When we first saw Portugal-based artist Samuel Silva’s portrait, Redhead Girl, most of us were completely in awe of how Silva (aka VianaArts) could achieve such amazing details with just a handful of everyday pens.
Since that time, the patient and skilled artist has developed an extensive collection of more wildly realistic creations featuring the crisp details, fine strands of hair, and textured fur of all kinds of people and animals. Created with colored and black Bic ballpoint pens, the impressively realistic drawings are filled with such energy and life that it’s still hard to believe the images are not actually photographs!
Silva’s passionate dedication to his pieces can range anywhere from a number of hours to a number of weeks. For example, his Angry Tiger (top photo) took approximately 50 hours to complete while his Afghan Girl (second photo) took much longer, 120 hours across 40 days. “It takes me forever to do my works,” Silva says. “The only thing that makes me keep going is my love for what I do and the ambition to go further and further.”
