Graphic designer creates Beatles artwork using more than 24,000 screws

Darren Timby, who is also a screw artist and based in Sunderland, has spent roughly 120 hours planning and making the unique creation, which he completed on October 9.

The artwork depicts the four members of The Beatles – George Harrison, John Lennon, Sir Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney – behind microphones, drumsticks and a Gibson guitar head.

He used a mix of only zinc (silver), gold-coloured and black screws to create it against a white canvas, as he said he needed to work in “four tones” to create the depth needed for viewers to make out the subjects.

“I always need to work in head and shoulders on the subject – and this particular one of them portrays all of them from their head to their shoulders,” he told the PA news agency.

He started the process by picking an image of The Beatles before working out logistically what a “sensible size” would be for the art – in this case, it is six feet wide by three feet high.

He added: “Then I’ll work backwards to create a guide which can be mathematically marked out.”

He then drills the screws into place, making sure to examine the art up close and from a distance throughout to ensure it looks as similar to the photo he has picked as a guide as possible.

He said the “fun part” is adding the screws to the outline, and he particularly enjoyed making the microphones and guitar head.

“They were things that were not in the photo I picked – but I added them to give some depth to the piece rather than having a load of shirt pockets and shoulders in there,” he added.

“I know there are some really iconic images of them such as them walking over the zebra crossing on Abbey Road, but to do that I would need a factory wall to produce the right quality.”

Creating the art has not been plain sailing, with Mr Timby switching screws out at times to improve its appearance.

“I was doing the eyes and facial expressions on John and Ringo and then I thought, there’s not much contrast in here,” he explained.

“As soon as I flooded their hair with all the black and dark-coloured screws, it changed the faces.

“Sometimes it’s just trusting your artwork in the first place and the brain just sorts the rest out.”

Thousands of people have watched Mr Timby make The Beatles artwork across various social media platforms, including Facebook.

“The best thing for me is when people see them and to see their reactions and to watch them scratch their heads,” he said.

“I love the variety of questions I get – it always starts with how? How do you begin to plan it and measure it?”

This is his 12th screw creation, having previously recreated artists including Elvis, Amy Winehouse and the Gallagher brothers, as well as Elizabeth II.

“When I get about three quarters of the way through, I tend to slow down because I don’t want to finish them,” he added.

He said whenever he creates replicas of artists, he likes to play soundtracks associated with them.

“I just lose myself in the whole thing,” he said.

“I even borrowed a record player for (The Beatles) one from a neighbour and his father’s Beatles Long Play (LP) records and played them alongside doing it and it was just so authentic.

“There were songs on there that I hadn’t heard before and when you look back at the pieces you have done, you remember those soundtracks.”

He first started creating screw art in 2020.

“I find it very therapeutic,” he said.

“I did Marilyn Monroe in memory of my dad as she was one of his favourite actresses, so that was the first one.

“I’m not quite sure how I got into the whole concept but I work in pixels a lot, being a graphic designer, and I enjoy making things with my hands, so the two seemed to go together well and it seemed like a good tool to create what I wanted to in a practical way.”

He said his screw art is a way to pay homage to Sunderland’s history as an industrial city.

“Ship building and coal mining are all part of our history and the screw art is almost like a nod to where I’m from,” he added.

“Us Sunderland folk are known as Mackems as in we make things.”

The companies JT Dove and Nordstrom Timber sponsored materials used in the recreation, including screws and timber, for the framework of the canvas.

Mr Timby’s Beatles piece is up for sale for any fans of the rock band who may be interested.