Mark Powell, whose work we discovered over at Colossal, draws incredibly detailed, sumptuous portraits on the backs of vintage envelopes with nothing but a regular old Bic Biro pen. These portraits, often of the elderly subjects, are drawn on the backs of vintage envelopes, and Powell subtly incorporates remnant text, stamps, or just the lines of folding into his work. The result is an extremely compelling series that makes us reconsider the lost art of letter writing, and makes us want to call our grandparents. The project first started when Powell found an envelope in an antique shop that had been sent from the front line in WWI. Other pieces have been drawn on envelopes that go back as far as 1852, historic dates that give character to each unique drawing. As well as exhibiting his work, he continues to develop his ideas and has plans to work on a larger scale. He has already begun collecting antique black and white maps to reuse for future drawings, an evolution of his work which promises to be as interesting as his current portfolio. Here below you can see some of our favorite portraits, and then be sure to peep even more of Powell’s work on the website below.
