patrick onyekwere creates hyperrealistic portraits with ballpoint pens

nigerian artist patrick onyekwere has drawn these hyper-realistic portraits using only a blue ballpoint pen. ‘I always try to use my art to speak for people who can’t speak for themselves,’ explains the artist when describing the drive behind his art. deep and high-powered, it’s sometimes difficult to believe these are not photographs as everything has been perfectly captured: from the expression to the light.

all images by patrick onyekwere

‘I decided to use the ballpoint pen as my medium because it’s easy to access,’ continues the artist on a video found on his instagram profile. ‘it suits the type of filling technique I use, which is the cross-hatching technique, and it’s because it has to do with the fact that it’s non-erasable.’ truth is that, from andy warhol to alberto giacometti and cy twombly, the humble and always available ballpoint pen has been an artist’s favorite.

onyekwere says his love for the arts began when he was a little boy who enjoyed drawing cartoons. in 2015 he began drawing professionally. when realizing his drawings, he can take from three weeks to several months to complete them. set on a white background, his drawings present the subject in a medium closeup shot, highlighting the eyes and the way the light hits the person’s face. ‘the eye,’ patrick onyekwere concludes. ‘they have a power to convey emotions and feelings. they tell so much when you look at them.’

project info:

artist: patrick onyekwere

type: hyper-realistic ballpoint pen portraits

via: colossal