Steven Spazuk Paints With Fire

As if creating realistic images is not hard enough, Steven Spazuk adds another dimension to his creative process through the use of an uncommon technique called Fumage. Using the flame from a torch or a candle to make an impression on paper, the Canadian-based artist uses a variety of tools to manipulate the soot left behind to create one-of-a-kind pieces. The various tools he uses for etching can be as unique as his pictures from bird’s feathers, Barbie doll hair paintbrushes, to the ends of frayed ropes. Amazingly, much of his work is unplanned as he lets the wavering flame dictate his inspiration: “The path the soot takes is as random as the path a fish takes in the water or a bird in the air. Most of the time when I am in my studio working I don’t know what I am going to get and that is the pure joy of working with soot. I let the drawings appear without controlling anything. I put the flame to the paper [and] let a shape appear.”

SPAZUK fire painter from Patrick Peris on Vimeo.