Patrick Tresset, Makes Art with Computer Robot Drawings

Life does not always work out the way we plan just ask Patrick Tresset. You think you want something and when you are immersed in it, you find that your interest lost. In his life, art and science have never been apart.

The French artist started tinkering with computers from a young age. When the time came for college, he decided to focus on business computing. This passion thrived until it he got out of college. Interest lost in the sciences, he went back to the arts.

The painting arts welcomed him with open hands and he revelled in it for a time. After a decade or so of painting, he lost interest in the field. This may have been catalyzed by his mental problems that disabled full functionality in the society. The good news is that he sought help from specialists who helped to get on the right track.

He did get help but he was done using his hands to paint. It was then that in 1999 he came up with the concept of robots that could draw. His first trials did not produce a portrait, it was all doodles. This first research helped him identify that he was unequipped to produce visible art and thus he sought some education.

With a masters from the Goldsmiths College for computing, he was able to have more insight into his idea.  He was able to look into computer vision and perception. His final thesis was on a software that could let computers draw outlines of a person’s face.

For a first step, this was brilliant but it hadn’t reached the level of quality that we wanted. Thus, he moved to the next step in his big plan. A doctoral conquest was next in search of more information to make the project even greater. In 2009, they got a grant 3-year from the Leverhulme Trust.

At first, robotics were not included in the research, but then they realized that it was unavoidable. This is because drawing usually features different gestures to compose a visible portrait. The discovery that they needed robotics made the whole process of software integration easier.


By the year 2010, Patrick Tresset had a robotic model for display. It worked well, but for a perfectionist, he had to tweak it. By 2011 he had produced the first robotic drawing that met his standard. It was at the right time too since the model got so much international attention that museums wanted to exhibit his installations. Success at last.

All his machines have the name, Paul. There are various models that distinction is required. You will find the models with a suffix of a roman number or letters of the alphabet. These models have a camera recording the facial structure of the face in question. These images are processed to command the robotic arm to draw what it sees.

These robotic arms are bolted to different school desks (command centres) to produce different effects. There are plans to develop these robots further to a point where each robot has its own distinct style.


Consider Mr. Patrick a teacher of artistic robots. In his recent work, he has been able to create robotic models that can learn and take instruction. What is interesting is that some of these models portray human traits. Some are slow and some are fast. Some have a hint of shyness thanks to Patrick Tresset’s genius.

In humanizing these robots you are able to marvel at what science and art can produce when intermingled. In the future, there are plans to see how far they can take up this project with the new advancements in technology.

In his studio located in London, you will find portraits of many who have come to get their portraits taken by these robots. People are fascinated with the thought of a robot being an artist with an identity. In the future, we predict human-like robots with a sophisticated mindset.

Museums such as the Museum of Israel, Seoul’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, London’s Victoria& Albert Museum, the Prada Foundation, and BOZAR are some of the places that his work has graced.

Already he marvels at his work saying “I am always surprised, I am never sure what they’re going to do,” Every portrait made is different from the other even though it is on the same subject. There is no telling where this project will be in five years. All we understand is that it will be beyond marvellous!



Bambi, the female Banksy

The art scene has enjoyed Banksy’s satirical street art all over the world. Painter, political activist and film director, Banksy has painted a number of distinctive pencil stencils. Unequivocally, a legend in the art industry.

What a man can do a woman can do better. Meet Bambi, the female Banksy. Bambi, is, however, a pseudonym of this British artist. She has grown to be a household name with her spray cans and stencils over the last eight years. Very little is known about her personal life. Just like her brother-in-crime, her identity is well hidden and sort of an adventure for art lovers at the same time. Only a select group of individuals know her true identity, namely her mother, manager, and the only and only Banksy.

Working in the cover of night, her wonderful pieces come to life. Despite her attempts to keep a secret identity, she has alluded to the fact that she has a successful pop career. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess who she could be.

