If these incredibly realistic ball-point pen drawings were created by an experienced full-time artist I would have been deeply impressed, but knowing these masterpieces were actually drawn by a self-taught lawyer, I’m desperately trying to keep my jaw from hitting the floor.

The realistic-looking ball-point pen drawings of Juan Francisco Casas are famous all around the world, and I never though I’d find another artist who could use a simple pen the way he does. And, technically I haven’t, because 29-year-old Samuel Silva is a lawyer who exercises his drawing skills as a hobby, yet manages to create stunning piece of art that belong in an art gallery. On his Deviant Art profile page, Silva, who graduated from law school and became a lawyer in 2007, describes himself as ” just a self taught patient hobbyist person”. He started drawing when he was only 2-years-old and developed his own style of ball-point pen drawing in school, by creating “simple classroom sketches in the back of exercise books”. For some reason, he didn’t go to art school, but that obviously hasn’t stopped him from taking his drawing skills to a level I can only describe as “awesome!”

“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” Samuel writes in his description on Deviant Art. His drawings are created using exclusively colored ball-point pens, although looking at his works, people often wonder if he uses other mediums as well. The young lawyer says he only uses 8 colored Bic ball-point pens he buys from Staples, Amazon, eBay and pretty much any office supply store where he can find them, and never mixes or blends the ink. He explains that “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.” Each of his mesmerizing drawings takes him between 5 and 50 hours to complete. Although it takes him “forever” to do his works, the only thing that keeps him going is his love for what he does and the ambition to go further and further.

I have to say Samuel Silva’s photo-like ball-point drawings are right up there with the most impressive artworks I’ve ever had the pleasure of featuring on Oddity Central. And there have been a few…

Photos copyright of Samuel Silva

via Neatorama