The Amazing Stuff

In an age when digital art reigns supreme, some artists prefer to keep it simple and classic when it comes to technique. Artist Ray Cicin knows a thing or two about that. When one of his designer friends voiced her disdain for “cheap, creepy” ballpoint pens, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

On a mission to create something stunning (and prove his nay-saying friends wrong in the process), Cicin asked people in his circle to scour their homes for discarded ballpoint pens. With them, he produced something truly incredible.

“I received more benign ridicule than pens,” he jokes, but eventually, he had enough pens with varying degrees of color payoff to begin the project.

Cicin’s mission was to “refute the bias and find redemption for the lowly ballpoint.”

While he was waiting on his friends to supply him with pens, he came across a collection of Ernst Haeckel prints that were inspired by the natural world. One portrait of an octopus really stood out to him. With that in mind, he got to work.

The key in achieving these stunning values was using pens that were, in the artist’s words, “in various states of function.” Basically, older pens helped him add dimension to lighter areas, and newer pens allowed him to create deep, dark shadows.

What attracted Cicin to focusing on the humble octopus was that the frame of the tentacles around the animal’s large, prominent eyes has a way of drawing viewers in.

The end result is multifaceted, dynamic, and the embodiment of what all great art hopes to achieve by reaching out to the observer.

Deep Blue, Octopus — Ballpoint pen on archival Bee Rag paper, 62 by 64 inches.

What’s really incredible about this piece (aside from the fact that it’s obviously beautiful) is that it took almost a year to create. According to the artist, “It was a demon that I was psyched (and at times tormented) to work on.” While it’s amazing when pieces have profound effects on viewers, there’s something moving about art that becomes part of the creator. The process is at times even more important than the product.

To see more of Ray Cicin’s work, be sure to check out his website. If you want to take a closer look into his creative process, follow him on Instagram, too.

There’s nothing worse than walking into a dull classroom. Talk about uninspiring! But many schools don’t have the resources it would take to make their classrooms as warm and inviting as they could be. That’s why one teacher is taking it upon himself to brighten up the room for his students each day.

Thanks to the Internet, we can all enjoy his work.

His pieces cover a lot of different topics.

He even visits other classrooms to ensure that the rest of the students have something fun to look at.

He’s always working hard to keep students engaged!

(via AcidCow)

Imagine walking into school each morning and having a new piece of art to admire. That’d make anyone feel better on a Monday morning!

Looking at artist Karen Libecap‘s paintings and sketches, it’s easy to see her talent. Her pieces are rendered realistically, and they showcase plenty of complex detail, vibrant color, and three-dimensional depth. They’d be impressive on their own, but when you know what’s really going on, they take on a whole new dimension — literally.

This night sky isn’t as vast as you might think.

These drawings are tiny!

Each of these little sketches is no bigger than a quarter, but even with their small size, not a single detail is sacrificed.

Libecap draws inspiration from just about everywhere, and her subjects include animals, plants, and pop culture references. She even takes on landscape scenes. They’re all shrunken down to their tiniest form and rendered using impossibly sharp pencils, fine pens, and tiny paint brushes.

But the most important tool in all of this is an extremely steady hand.

When using paints, Libecap uses her fingernails as palettes.

Talk about easy cleanup!

No matter what she’s painting, Libecap approaches her subjects with mathematical precision.

She makes it her mission to capture every highlight and shadow.

She also stays consistent with sizing.

All of these paintings are 1.25 square inches or smaller.

(via My Modern Met)

You can see more of Libecap’s work on her website, as well as on Facebook and Instagram. Prints are also for sale on Etsy, so check those out, too. She even creates larger works, which feature her signature realism.

First of all, we here at ViralNova do not condone drug use. But very rarely, like in this case, we can see some fascinating results thanks to controlled experimentation. Drug use is not something that usually results in great art (despite what you might think), but art can be a great way of charting the effect of a drugs on the mind and body.

Reddit user whatafinethrowaway demonstrated this by posting the drawings a friend made when she took LSD, and the results are pretty interesting.

The Reddit user’s friend took LSD for the first time, and drew herself at various intervals. This is her at 15 minutes, before the drug had taken effect.

We assume the swirl below the portrait was just a test of the pencils.

By 45 minutes, some effects began to manifest.

They also recorded their conversations, originally in French:

“Are you feeling anything?”

“Nope.”

“Those are some bright colors!”

“Yeah. That’s probably gonna get worse.”

At one hour and 45 minutes, the colors intensify.

At two hours and 15 minutes, things start to change shape.

“That was a good idea, buying colored pencils.”

After three hours, those classic psychedelic patterns began to appear.

“I didn’t draw the eyes. Do you want me to draw the eyes? I don’t feel like drawing the eyes.”

This was drawn four hours and 45 minutes into the trip. By this point, the subject was drawing in a dim light.

“Here you go. I’m violet. Usually, I draw the eyes at the very end, because I don’t want the picture to look at me while I’m drawing it. Here, I didn’t want the picture to look at me at all.”

At six hours, things started getting really weird.

“I lost the black pencil. I only had the colored ones.”

