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InspirationArt & Culture

Hyperrealistic and figurative pencil drawings by Aistė Stancikaitė that use only one colour

Aistė Stancikaitė's incredible figurative drawings tend to focus on detail and structure, and in her most recent works, the Lithuanian artist has used only a single colour, often red or pink, to add further drama and intrigue.

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Red pencil drawing of a woman's face with wavy hair against a decorative patterned background, with a red pencil casting a shadow across the artwork

"This allows me to move away from the traditions of realism and into a more unusual style of contemporary drawing with a surrealist edge, something that would likely be absent with an entirely lifelike palette," Aistė tells Creative Boom. "The pink or red-hued figures often featured in my work become beautiful, alien creatures rather than everyday humans you'd meet on the street. The simplicity of this technique is an ode to the magnitude of a single colour; the depths and spectrum of light to dark that ultimately defines the power of the final image."

At the beginning of any drawing, Aistė likes to break the image down to its most basic shapes and gradually build up the layers of detail across the entire piece. She focuses on light and texture, keeping a balance between abstract and figurative, to let one main subject take centre stage and leave the rest to the imagination.

Inspired by photography and fine art, Aistė also turns to contemporary design, cinema, architecture, human anatomy and interesting light. "Sometimes it's just a matter of observing everyday life, where something catches my attention, and sometimes it's being inspired by other creative work out there," she adds. "It pushes me to find different ways of looking at the world and helps me develop my practice further."

Originally from Vilnius, Lithuania, Aistė has spent the past 10 years living in various cities across Europe. "I landed in Berlin almost three years ago, and feel quite settled here. My background is in painting but I have always found drawing to be somehow more accessible. I picked up a pencil about four years ago, and that's when my creative career really started," she says.

Discover more of Aistė's work at stancikaite.com or follow her on Instagram.

Portrait of a figure rendered entirely in red with white zebra-stripe patterned clothing against a white background
Figure with blunt-cut fringe and sunglasses rendered in bright pink against a leopard-print background, wearing a white shirt collar
Monochromatic pink hyperrealistic pencil drawing of a figure's upper body and head in profile, wearing a teardrop earring
A hand wearing a pale pink glove rests on a red quilted surface against a damask patterned background in a hyperrealistic red pencil drawing
A hand with outstretched fingers holding a bunch of glossy spheres in shades of pink and red against a white background
Three hyperrealistic male heads rendered in vibrant pink and magenta pencil, each with different expressions and tousled hair styles against a white background
Red and white hyperrealistic drawing by Aistė Stancikaitė showing a figure's head and shoulders with zebra-stripe patterned fabric
Profile portrait of a person rendered entirely in shades of red and pink, showing detailed facial features and neck against a white background
Pair of legs wearing bright pink strappy heeled sandals with buckle ankle straps, drawn in monochromatic red and pink pencil
A pink hyperrealistic pencil drawing of a smiling face wearing sunglasses against a leopard print background, rendered entirely in shades of pink
Red monochromatic portrait drawing of a person with head tilted back, rendered in varying tones of red pencil
Close-up portrait of a figure with a blunt-cut fringe, rendered in monochromatic red and pink pencil with detailed hatching creating texture and depth across the face and hair
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