We originally featured the amazing ballpoint pen drawings of Portuguese artist Samuel Silva back in 2021, but he has been buys over the last eight years, and I though we’d take a look at what he’s been up to.
Looking at some of Silva’s incredibly realistic artworks, it’s clear why many consider him the no. 1 ballpoint pen artist in the world. The photo-like level of detail in his masterpieces is simply uncanny, making it hard to believe that he is a self-taught artist who never went to art school. He started drawing when he was 2-years-old, and developed his own style and technique by creating “simple classroom sketches in the back of exercise books”. A lawyer by by training, Samuel Silva doesn’t create new works as often as other artists, but when he does, you better believe it’s something special.
Photo: Samuel Silva/Facebook
“Ballpoint pens are as underestimated as they are a powerful medium. It’s not about what you use, it’s about how you use it,” Silva wrote in the description of his DeviantArt profile. “Ballpoint pen ink dries instantly and can not be erased. I just cross hatch the different colors in layers to create the illusion of blending and the illusion of colors I don’t actually have.”
Silva usually takes between and 5 and 50 hours to finish one of his hyper-realistic ballpoint pen drawings, but some take way longer than that. For example, his reproduction of the iconic “Afghan Girl” photo took about 120 hours over 40 days.
Oh, and while you’re staring at these stunningly realistic drawings, please keep in mind that about 30% quality is lost during the scanning process…
