A Charming Documentary About the Last Red Telephone Box Painter in London

British filmmaker Matthieu Livingston created “Wet Paint”, a short, charming documentary about Rob Pammen, who at age 65, is the last painter of the iconic red telephone boxes in London.

When Robert Pammen, an old school painter from London, saw telephone box near his home that was looked run he decided to give it a fresh coat of paint…

Pammen, who has been a painter for 47 years, talks about the restoring process, the dangerous paints that were used in the past, and how he began maintaining the kiosks around his city for free.

I’ve been a painter  since I was 18 … I think what what it was it started off was the one in Scott Gardens where I live. I thought when they going to paint that? So you know obviously, I needed to ask, I couldn’t just do it. Well I found out they still belong to British Telecom. So…I got an email address and then they replied and said we give you permission so I start from there and then I got a bit hooked.

Last Telephone Box Painter in London

via b3ta

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.