Big things come in small paintings

Joseph Martinez creates works of art inside matchbooks. Armed with an extremely fine brush, the artist from Denver, Colorado paints tiny portraits measuring in at no more than four inches of length. Inspired by masters such as Sam Flores, Rembrandt, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martinez has been featured in numerous publications, and has exhibited in San Francisco and Chicago, among other places. Check out some of his most astounding miniature masterpieces below, and don't forget to follow him on Instagram.

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A Look at Karl Arnaiz's "Duality"

It 's me, not the artist. Karl Arnaiz's "Duality" (currently on view at Eskinita Art Gallery ) is an invitation to ponder the complexities of life and appreciate the balance that exists even in differences. This 36 x 27-inch piece in charcoal and watercolor isn't just art that looks pretty on a wall. It's art that makes you stop, think, and maybe even re-evaluate how you see the world. Karl Arnaiz paints a meditation on death and its contrasting yet inevitable connection with life. In Duality, he explores the darker corners of the human experience. There is a certain sense of psychological imprisonment that permeates his work, as he paints a woman confined in a room with a disconnected skull floating against the wall. It shows how powerless humans are in the face of mortality and how the imminent passage of time from the woman’s face to the skull is simply nothing but a straight line, a blank, negative space on the wall, showing how nothing can obstruct death...

Feast your eyes on Liz Collini's amazing chalk typography

Liz Collini is an English typography artist known for her stunning hand-lettered chalk texts based on the style of mechanical blueprints. Her work has been widely exhibited in the UK and in other countries, including Portugal, France, Italy, Finland, the US and Japan. Liz says, "There are gaps and overlaps between reading and viewing, text and image, the hand and the machine. I try to create breathing spaces in which we can pause and look back at language." If you're a detail junkie you'll definitely enjoy a visit to her website . I couldn't quit staring at them. [h/t: My Modern Met ]

Oil paintings that look like watercolors

Julian Meagher is an artist from Sydney who paints watercolor effect with oil. His paintings often revolve around Australian masculinity, juxtaposed by pop-culture references. Julian has an interesting back story. He's been a full-time artist for ten years, but prior to this he worked briefly as a doctor. The first few years was tough for him, and there were times he thought he should have sticked with his original profession. "It still feels weird to say I'm an artist," he told The Sydney Morning Herald . "You say that at a dinner party and you get weird looks. People think being an artist is a romantic, alcohol and passion-filled job. But it's not, and the idea of people seeing my work still scares me." Julian is a twice recipient of the New Work Grant from the Australia Council of the Art and has held solo exhibitions across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Miami and Los Angeles. Be sure to check out his website for ...

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