Reebok commissions Lewis Hamilton portrait

To celebrate the season of Lewis Hamilton, international sports brand Reebok commissioned contemporary British artist Ian Cook to create a portrait of the Formula One racing driver. Working with a selection of remote controlled cars, Cook creates brush strokes by applying paint to the cars tyres and then driving in short bursts over the canvas. The artist will use a number of different cars dipped in different coloured paints as he creates the image.

The 8m x 12m painting covers an area of 96m2 and will take a week to complete. Reebok will unveil the finished portrait on a site in the shadow of London’s Tower Bridge where it will remain on display over the final weekend of Lewis’s season.From Monday 20th until Saturday 25th October, Cook will work in a studio on Regent Street a few yards away from London’s Piccadilly Circus. Members of the public are encouraged to visit the studio and watch Ian work.

Cook said, “I’m really excited to be working with Reebok on this project. Lewis has one of the most famous faces in sport; it will be a lot of fun capturing his image in a style so closely linked to his profession! I hope lots of people come and see me paint, it’s quite a spectacle!"

Lewis will see the portrait in person on Wednesday 29 October when Reebok unveils the finished painting in front of London’s Tower Bridge. He will join the celebrations from Sao Paulo via a big screen.

“When I heard about this project I was excited. I like new interesting and challenging ideas, I don’t like when you have to do the same thing over and again. I like it when people come up with something creative and new. This was something I’d never heard of before and I’m pretty sure not too many other people had heard of before, so when I found out it was going to be a painting of me I thought it was strange but at the same time I was sure it was going to be something a bit special. Just to see the outcome is really very special to me. I’m honoured to have such a huge amount of effort go into a painting of myself so a big thank you to both Reebok and the artist for that”, Lewis commented on the project.

Reebok announced its partnership with Lewis Hamilton in May of this year. He is the latest sporting icon to join a roster which includes basketball superstars Yao Ming and Allen Iverson, FC Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, Indian cricket sensations MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid, women’s tennis star Jelena Jankovic, NHL star Alexander Ovechkin and legendary Swedish athlete Carolina Klüft among others.

Image: Bleacher Report