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.

Ray Cicin

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

Ray Cicin

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.

Ray Cicin

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.

Ray Cicin

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

Ray Cicin

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.