers and punctuation marks.

She says, "I spotted the typewriter in a charity shop and liked it because it looked really vintage. It cost five pounds, which was a lot to me at the time, and although I didn't have a lot to write, I took a gamble on it. My first drawing was a very simple eye but I was very slow and my drawing was very basic and spaced out. I kept practising though and found myself getting quicker - now I can draw most things.

"For portraits I use a lot of brackets and use a lot of shading by typing over the same piece again and again. I'm pleased to say that I've never had a negative response to my pictures and can sell them for anything up to $750 (£500)."

Check out some of Rathbone's work in our picture gallery above.

IMAGES: WENN