Steven Spazuk's Sultry Depictions Play With Fire Instead of employing traditional art utensils like paint, pencils or pens, Steven Spazuk has decided to step outside of the box and explore a new form of art medium: fire. Steven Spazuk, an artist native to Canada, has been perfecting and developing his “flame” technique for nearly 10 years. These sooty illustrations give an abstract, yet soft look that captivates the viewer and explores the human body, human face and the power of soot.
Spazuk’s creation of these sultry soot illustrations involves burning a thick sheet of paper and then quickly manipulating the residual soot until an image to Spazuk’s liking appears. The resulting images are monochromatic, ghost-like illustrations; “x-rays of the soul’s body,” as Spazuk himself puts it.
Other forms captured through Spazuk’s flame method include smaller soot illustrations that have been assembled in mosaic patterns to form larger, equally captivating portraits. The most recognizable of these smoky assemblages is the smoky retake on the original pencil portrait of Chuck Close.