Leather artist Mark Evans has captured some of the world's most famous faces - all hand-etched into leather hides
Mark Evans produces captivating works of wall art using nothing more than sheets of full grain leather, a variety of knife blades, and some special waxes. Each creation is stunning. Using only his artistic skill and a blade, Evans produces large scale works and reproductions out of leather. The tonal pieces are incredible for their craftsmanship and the sheer effort and time it must take to produce one. Check out more images after the jump!
From war leader Sir Winston Churchill
to Steve McQueen in the Great Escape
and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Mark, 34, from Conwy, Snowdonia, creates his artwork using knives as his 'paintbrushes'
The process takes huge patience and an eye for detail. Using surgical precision he carves away less than a tenth of a millimetre of leather
His incisions create different tones in the leather surface as the tanned suede beneath is gradually revealed. He calls his work "micro-sculpture" and spends months perfecting each piece
Amazingly life-like etchings on different coloured leathers - some costing up to £250,000 - have now made the artist a target of celebrity A-listers, Premier League & International footballers and Saudi Royal Palaces
Mark's technique started with an accident in his grandmother's kitchen in 1999. "At a Christmas lunch some spots of blood ended up on a new leather jacket. In an attempt to fix it, I got out my art materials and palette knife to try and clean it up"
but instead I scratched too hard and etched right into the surface. I went from thinking the jacket was ruined to seeing endless opportunities. I started to experiment and created a two-tone rendering of Jimi Hendrix on the back of the jacket"
Mark has mastered both the etching and the leather tanning process, which is essential to the end result.
Mark works with large hides sourced from around the world and hand-etches them with various knives and scalpels
leather etching tools
Leather etching Artists By Mark Evans