Artistic expression does not always need state-of-the-art equipment and the latest technology. In fact, true creative genius can sometimes be best witnessed in things that we otherwise discard as trash.
Meet Mark Powell, a London-based artist best known for his work with repurposed ephemera — old, tattered and stamped envelopes that serve as his canvas and a Bic Biro pen. Using just ink and old paper, Powell can create striking, captivating, and life-like drawings.
A neo-expressionist by ideology, Mark Powell generally sketches portraits of elderly faces (and yes, he uses the crumbled form of the old envelope paper as wrinkles on the elderly faces). Using a simple run-of-the-mill Bic Biro pen, Powell’s artwork shows traditional portraits on a non-traditional canvas.
To put it in the artist’s own words, “The idea behind my work is the mystery of each individual, we all try to portray instead of express something much of the time but the face can always hint at something else. Its one of the reasons I use an envelope.”
We now leave you with some of the representative drawings of Mark Powell.
Biro drawing on a Salvation Army 1932 document.
Biro drawing on a vintage Icelandic program.
Drawing on a 1950s music sheet.
Drawing on a 1943 war ration book.
Drawing on an antique map of London.
Biro drawing on a 1912 newspaper.
Drawing on a 1914 bank overdraft letter.
Drawing on a 1950s music sheet.
Drawing on a 1878 newspaper.
Drawing on a 1927 document.