Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog

I think the work is very strong.
The concept is definitely there. I don't think that the aim of the artist was to show off how good he is with a ball point pen.
The ball point pen is just a technique. The artist is a photorealist. To me, it is impressive that he is using a ballpoint pen but I think it's the subject matter and the feeling behind it is what's striking. They are all long hours of work rendered from snapshots taken in a split of a second.
The faces/grimaces on the drawings (to me) depict anxiety, (some disguised under a fake smile or expression). Somehow his ballpoint pen brings out much deeper level of emotion and complexity. At least thats what i feel when I look at them. I think the fact that he chose a bluepoint pen and not black for ex. also gives the work a certain edge like you are at this club partying with black light on.
To me it's not whether you're an abstract artist or can copy nature exactly, it's the message/feeling/emotion that you're trying to convey.

The "presumably anyone who purchases the art work knows" is a big presumption - its essentially saying "let the buyer beware" and leaving it at that. I also doubt the artist himself has really thought about how long his work is going to last either, or else he might invest a whole two dollars for a G2 Pilot or Sakura Gelly Roller with archival ink versus the cheap bic pens he uses - which easily succumb to ambient humidity, fade, and otherwise deteriorate due to the solvents used to give the ink a long shelf life. Or get a 10$ ballpoint with a converter and use bottled fountain pen ink - which would be cheaper in the long run then using disposables. For a professional artist to use shoddy materials is frankly unethical. Furthermore, his work is a gimmick - there's really nothing special about the texture or appearance he's getting from a ballpoint pen that he couldn't get with another medium more suited to the size. He's drawing big with a pen - and selling the bragging rights. And then he traces - which means, no, he's not talented as an artist, he just knows how to copy tonal graduation with a ballpoint - which plenty of other artists can do, and free handed at that. And yes, these things do matter, as to it undermines the efforts of those artists who invest time in drawing, understanding their medium, and want to provide their buyers with something that will give them there's money's worth so far as longevity.

"You might as well throw away your work when you're done"? Ouch. Is the "point" of art to have a saleable piece, or maybe to create the piece itself? Should the artist only work for others' goals, and not for his/her own? As someone who spends a lot of time doodling with ballpoint pens, i can definitely see the appeal here. There is a skill necessary, same as with a stick of charcoal or a paintbrush. You need to know when to subtly adjust the pressure you are applying, when to go with broad strokes vs. short strokes, and of course how to satisfactorily control said strokes. If Mr. Casas's subject matter does not appeal to you, that is fine! But let it not be said that the man doesn't have talent, because i'm pretty sure he is worlds beyond most of us in the ballpoint-pen-skills department. And tracing? Doesn't exactly scream "originality", but then: not all art is original.
It is much easier to say something negative than to spend the time finding something redeemable. Some of his interpretations are quite lovely and interesting ("Trineafterhours" is a good one; almost Bill Plympton-esque) to look at. As for the medium fading away rapidly: this is undoubtedly unfortunate. But not all art is permanent; perhaps it doesn't matter to him, and presumably to anyone who purchases the works. So then, should it probably not matter to you.
Chalk this all up as a POV from someone who is not a practicing, or "professional" artist, someone who thinks that there is at least some value in most efforts...

Pencils or charcoal cost much less than pens. I get the perverse wink of the eye some artists make when they use crappy materials, but you might as well throw away your work when you're done.

His subjects say more as photos than as drawings. He does demonstrate some nice control; however, covering a large flat area of dark with a fine point pen is my idea of self-inflicted punishment. Scan them and print them out with better inks and then no one need know his secret.

Oh my god... D:
Fortunately I never spend hundreds of dollars on my suplies :D
I really love your job Juan!

Yeah but doesn't it kinda of suck people are impressed by the size and medium of your art rather than your art. gimmicks tend to burn up quickly, but this guy is definitely talented, I'm not trying to take that away from him. But if he's just known as "that guy who uses ballpoint pen", i doubt people will remember him too long.

There's nothing unprofessional about tracing at all, frankly. I know I can do photorealistic work without tracing, it just takes a lot longer. So what's the point? I'm not going to live forever, so I use tracing whenever I have to. Of course working on the computer you don't even have to go through the trouble of tracing. You just keep a layer with your reference material on it and keep it hidden until you want to refer to it. You can make it transparent and trace through it. And you can just turn a photo or drawing into a painting and dispense with the very idea of tracing. If you are working in ballpoint and your canvas is six feet across, I definitely recommend tracing. People are going to be impressed enough at your scale and choice of medium.

i agree about the composition, but i think that maybe he could have emphasised the material abit more-it is a skill nd a real statement. though it may seem like he's mastered the biro to make it blend in, what the point if you cant really notice it? i don't know if jamie williams uses biro, bu the geometrics in his work are far more what i would desire in terms of fleshing out people
http://www.murmurart.com/news/jamie-williams-at...

Wow, a lot of hate for this guy doing his thing.

There's nothing wrong with mundane subject matter, in fact i prefer it myself. Enough with the old BS standby subjects like flowers, bowls of fruit, green landscapes, and posed portraits in Sunday best.

It does sound like ballpoint ink might be a bad choice like greenbeatle says, from an archival point of view. And is a collector going to be happy paying big $ for something that begins to degrade so soon?

I have to assume he's thought about this.

I like it. I won't buy it.

Okay, maybe a third of his illustrations are visually compelling and, maybe I could find a real gem that I would just have to buy. But, until fifteen years after his death, the piece would probably be to pricey. (THAT SOUNDS REALLY MEAN AND IS PROBABLY ONLY HALF TRUE! oh, well.)

I look forward to Juan Casas picking GREAT subject matter that may push the boundaries of what photos or artistic license could do but, until that time, both "paintedman" and "Castle Monster" are right. Blown up photos of less than awesome subject matter.

(side note: You've got to admit that takes some awesome skills and, I don't see anyone citing proof that he's using a projector. Some people just hone there craft to such the height of perfection that others cannot believe they didn't use a short-cut.)

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know, I think it takes some skill even to work from photos. I think the compositions are striking, if a bit shallow in terms of subject. I would be worried about smearing the ink.

... Over the course of just a few years.

Aside from all the other hulabaloo about this work, as far as I know from personal experience, ball point pen ink fades something fierce when exposed to light.

Well, there ought to be at least one ballpoint pen photorealist around and I guess this is the guy. But is it art? Personally I most admire art that explores the irrational and the unconscious. That and cool comic artists. This guy just blows up photographs, in essence.

This is a traced image and is something that most anyone at any skill level can do either projected or via digital device.

When tracing imagery, there is very little added to the image and therefore is close to a waste of valuable artistic time.

i could think that...or i could think that'd he'd have a much easier time with pencils, or even rapidographs, and pretty much keep the same look.

And it appears his canvas is like ten feet across. Pretty cool but I wouldn't want to spend my time drawing wall-sized murals with a ballpoint.

Its like he's spending hours and hours re-creating stupid facebook pictures of some party. His technique is interesting but his subjects are so mundane theres no reason to give a damn.

"So think of that AND CRY" is what you mean, right? I know I will think of it the next time I drop $35 on a 3 ounce tube of Cad Red.