Andrey Poletaev is a self-taught artist from Lugansk, Ukraine, who turned the humble ballpoint pen into a fine art tool. He started drawing in childhood and spent years perfecting his technique.
He creates large-format monochrome drawings entirely by hand using ballpoint pen, graphite, and oil. Each piece can contain up to twenty layers of ink and take over 300 hours to complete.
His subjects range from Hollywood portraits to stunning cityscapes of Paris, New York, Istanbul, and Prague. He captures the beauty of ordinary moments—street cafes, cyclists, pedestrians going about their daily routines.
“The life of a city happens not in its main attractions, but on the most common streets and alleys.”
He is one of the founders of Ballpoint Pen Art as a modern independent direction. His work has been exhibited at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago and featured in the book Ballpoint Art: Complexity from Simplicity.
Poletaev uses many layers of ink applied at different angles and pressures. Light transparent strokes combine with dense, deep ones to create texture and optical illusion. He also uses the white of the paper to highlight images—like creating the illusion of snow in a New York winter scene.
He worked as an interior designer before fully committing to art. He now lives in the United States but remains connected to his Ukrainian roots. His works remind us to pause and appreciate the beauty of everyday life.
Q: What makes Andrey Poletaev’s ballpoint pen drawings unique?
A: His extraordinary technical mastery—using up to twenty layers of ink and hundreds of hours per piece—combined with his ability to capture the poetry of ordinary urban life, elevates ballpoint pen art to a new level.