Monica Lee

  

BIOGRAPHY

     Her name is Monica Lee, and her hyperrealistic drawings are proof that the medium is in no way inferior to photography. Born in Malaysia, she spent 12 years as a digital artist, before turning her attention to illustration

 

GRAPHITE DRAWINGS 

       Ever since she was a child,  she have loved to draw and wanted to become an artist. After art college, she didn't pursue a career in art – she didn't think she had the talent for it. Instead, she worked as a digital imaging artist in her  dad's advertising photography studio for 12 years.

      In 2013 she came across some artworks on Instagram, and she was so inspired by it that she  decided to pick up drawing again. From then she  realised that drawing was still her passion. So, she decided to quit her job and become a full time artist. The first portrait that she did – ‘Alisa’ – was a turning point for her: people began to take notice of her  work. That gave her some confidence to continue her  art journey.

why did she choose this medium ?

   When she first started drawing, she experimented with digital art, colour pencils, and water colour. Finally, she chose pencils as her drawing tools. she like the idea of using something as simple as a pencil to create a piece of art, and nothing beats getting our hands dirty while drawing with a pencil. 

The eyes, eyelashes and eyebrows are really well executed, and the subject’s facial expression is so very life-like. As a matter a fact, leaving it like this be a pretty interesting artistic decision.

  Prefer black and white Photos

                      she love black and white photos – it gives the artwork a classic/vintage feel to it. she thinks it's also a challenge, because without colour we need to rely on tonal value, contrast, textures, and details to bring the image to life.

           
Malaysian artist Monica Lee draws amazingly photo-realistic images with graphite pencils. She states: “I like to challenge myself with complex portraits especially people with freckles or beard. And I’m addicted to details. I like drawing in as much details as I can into my work.”

Named Sebastian, this is a portrait of Sebastian Da Capo, health enthusiast, photographer, biology student, and somewhat of a Instagram celebrity. We will not beat around the bush, and go ahead and say that the man’s beard is simply majestic. Monica does a terrific job of capturing both Sebastian’s awesome facial hair, and his intense stare.

Image credit:Monica lee