Pop-Culture Photorealism by Alessandro Paglia
The unreservedly remarkable pen and ink drawings of artist and photographer, Alessandro Paglia, should be used to eliciting the responses: "It can't possibly be… There's no way… That is definitely a photograph." Created entirely by hand, first through a pencil sketch of the subject and then through the use of "superimposing a layer of chaotic lines on top of another" with intensely black, felt-tipped pens on rough-grain cotton paper, the artist spends a painstaking fifty, to two hundred and fifty hours working on each oversize drawing. But the near photographic results are well worth the laborious process for each of his custom made art pieces.
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alessandro paglia pens photorealistic drawings of design icons
Through the highly-detailed duplication of tiny circles, artist alessandro paglia creates photorealistic representations of industrial design icons. the milan-based creative’s process is simple, yet meticulous: paglia chooses the subject, shoots several dozen photographs of it, picks the best — in terms of composition, shadow, and contrast — then minutely reproduces it on paper using 0.1mm black ink fine liners. the hyper-realistic illustrations are rendered in fine detail, with careful attention paid to depth and shadow, taking up to 250 hours each to create.
Pen Drawings By Alessandro Paglia
These drawings are a magnification of each piece as a tribute to its elegance and personality. My process is simple: I choose and photograph the subject, I draw the outlines in pencil and then meticulously reproduce it with thin technical black ink pens on rough grain paper laying layers of ink in a repeating pattern of little circles. The result is a refined artwork with a strong individuality both hyperrealistic and vibrant in a unique way.
Realistic Pen Drawings By Alessandro Paglia
Using thin technical black ink pens on paper, Alessandro Paglia produces large scale realistic drawings of iconic design pieces ‘as a tribute to their elegance and personality’.
‘I always loved the power depth and elegance of black and white. The use of ink unlike graphite, for example, allows getting a very intense black and strong contrast giving the illustrations a unique expressive power. I draw illustrations and comics in black and white since I was a child now I discovered the charm and impact of large format combined with an original technique.’
Hyper Realistic Pen Artworks by Alessandro Paglia
This elaborate technique results in a fascinating visual experience of strong contrasts in a striking monochromatic look. Every artwork is a tribute to the elegance and personality of each respective object. Below you can find a few more pieces. For those who want to know more about this talented artist, please visit his website or follow him on Instagram.
the winner of our open call
When seeing the work of Milan-based artist Alessandro Paglia it’s hard to believe we’re looking at a pen and ink drawing rather than a photograph. His photorealistic representations of everyday objects like a pair sneakers, two hats intersecting or a crumpled hundred-dollar bill seem to come alive from the canvas. We chatted with Alessandro to learn about his simple yet meticulous creative process.