Samuel Silva

Last updated

Samuel Silva (born 1983) [1] is a lawyer from Portugal whose ball point pen drawings received "viral" recognition in 2012. He lives and works in the United Kingdom. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Silva was born in Portugal, [5] and started drawing at the age of two, He continued to draw throughout his childhood and teenage years. He attended Law School [6] and has been practicing law since 2007. [7] He has no formal art training.

Career

Silva began posting scans of his drawings on the website Deviant Art. [8] In 2012 his realistic art [9] created with ballpoint pens [10] and received attention from a number of news outlets and magazines around the world, including the Toledo Free Press, [5] the Huffington Post, the Herald, and Scientific American. [2]

Silva's drawings are created with cross-hatching and minute detail, and are sometimes mistaken for photographs. [11] His drawings are recreations of existing photographs.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballpoint pen</span> Device dispensing ink over a metal ball at its point

A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro, ball pen, or dot pen, is a pen that dispenses ink over a metal ball at its point, i.e., over a "ball point". The metals commonly used are steel, brass, or tungsten carbide. The design was conceived and developed as a cleaner and more reliable alternative to dip pens and fountain pens, and it is now the world's most-used writing instrument; millions are manufactured and sold daily. It has influenced art and graphic design and spawned an artwork genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen</span> Writing and drawing implement using liquid or paste ink

A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity that had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell. Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens. Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph. All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dip pen</span> Writing instrument

A dip pen is a writing instrument used to apply ink to paper. It usually consists of a metal nib with a central slit that acts as a capillary channel like those of fountain pen nibs, mounted in a handle or holder, often made of wood. Other materials can be used for the holder, including bone, metal and plastic; some pens are made entirely of glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photorealism</span> Genre of art

Photorealism is a genre of art that encompasses painting, drawing and other graphic media, in which an artist studies a photograph and then attempts to reproduce the image as realistically as possible in another medium. Although the term can be used broadly to describe artworks in many different media, it is also used to refer to a specific art movement of American painters that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light painting</span> Light painting is photographic art created by tracing light sources during long exposures

Light painting, painting with light,light drawing, light art performance photography, or sometimes also freezelight are terms that describe photographic techniques of moving a light source while taking a long-exposure photograph, either to illuminate a subject or space, or to shine light at the camera to 'draw', or by moving the camera itself during exposure of light sources. Practiced since the 1880s, the technique is used for both scientific and artistic purposes, as well as in commercial photography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperrealism (visual arts)</span> Genre of painting

Hyperrealism is a genre of painting and sculpture resembling a high-resolution photograph. Hyperrealism is considered an advancement of photorealism by the methods used to create the resulting paintings or sculptures. The term is primarily applied to an independent art movement and art style in the United States and Europe that has developed since the early 1970s. Carole Feuerman is the forerunner in the hyperrealism movement along with Duane Hanson and John De Andrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bic Cristal</span> Disposable ballpoint pen

The BIC Cristal is an inexpensive, disposable ballpoint pen mass-produced and sold by Société Bic of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It was introduced in 1950 and is the best-selling pen in the world, with the 100 billionth sold in September 2006. It has become the archetypal ballpoint pen and is considered ubiquitous, to the extent that the Museum of Modern Art has made it a permanent part of its collection. Its hexagonal form and design mimics a standard pencil and it is sold in six types of point and 18 colours around the world.

Il Lee is a South Korean-born American contemporary artist. He was born in South Korea and has been living in America since the mid-1970s. Il Lee is best known for his ballpoint pen artwork; large-scale abstract imagery on paper and canvas. He also creates artwork in a similar vein utilizing acrylic and oil paint on canvas. Exhibitions of Il Lee's artwork have been held in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, New Delhi, Mexico City, and numerous cities across the United States. The New York Times has described Lee's ballpoint artwork as "deceptively casual; sweeping, rhythmical abstractions in blue."

Hla Myint Swe is an artist, photographer and author from Myanmar. He was born in Bamaw, Kachin State, Myanmar in 1948. He attended the Defence Services Academy, Pyin Oo Lwin and after graduating served in various positions as an army officer. As of 2010, he was head of the Public Relations and Information Department of the Yangon City Development Committee.

