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Brian Saunders Draws Portraits of Himself while High on Drugs

On March 30th 1995, Brian Lewis Saunders decided to draw a self-portrait every day. He now has thousands of portraits, all collected in hard cover notebooks. Some of these portraits were created while under the influence of a variety of drugs. The artist sought out different drugs with the intention of drawing a portrait of himself while under the influence. Taking drugs day after day had ill effects on the artist, who claims that he nearly gave himself brain damage. He continued the experiment under medical supervision, spacing his drug use to give his brain a break.

The drugs chosen by Saunders range from marijuana and magic mushrooms to xanax and cocaine. The differences between each self-portrait are a reflection of the effect of the drugs. Hallucinogenic  drugs like hash and magic mushrooms inspired the artist to paint psychedelic patterns and designs into the art work, expressing not only what the artist was seeing, but how he was feeling. Drugs that made him feel aggressive and confident, like cocaine, influenced his art style and inspired him to draw dark, heavy lines into the portrait.

Besides creating a self-portrait each day, Brian Lewis Saunders is involved in a number of artistic projects, including performance art projects and music projects. He aims to approach the world from the opposite direction to everyone else, which is why he is involved in stand-up tragedy instead of stand-up comedy and his series of self-portraits depict the world in himself instead of the other way round. Visit Brian Lewis Saunder’s website for more art and for more information about this artist, read this interesting interview on vice.com

A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of huffing gas
Huffing gas


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of marijuana
Marijuana


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of nitrous oxide
Nitrous Oxide


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of Ablify Xanax and Ativan
Abilify, Xanax and Ativan


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of hash
Marijuana hash


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of dilaudid and morphine
Dilaudid and morphine


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of Abilify
Abilify


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of morphine
Morphine


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of cocaine
Cocaine


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of bath salts
Bath salts


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of magic mushrooms
Magic mushrooms


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of valium
Valium


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of ritilin
Ritilin


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of crystal meth
Crystal meth


A self-portrait on drugs by Brian Lewis Saunders while under the influence of real absinthe
Absinthe


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September 5, 2012 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse

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Electric Violin and Beatbox: Moonlight Grenade

This video’s for all the musicians who enjoy experimental sound creation methods. Electric violinst Jason Yang and beatboxer Jake Moulton team up to create a unique, modern sound. Using sound looping techniques, the duo create a mash up compilation song of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and Bruno Mars’ “Grenade”. The finished song also contains elements that […]

September 6, 2012 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse

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“Road Trip” – A Stand-up Comedy by Gabriel Iglesias

Gabriel Iglesias is an American comedian whose stand-up comedy performances center on his personal experiences. His act includes a variety of accents, soto voices and funny sound effects made only with his mouth and a microphone. Iglesias doesn’t need props on stage to help him tell a story; between his miming actions and verbal descriptions […]

September 5, 2012 Catherine Nessworthy Mayhem & Muse
  • September 5, 2012
  • by Catherine Nessworthy
  • Art Installations
  • art, decor, drawing, drugs, funny, humor, ideas, illustration, inspiration, life, painting, pictures, psychedelic

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