Turkish-based artist Garip Ay uses an ancient painting technique to recreate Van Gogh’s vibrant masterpieces on water. Via CNN:
The Turkish artist uses an ancient technique known as Ebru, which involves creating vibrant images using paint on water. He recently recreated an Ebru version of a 20th century masterpiece, “The Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh.
A video — which shows Ay meticulously creating the painting, before swirling the colors together to move onto his next work of art — has gone viral. It has been viewed over 20 million times on his Facebook page.
“I want to do more to pay homage to the great artists who have inspired me and whose vision I feel I understand, just as I have done with my recent tribute to Van Gogh.”
In order to make one of these masterpieces, he first makes a canvas using water, adding a substance known as carrageenan to thicken the liquid. “This viscous liquid can then support the paints which I apply to the surface of the water,” he explains. Each layer of paint is applied by either delicately shaking droplets from a brush, or using a thin metal rod.
Ebru, also known as decorative paper art, is one of the oldest forms of Turkish art.