Art comes in all forms – we’ve known that for years, but never have we seem something as ingenious and creative as this.
Dubbed the DIY Da Vinci, Andrew Myers is creating masterpieces that can be enjoyed even by the visually impaired, and it is all with just one simple tool......the humble screw.
Born in Germany and raised in Spain he now has a studio in Orange County, California where he has been producing his ‘Screw Art’ for around 8 years, after getting the inspiration one day - whilst working in a church.
He gained mainstream attention when he created a portrait for a blind wood craftsman called George Wurtzel. Using just his hands he was able to create an image in his head by feeling the contour of the screws.
He has since been commissioned to produce work by companies that range from Audi through to Converse, but he has produced more portraits than anything else, and to high acclaim as well for how he can depict something as soft and warm as human skin, armed with cold, hard, and sharp crews and a touch of paint.
A portrait generally takes two or three months to complete, with the lengthy process started by sketching out each portrait onto plywood, and then drilling pilot holes in a grid pattern to sort of serve as a roadmap for the screwing.
Once he’s finished screwing (pardon the terminology), he then painstakingly oil paints the ends to complete the masterpiece.
He has also has his own art exhibition in California entitled ‘Please Touch The Art’.
However if you think fortune goes hand in hand with the fame his designs have achieved then think again. Yes a portrait will set you back £6000, and some of his other creations have sold for over £20,000, but Myers states…
‘Household screws are cheap if you need to hang a few pictures but when you need to buy tens of thousands of them the price soon adds up,’ he said. ‘This kind of art is unique enough that I have to keep going with it, but it costs so much to create each piece it’s not as financially rewarding as you may think. They are more a labour of love.’
It sounds like he has a screw loose! Ahhh we couldn’t resist not using that pun anymore!
For further information or to see more of his creations please head on over to his official website here.
