Rostislaw Tsarenko is a Ukrainian artist who has mastered the art of stippling, or in his words, the dot work style. Stippling or dot work is the art or process of drawing, painting, or engraving using numerous small dots or specks, it’s a meticulous practice that takes a trained eye and overwhelming talent. So in that regard, mastery might be an understatement as the majority of Tsarenko’s work is bordering on hyperrealism which is quite the feat when the artwork is made up of various dots. In his own words, “The main difficulty in the process of creating a drawing is to convey all the realism of thoughts and ideas with dots, no matter how surreal it is. I select the desired liner thickness, depending on the subtleties of the image I transfer. An A4 size drawing is created in about 20-30 hours of working time.”
Upon first glance, a large portion of Tsarenko’s work seems to draw inspiration from Ancient Greece – especially in regards to their sculptures. With renditions of classics such as David by Michaelangelo, a variation of Aphrodite, all the way to the Genius of Evil sculpture, his stippled artworks bring a whole new drama and intensity to these well-known pieces. Although the rest of his subject matter varies to a degree, it seems like most of it is focused on human portraits, nature, and how the two can come together. You can oftentimes find portraits missing part of their head, only for it to be replaced by a flock of birds or a tangle of flowers and vines. Other times it’s portraits made by using forms of nature, like in his series titled: Image of the Flora.
There seems to be something for everyone within Tsarenko’s extensive and impressive body of work, and it seems that he’s only getting better in his practice as time moves forward. We encourage you to check out his portfolio here and follow him on Instagram here to see more.
