DUI: Drawing Under the Influence

[DotKritic]

Artist Bryan Lewis Saunders conducted a bizarre experiment. For several weeks, he took a different drug every day and made a portrait of himself under the influence. Mind you, I don’t support using drugs, but this is just too interesting of a story to pass up.

Link (45 photos)


I gotta admit, some of them are pretty damn impressive (and creative).

[UserNameGoesHere]

This is, IMO, the most interesting thread you have made.

As interesting as it is, I am skeptical. Did this man really make these various pieces under the influence of various drugs or are they merely an artistic interpretation of how he would perceive the state of an individual through the lens of various drugs would be or some other artistic interpretation of the "essence" of the various drugs?

There is no reason any one of those pieces could not have been produced in a completely sober state.

[LongGone]

amzin

[Reincarnate]

The cocaine one made me LOL

[samurai7694]

cocaine(5), mushrooms (31) , abilify (3), crystal meth (20) stood out to me the most. LOL'd hard at marijuana (27)

[prefx]

Computer duster:



Lol

[Wayward Vagabond]

these are cool the only one i dont get is salvia because of the trips ive seen people have.

[ddr_f4n]

I'll be completely honest some of them makes me scared as **** to ever try any of the drugs whatsoever.

I mean goddamn look at his mind.

[prefx]

Originally Posted by Wayward Vagabond

these are cool the only one i dont get is salvia because of the trips ive seen people have.

I second this, despite the fact that theres often a 24 hour effect of heightened "Happiness" or emotions in general, to a small degree, but in the main dense part of the trip drawing would be impossible, unless he simply smoked it wrong. TORCH AT HIGH HEAT HOLD FOR 30 EXHALE AND FORGET EVERYTHING

[Pseudo Enigma]

Originally Posted by ddr_f4n

I'll be completely honest some of them makes me scared as **** to ever try any of the drugs whatsoever.

I mean goddamn look at his mind.

^this
Trazodone, Meth, and the Morphine IV all creeped the hell out of me
Still stunning what this guy has put himself through for the sake of art. Must've been an expensive (and hopefully worth it) hobby.

[Wayward Vagabond]

i think he did it as an excuse to try a shit load of drugs

[Gundam-Dude]

I've have always wondered what kind of ****ed up shit I would think of or draw if I was under the influence—I already do think of bizarre shit normally, lmao. Maybe it's a creative persons thing, idk

Too bad I'm too straight edge to actually try this so major props to Bryan. This was a very cool browse

[Wayward Vagabond]

im going to try this with some stuff

[kommisar]

Very interesting concept. Same way music was influenced in some ways.

[Spenner]

Originally Posted by UserNameGoesHere

There is no reason any one of those pieces could not have been produced in a completely sober state.

Perhaps, but I suppose that would be like drawing a pineapple before seeing a real pineapple (and knowing what a pineapple is). It can be drawn but it isn't exactly inspired. To actually experience the altered state would make it that much more logical to draw in the ways he had been drawing.

I'm thinking that they were mostly drawn from just a general undertone of how he might have been feeling on them, along with some way to physically represent his mental state. The cocaine one is really obvious with that, the erratic loose thinking and background paranoia and stuff. Expressionism in art is basically that, personifying an emotional idea so that you can visually experience the feelings represented.

g

[kommisar]

Art with such drugs would lower your psychological limitations. Sober an artist may feel a lack of confidence, loss of inspiration, uncertainty, regret, etc. On LSD one would probably forget about most of those feelings and just draw free of negative emotions.

[Ohaider]

Interesting and a bit creepy.

Nitrous oxide computer duster n angel dust messed him the **** up haha

[Reincarnate]

Originally Posted by Wayward Vagabond

these are cool the only one i dont get is salvia because of the trips ive seen people have.

I agree with this 100%, the salvia one I expected to be a lot crazier, considering that it's a fscking intense hallucinogenic plant or whatever.

Alternatively, it would have been funnier if he only managed a single stroke of paint on the canvas, lol. Salvia can make you peace out pretty hard, too.

[Wayward Vagabond]

Originally Posted by kommisar

Art with such drugs would lower your psychological limitations. Sober an artist may feel a lack of confidence, loss of inspiration, uncertainty, regret, etc. On LSD one would probably forget about most of those feelings and just draw free of negative emotions.

this lsd comment totally reminded me of this

http://www.cowboybooks.com.au/html/acidtrip1.html

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I'd say my favorites are definitely when he was on cocaine, computer duster, and marijuana