At six hours and 45 minutes, this happened.

By the eight-hour mark, the subject began drawing again after listening to some Pink Floyd.

And at eight hours and 45 minutes, it seemed that the epic strangeness had returned.

“During the previous one, I tried to draw what was inside my head, but in the middle of it, things were happening outside my head instead.”

After nine hours, everything started returning to normal. Here’s what a comedown portrait looks like.

“Do you want to draw a last one? Like, a normal one?”

“I’ll try.”

We assume that whatafinethrowaway’s friend recovered from her trip, and now has these souvenirs of her journey into the psychedelic. Again, we don’t support drug use, but it’s hard to deny that the effects on perception and expression are pretty fascinating.

Don’t do drugs, kids.

Not much can come between artist Henry Fraser and his work, and that’s saying a lot. After dislocating his neck in a car accident, the 23-year-old artist became paralyzed from the shoulders down. Needless to say, everything in his life changed after that.

What didn’t change, however, was Fraser’s love for art. Even though he can no longer move his arms or hands, he’s found a clever way to continue doing what he loves most.

Using a pencil or brush attached to a stick, Fraser creates artwork with his mouth.

Me mouth drawing @davidbeckham.

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jul 16, 2015 at 3:48am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

Fraser’s most recent series started back in January, when he drew a picture of rugby player Jonny Wilkinson on his iPad using only his mouth. He tweeted the image upon completion, and received a reply from Wilkinson himself. The tweet said, “It’s phenomenal, Henry. I love it.”

After that, there was no stopping him.

This was Fraser’s first painting after the accident.

Completed my first ever mouth painting! It’s the @jonnywilkinson_ World Cup winning drop goal! #art #painting

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on May 22, 2015 at 10:03am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

The artist eventually became popular on Twitter for his dedication despite the odds.

A commissioned mouth painting of @laura_deigman. #painting

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jul 1, 2015 at 2:01pm PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

Working on my latest mouth painting. #HarryPotter #painting #art

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jul 7, 2015 at 9:15am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

Working on my latest commissioned mouth painting of @chelseafc legend Didier Drogba. #painting #art #chelsea #sport

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jun 9, 2015 at 6:28am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

My latest commissioned mouth painting: completed. #art #painting #chelsea #didierdrogba

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jun 9, 2015 at 8:31am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

It would have been easy for Fraser to give up on his artistic dreams after the accident, but he refused. “We cannot change the cards we are dealt in life,” he stated on his Instagram account. “It’s about how you and I play the hand.”

Working on my latest mouth painting. #art #painting

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jun 3, 2015 at 3:32am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

My second attempt at mouth painting. It’s the worlds fastest man @usainbolt! #painting #art

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on Jun 3, 2015 at 8:08am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

Started my latest commissioned mouth drawing! First time using my awesome new stand from Leckey. #drawing

A photo posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on May 12, 2015 at 4:42am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

Now that he’s developed a way to create the art he loves, Fraser has become something of an online sensation. He uses his platform to encourage people all over the world not to give up on their dreams and passions.

Watch him in action here:

This video shows how I paint using my mouth. Creating my latest piece. #art #painting

A video posted by Henry Fraser (@henryfraser0) on May 22, 2015 at 10:41am PDT

Instagram / henryfraser0

(via Elite Daily, Huffington Post)

Life may have dealt this artist an unexpected blow, but he’s not letting that stop him. He says that he tries to do at least two pieces per week, and he’s currently working on putting together an exhibition at Dulwich College. All proceeds from print sales will go toward a fund called Henry’s Trust, which will help ensure that this talented young man has a bright, independent future.

In the meantime, you can keep up with Fraser’s latest work by following him on Instagram and Twitter, where he interacts with sports legends and author J.K. Rowling regularly. No big deal, right?

Check out some other artists who don’t let disabilities stop them from creating:

There’s a process when it comes to looking at and appreciating Bertrand Flachot‘s work and its many layers. First, there’s the photograph. The Paris-based artist uses large photos of mountains, forests, cities, and waterscapes as the foundation for his pieces. But they don’t stop there.

Working off the natural forms and lines of the photos, Flachot embellishes them with ink, creating a sketchy, threadlike version of the landscape that spills past its photographic bounds. Sometimes this includes objects that aren’t in the photo. Eventually, the boundaries of the real and the imagined, or the documented and the created, become blurred.

The result is a place that seems to be in a constant state of reimagining or reinterpreting. The photo shows the “real” place, but the lines suggest the movement, the people, and the mood that make the memory of the place come alive.

Dealing with memory and trying to recreate the past is something that hits close to home for Flachot. In 1990, his studio, and all of the artwork in it, was destroyed by a fire, leaving behind only the memories. That’s a devastating loss to any artist, but Flachot gamely pressed on, using the experience as an inspiration for a new body of work. The lines he adds to these photos are an exploration of memory and how memories affect not only the past, but shapes the present, as well.

(via My Modern Met)

Some people think of drawing and photography as being rivals in the art world, but Flachot’s work shows how they can beautifully exist together.

You can see more of Flachot’s work on his website and Facebook page.