The world of LEGO mosaics continues to expand, and Dutch artist Ernesto Lemke is helping to lead the way. This LEGO Masters contestant (Dutch-Belgian edition) has developed a style he calls “Brickpainting”. In this recent work of a portrait of painter David Hockney, layers of brick serve as a foundation for more “paint” – various small elements applied at interesting angles to mimic the brush strokes of an oil-based work. I particularly like how he pulled off the rims on the glasses – always a tricky subject to translate into a more pixelized image.

Ernesto has shared a bit about his technique. I had to run this through Google Translate, but I think the gist comes across:

“…I had designed a simple (but not simple) working method for visitors: placing different colors of Lego blocks in order from dark to light. You can check whether it is correct via a black and white photo: if so, you will see an ascending ‘scale’ of different gray values. Each color has its own ‘tone’. The sublime use of ‘tones’ is one of the fascinating aspects of David Hockney’s work. The intensity of color is not only overwhelming but also convincing, even when using colors that seem illogical.”

It’s always cool to learn about new LEGO artists. Who have we missed featuring in our archives? Share your favorites in the comments!