Humble Ballpoint Pen

Octopus by Ray Cicin
Original Photo Source - ThisColossal.com

Recently, through my wanderings of the internet, I came across an interesting artist spotlight posted up by ThisColossal.com. This particular feature gave people a glimpse into the intricate and beautiful work by artist Ray Cicin. Using discarded and used ballpoint pens, he created a massive octopus which captures the imagination. 

Work by Enam Bosokah

When I had originally spotted Ray's beautiful feature by Colossal, I couldn't help but remember how MyModernMet.com had featured the works of artists who have used a ballpoint pen- most notably Ghanan-based artist Enam Bosokah earlier this year in April 2015 and Portugal-based artist Samuel Silva back in August 2012. Both of these artists had been able to capture a fascinating amount of detail in their works from such an understated medium. Could these pieces be used as examples of not needing expensive supplies? That is completely possible. Personally I think that it also shows the public and potentially the established art world that, depending on the execution of unconventional mediums (in this case common office supplies), that you could create tantalizing works of art out of nearly anything. Of course, bare in mind, that there are perhaps several art critics out there that would disagree with me on this matter but I am just sharing my opinion.

Work by Samuel Silva

If you decide to look at other examples of works by artists who have used a ballpoint pen to create their pieces, you will be delighted and mesmerized by the variety. From insects to hyperealistic to fantasy, there seems to be no end to the amount of creativity that can be shown by using such an understated medium. Just looking around deviantArt, I was pleasantly surprised by the slowly growing collection of works. It was difficult to narrow down some examples of ballpoint pen art but here are my personal Top 3. 

'Eagle' by XRlS

XRlS.deviantart.com (Greece) - A traditional artist specializing in color pencil works, Greecian artist Christina Papagianni creates stunningly vivid works. Though she mostly focuses on color pencil, she does have a lovely example of ballpoint pen art within her collection of viewable work.
Facebook: Christina Papagianni Artist

'Adam Savage' by ArtisAllan
(Work in Progress)

ArtisAllan.deviantart.com (Ireland) - Self labeled French ballpoint pen artist Allan Barbeau currently residing in Ireland has a wonderful array of examples of both whimsy and hyperealism. As an illustrator and portrait painter, Allan's works are astoundingly detailed. Animals. People. Fantasy. His viewers are certainly in for a treat when viewing his works. 
Facebook: Allan's Ballpoint Pen Art

by Vũ Mạnh Hoà

vumanhhoa.deviantart.com (Vietnam) - With his works ranging from pencil, color pencil and ballpoint pen, Vũ Mạnh Hoà of Vietnam shows his viewers that his interests are also just as wide in variety.