Skip to main content

Stefan Bleekrode draws detailed cityscapes entirely from memory


Stefan Bleekrode's cityscape drawings have a hypnotic power that invites viewers to look closer. What's even more surprising is that he creates fascinating sketches of famous cities using his memory. 

The Dutch artist starts off with a quick pencil sketch on paper. He then adds ink and uses ivory black watercolors for shading. He can finish a small drawing in 30 hours, while large-scale illustrations take him up to half a year to complete. 


Most of the ideas Stefan uses for his compositions come from trips abroad, as he often travels around Europe and the United States. However, some of his drawings are imaginary, such as Metropolis at Night (pictured below).


Stefan reminds me of Stephen Wiltshire, who is also famous for producing highly detailed scenes after just a brief glance.

WATCH:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Irene Saputra's Colorful Stitched Pieces

Embroidery is nowhere near forgotten, and in fact, it's experiencing something of a resurgence as artists around the globe are putting their own unique spins on the craft. Indonesia's Irene Saputra is one of them, and more than 45,000 people on Instagram already follow her.  Handmade from colorful threads stitched onto fabric, Irene's embroideries begin as original illustrations. What I really like about her stitched pieces is that some of them are meant to be worn. Look at an array of her handiwork!

1968 Computer Art Done by Plotters

These drawings received honorable mentions in the 1968 Computer Art Contest organized by Computers and Automation magazine . Most of the images in the issue were programmed in Fortran and were plotted off line on CalComp plotters .  [h/t: Kottke ]

James DeRosso's ceramic monsters

I really like these whimsical ceramic creatures by James DeRosso. Yes, they have bulging eyes and toothy grins, but they're not scary at all. The Portland-based artist started making cute monsters while he was a student to jokingly create gargoyle-like guardians for the kiln. After other students kept taking his quirky little figures, he realized there was a market for them. "I'm enjoying the whole monster making niche," James says. "It's amazingly gratifying to be doing ceramics full time and especially to be a teacher introducing kids to the joy of clay." Be sure to visit his website and like his Facebook page for the latest monster news.