Drawing hands and feet is notoriously tough, but Denver-based artist Lui Ferreyra makes it look effortless with his incredible artwork. He uses vibrant colored pencils to break down complex shapes into bold blocks of hatched patterns that together form the subtle curves of our fingers, palms, and toes.
Ferreyra’s distinct style is reminiscent of the intricate contours you’d see on a topographic map, guiding the viewer’s eyes along the organic pathways of human hands and feet. Each section is carefully colored to capture the shadows and highlights of the intricate body parts, highlighting their often overlooked beauty.
Although Ferreyra’s patchwork style is arguably abstract, he manages to capture the human form with captivating realism. Every vein, line, finger nail, and wrinkle is rendered with precision. “When I was a child my dad showed me one of those graphics made up of a bunch of dots that are supposed to determine whether you’re color blind or not,” Ferreyra recalls. “At first, I didn’t see anything and I thought he was kidding around, but after a focused effort, I discovered a hidden number that emerged out of the jumbled mess of dots.”
During this moment, the artist discovered the magic of color. “I think that was probably when I fell in love with the notion of deconstructing the visual field,” he explains. “It showed me, way back then, that an image didn’t need to be photorealistic—that you could represent an image partially and the viewer’s mind could finish the rest.”
When he’s not drawing hands and feet, the artist draws beautiful portraits. To stay up to date with his prismatic artwork, you can follow Ferreyra on Instagram.
Denver-based artist Lui Ferreyra creates detailed drawings of hands and feet using colored pencils.
He uses bold blocks or hatched patterns to capture shadows and highlights.
Ferreyra’s distinct style is reminiscent of the intricate contours you’d see on a topographic map.
Lui Ferreyra: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Lui Ferreyra.
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