An Artist Loves Literature So Much, He Creates Portraits Of His Favorite Writers.

You can make art with anything at your disposal. Some artists use traditional media like paints, pencils, and canvas. Other outside-the-box artists use less expected tools like toothpaste. If you can think of a piece, you can create it with any materials available.

Artist Alvaro Franca merges his love for literature and art in his detailed writer portraits. Franca’s method is quite literary: he layers characters in precise order on a typewriter to create these images. The varying density of the letters and symbols create the illusion of highlights and shadows.  

This process is precise and time-consuming, with each row of characters mapped out on a computer and then typed by hand on the typewriter. Everything must be exact; there is no backspace on a typewriter. 

Franca only completed five portraits of his favorite writers so far. This is no small feat considering what goes into making these works. He plans to continue the series using more authors in the future.