Video: Stephen Beckman's Toothpick Paintings: From Elizabeth II to American Gothic
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
We have already talked about the sculptures of Steven Backman from toothpicks and chopsticks. The time has come to tell about the paintings by the same author, made with the help of such ingenuous material. Elizabeth II, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Statue of Liberty (where can we go without it?) And the painting "American Gothic" came to the attention of the artist.
What does an artist need to be creative? A modest set of materials: thick black cardboard, toothpicks, glue - and a lot of patience. After all, in order to achieve portrait resemblance with the help of minimal visual means, you need to work hard.
Stephen has been working with unusual material since childhood, and over 39 years of creativity, he has revealed all its secrets. Through trial and error, he found out that using toothpicks you can both glue volumetric sculptural models and create flat contrasting pictures.
In the second case, the artist cannot experiment with the palette and depth of the image. You can't depict small details on such a canvas either - otherwise the whole picture runs the risk of turning into a mess of toothpicks, where you can't immediately figure out which is which.
All images are flat, only contours and main lines are indicated on them. However, this simplification does not prevent you from recognizing famous people and works of art in the pictures.
In order to carefully work out the details of the drawing, Stephen Beckman needs more than a dozen wooden toothpicks (each image requires at least 60 of them) and more than one day of work. But, according to the artist, there is nothing more beautiful and peaceful than such work. The process, as you can see, is exciting, and judge its results for yourself.
Recommended:
Toothpick City by Stan Munro
Six years, six million toothpicks and 170 liters of glue, and a lot of perseverance and, of course, talent - that's all it took artist Stan Munro to create an entire city where all buildings, attractions and even vehicles are completely from small toothpicks
American Gothic by Grant Wood: Scandal and Masterpiece in One Canvas
American Gothic is a 1930 painting by American artist Grant Wood. One of the most recognizable images in 20th century American art and the most satirical canvas of its time. What is satire?
Toothpick sculptures by Stephen Beckman
You probably think that there is not much that can be done with one toothpick. Let Steven Backman convince you: he managed to create a detailed copy of the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco) using a single wooden stick! But if suddenly this was not enough to amaze you, then Stephen has stored another copy of this architectural structure - this time made from 30 thousand toothpicks - and many more sculptures from his favorite material
Wood's American Gothic is a painting that has been the target of caustic jokes and parodies for over 80 years
In Russia, the painting "American Gothic" is practically unknown, while in America it is truly a national landmark. Painted in 1930 by the artist Grant Wood, it still captivates the mind and is the subject of numerous parodies. It all started with a small house and an unusual window in the Gothic style
Amazing toothpick rides made by an American prisoner
Over the past 16 years in Folsom Prison (California, USA), William Jennings-Brian Burke (better known as Billy Burke) fiddled with tens of thousands of toothpicks. Around 1940, a convicted burglar turned the basement near the warden’s office into art territory. Drawing on his memories and imaginations, he built three vast amusement parks containing scale models of a Ferris wheel, roller coasters, airplane rides, carousels, arcade machines, etc