Larger Than Life

Impressionist photos, cubist ink, and melting pottery. [View this email in your browser]( [Colossal: Art, Design, and Visual Culture]( Larger-Than-Life Hyperrealistic Portraits Rendered in Graphite and Charcoal by Arinze Stanley Nigerian artist Arinze Stanley works with graphite and charcoal pencils on large sheets of cartridge paper to [render enormous portraits of his subjects](. Spending upwards of 200 hours on an artwork, Stanley agonizes over the most minute details of each piece to painstakingly capture reflections of light, droplets of sweat, or tangles of hair. Where some hyperrealistic artists lean towards idealized perfection, Stanley instead focuses on pure realism, infusing portraits with a raw sense of emotion and drama. The scale of each piece, always slightly larger than life, adds an uncanny three-dimensional aspect. The Vanishing Stepwells of India: A New Book by Victoria Lautman Documents the Fading Relics of Subterranean Wells Scattered across India’s vast landscape of ancient architecture including temples, mosques, and palaces are an often overlooked relic of historic infrastructure called stepwells. These subterranean buildings, once numbered in the thousands, were originally dug into the landscape so residents could easily access water. Over time, [stepwells grew increasingly elaborate in their construction]( morphing from modest rock-cut holes into fully functional Hindu temples with ornate columns, stairwells, and shrines. Each well now serves as a fading structural fingerprint, diverse and unique as the communities that designed and built them. Adobe Stock Contributor Highlight: Dreamlike Views of Finland Captured by Tiina Törmänen (Sponsor) For the month of March, in conjunction with Women’s History Month, Adobe is celebrating its own female creators. This week we explore Finnish photographer [Tiina Törmänen]( who has already lived a multitude of lives with years spent perfecting her skills as a BMX biker, working as professional chef, and apprenticing in a photographer’s studio. Although Törmänen has had a camera in-hand for much of her life, it was only recently that she began to point it away from people and out into the expansive landscape that surrounds her. Törmänen likens the skills required to shoot landscapes to those she used for people, a split-second moment where clicking the shutter captures “the soul of the person, the landscape, where you can see the true beauty of it all.” You can find many of Törmänen’s incredible photographs available for licensing in [Adobe Stock’s Premium collection]( a selection of highly curated images as unique as your next creative project. Adobe Stock is seamlessly integrated into Creative Cloud applications, so you can search, view, edit, and license photographs, videos, illustrations, vector graphics, 3D assets and more without leaving your creative workflow. Learn more about plans and pricing on [Adobe Stock](. If you’re interested in selling your own stock photos and videos, visit the [Adobe Contributor Portal](. New Mixed Media Landscapes and Still Lifes That Merge Photography and Impressionism by Stev’nn Hall Stev’nn Hall [blends photography and painting together in an impressionistic style]( often focusing his works on the rural landscapes of his Canadian home, or images of flowers he takes in his studio. The pieces are built from images shot with a 35mm camera, and feature gestures on the surface in the mediums of acrylic, ink, and pastel. These markings serve as both complements to the landscapes and abstract bits of scrawl, simultaneously pushing the underlying photograph to appear more like a painting, and Hall’s painted additions to seem like photographic errors. Colorful Cubist Tattoos Inked by Mike Boyd London-based tattoo artist Mike Boyd is a dedicated traveler, viewing the act as a necessary component to developing his style of [cubist-focused tattoos](. His bright and angular work features Picasso-like faces and segmented bodies, impactful tattoos that make it difficult to discern skin from canvas. Paper Cutouts by ‘Paperboyo’ Transform World Landmarks into Quirky Scenes London-based paper artist and photographer Rich McCor (aka. paperboyo) has a way of seeing the world from a slightly different perspective. By adding a simple paper cutout to the foreground of famous buildings or other popular tourist attractions, he [creates novel moments in time]( where an octopus squirms from inside the Colosseum or a WW2-era sailor embraces the Leaning Tower of Pisa in reference to the famous photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. McCor makes frequent mentions to pop culture by recreating scenes from films or by repurposing works from other artists. Rainbow Drip Vessels by Brian Giniewski Ceramics Ceramic artist Brian Giniewski produces [delightful earthenware vessels]( that appear to be oozing thick, colorful drips that are frozen in time. The Philadelphia-based ceramicist achieves the texture of the vases and bowls by applying a gritty, matte slip to each piece which contrasts nicely with a special glossy glaze made to melt into drips during the firing process. From The Colossal Shop: Jungle Playing Cards Get lost with Art of Play's Jungle Deck. Illustrated by South African design studio MUTI, the Jungle Deck features the [vibrant flora and fauna]( of the Zulu wilderness. Each card has been totally redesigned with a custom illustration, from peacocks and jaguars to monstera leaves and praying mantises. Now available in [The Colossal Shop]( Copyright © 2016 Colossal, all rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list]( [MailChimp Email Marketing](