“Most people are drawn to the portraits because they have something different about them (from a distance especially). Seeing them in person is a whole different feel than seeing the photograph. They have a sense of depth that the photo can’t capture.” – Andrew Myers
Meet Andrew Myers, one of the most patient modern-day sculptors around. This Laguna Beach, California-based artist goes through a multi-step process to create incredible works of art you almost have to see (or touch) to believe. He starts with a base, plywood panel, and then places pages of a phone book on top. (Cool fact: He’ll use pages from his subjects’ local area.) He then draws out a face and pre-drills 8,000 to 10,000 holes, by hand. As he drills in the screws, Myers doesn’t rely on any computer software to guide him, he figures it out as he goes along. “For me, I consider this a traditional sculpture and all my screws are at different depths,” he says.
One of the most challenging parts is getting rid of the flat drawing underneath because he then has to paint over each of the screw heads, individually, so that in the end, the sculpture looks like an actual portrait.
Look through these photos and you’ll notice that the real magic happens when you see these pieces from an angle.
Update: I got in touch with Myers to ask him a few questions about this very different type of sculpting. Read that brief interview below.
Andrew Myers, the Artist
How does this type of sculpture differ from your usual work?
These pieces are definitely a departure from my normal artwork. For years I had been sculpting in bronze, doing figurative, narrative types of work. The screw art was born mostly because I was burnt out on the narrative work, but also because I’m always searching for a “better” sculpture. It has been hard for me to stick to one style of work as I always tend to find something more interesting. In fact, before I got the exposure on the screw art, I had considered taking a break from that to pursue something else.
What do you hope others will get out of these pieces?
When other people look at this work, I hope they can see the amount of thought and work that went into each piece. I feel I have used everything I’ve learned over the past decade, including sculpture, painting, construction etc, to create something that I had never seen before.
What’s next?
Right now I am in a studio transition, so I haven’t had much time to work on the art side of things. However, I have some great plans for the future, which include plenty of screws and large scale sculptures (hopefully public art).
Photos courtesy of Andrew Myers