Joe Fig is an American artist and author best known for his paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs that explore the creative process, the working lives of artists, and the spaces where art is made. His work draws from Western art history, the mythology of art, and visual culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballpoint pen artwork</span> Artwork drawn using ballpoint pen

Since their invention and subsequent proliferation in the mid-20th century, ballpoint pens have proven to be a versatile art medium for professional artists as well as amateur doodlers. Ballpoint pen artwork created over the years have been favorably compared to art created using traditional art mediums. Low cost, availability, and portability are cited by practitioners as qualities which make this common writing tool a convenient, alternative art supply.

Levi van Veluw is a Dutch contemporary artist. He currently lives and works in Amsterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lennie Mace</span> American contemporary artist (born 1965)

Lennie Mace is an American contemporary artist, born in New York City. Mace is predominantly known for his drawings in ballpoint pen, using them to create fine artwork. He is considered a pioneer of the medium. His imagination has also served commercial purposes, appearing in print as illustrations and comic art. Art reviewers have referred to Mace as the da Vinci of doodlers and the ballpoint Picasso.

James Mylne is a British contemporary artist known for his drawings in ballpoint pen. His technical abilities with the unorthodox art medium have earned Mylne recognition in Europe and the UK. The Ballpointer online journal called Mylne "Britain's premier ballpoint pen artist" in a 2015 feature article. The artist's photorealist likenesses of iconic celebrities attracted early media attention and continues to be one aspect of his output. Mylne also creates mixed-media works adding spray paint, magic markers and more to his ballpoint originals. Artwork expressing personal views and broader interests flourished throughout 2014.

<i>The Reincarnation of a Surfboard</i> Group of sculptures

The Reincarnation of a Surfboard is a body of sculpture work created by Ithaka Darin Pappas. The project, which began in 1989 consist of approximately 300 wall-mounted sculptures that have been made using recycled surfboards as raw building material. The series to date has been exhibited on four continents. The most recent solo exhibitions of these works were mesa hosted by WOA - Way Of Arts in Cascais, Portugal in December 2012, by Hurley International in Costa Mesa, California in October 2013 and F+ Gallery in Santa Ana in February 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markus Klinko</span> Swiss fashion and celebrity photographer

Markus Klinko is an international fashion/celebrity photographer. and director,

Shohei Otomo, sometimes stylized professionally as SHOHEI, is a Japanese artist known for his drawings with ballpoint pens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babajide Olatunji</span> Nigerian artist

Babajide Olatunji is a self-taught contemporary, expressionist Nigerian artist. He is mostly known for his Tribal Mark Series, which are a hyperrealistic series of portraits with facially scarified characters. His works are often markers of Yoruba cultural significance and socio-cultural discourse. He specializes in hyperrealism and trompe-l'œil art forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enam Bosokah</span> Ghanaian artist

Enam Bosokah is a Ghanaian artist. He is known for his ballpoint pen artwork.

Oscar Ukonu is a Nigerian ballpoint pen artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He is known for his hyperrealist portraits.

References

  1. "Samuel Silva Creates Extraordinary Art Using Only Ballpoint Pens (PHOTOS)". Travelers Today, Aug 23, 2012
  2. 1 2 " Artists Play With Light and Shadows to Trick the Eye". Scientific American Feb 14, 2013 |By Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen L. Macknik
  3. "This is Not a Photograph: Amazing Portrait Drawn with Ballpoint Pens by Samuel Silva". This is Colossal, by Christopher Jobson on August 22, 2012
  4. "Amazing artist creates lifelike drawings with ballpoint pens". Mirror UK. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  5. 1 2 "The pen is mightier: Artist’s ink drawings resemble photographs". Toledo Free Press, Written by Jeff McGinnis
  6. "Interview with ballpoint pen hyper-realism artist Samuel Silva". LoState Minor/ Inigo del Castillo in New Illustration on 22 February 2014
  7. "Portuguese lawyer takes world by storm with brilliant biro masterpieces". The Portugal News, by Carrie-Marie Bratley, in News · 30-08-2012
  8. "Amazingly, this is a drawing made with ballpoint pens, not a photograph". Herald Sun Simon Crerar, News Corp Australia Network August 23, 2012
  9. "Artist Samuel Silva's Incredible Photorealistic Ballpoint Pen Drawings (PHOTOS)". The Huffington Post | By Hallie Sekoff 08/23/2012
  10. " Pictured: Amazing artist creates lifelike drawings with ballpoint pens" Mirror, 9 April 2014 By Ben Burrows
  11. "Brilliant Biro doodles are perfect for any picture". Express. Rick Seniey.