In an interview with Daily Mail in 2014, Bambi revealed she went to the City & Guilds of London Art school, one of England’s longest established art schools. She later went on to an MA from Central Saint Martin’s School of arts. From what began as ‘childhood vandalism’, came out a successful career on the streets of London and beyond.

Bambi is said to draw her inspiration from the likes of Andy Warhol, a prominent American artist, and leading figure in visual arts and an avid collector.

Her Work

While pieces of her work going for tens of thousands of pounds, famous personalities are itching to get their hands on a piece of art from Bambi. In 2011, rapper Kanye West commissioned a portrait for his wife. Bambi, in turn, created an amazing semi-nude portrait of Kim Kardashian that sprung her into the limelight. Since then, A-list personalities such as Rihanna, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Robbie Williams (just to name a few) have all come out in support of her work and often paying hefty sums of money to own her artwork.

Despite the bevy of important people seeking to hang her artwork on their walls, Bambi has gone on record for rejecting Harry Styles request to mural walls of his house. All in order to maintain her level of anonymity in the industry.

Bambi’s other famous works are such as It always seems impossible until it’s done, to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday. Usain Bolt’s To Di World and the Jubilee Tribute of the Queen, ‘Diamonds are a girl’s best friend’. Portraying a young Queen Elizabeth II on the throne.

While critics claim she may lack in Banksy’s wit, Bambi brings out a feminine touch and a taste of color and glamour. Using modern public figures, she paints to address contentious political and social concerns in the society.

Over time Bambi has expressed her concerns on being referred to as ‘the female Banksy’ and therefore not being recognized for her own talent. Which speaks for itself. Citing the obnoxious male-dominated industry and society in general. Gender is important to Bambi as the message she paints out. Bambi’s use of social commentary, according to her, is to save the world by providing relevant social material to discuss current and future challenges.

Michael Sakhai, of Walton Fine Arts, is Bambi’s original gallerist. The two began working together when Bambi first walked into his gallery in 2010. Walton Fine Arts hosted Bambi’s first ever public exhibition dubbed, ‘When Banksy met Bambi’ at the Walton Fine Art Gallery in April of 2013. The main aim of this exhibition was to showcase not only the difference but the similarities in the two artists.

Over time, authorities caught up with Banksy’s paintings and had them repainted. The same fate has befallen Bambi’s artwork such as Amy Winehouse’s Amy Jade in the past with their getting defaced in the streets of Camden. Amy Jade has since been repainted and protected using perspex screen.

Bambi has also hit the headlines when her painting was stolen from a gallery in Islington, London. The five stolen stencil pieces were set to be auction the next day to assist in a charity for Art Against Knives.

In a 2017-mural painting called ‘Lie Lie Land’, Bambi painted US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister, Theresa May, in a dance pose. Made popular by the movie ‘La La Land’, the painting on the corner of 40 Cross Street and Shillingford street was met by mixed reactions from both fronts and quickly became a tourist attraction until it was painted over by city officials. Bambi’s reason for painting this mural was to highlight the current social and political injustices.

Whether her fans will get to know Bambi’s real identity remains a mystery. What is clear though is her stardom will continue to rise as long as there’s wall to paint on an audience that will take note and take action on the important issues affecting each of us from day to day.

Mark Wagner Makes Art with Paper Money

When people say money doesn’t mean a thing should definitely meet Mark Wagner. Mark Wagner is a collage artist that has caused quite some controversy regarding the material he uses as a medium for art. Many people find it shocking that he uses real money to create his intricate collages. It is also the reason why they notice and get curious about his art.

In this economy, most people would hold on to their money rather than cut it up to make art. Mark Wagner is of the belief that money has all the qualities that would contribute to great art. He points out that these bills have anti-counterfeit measures hidden in the notes which makes it the best material to work with.


Money passes around from hand to hand and therefore it has to keep up with constant wear and tear. That is why you will that during the printing process, they ensure that the high flax content is hardened and treated. This structural standard is what the artist likes compared to other pieces of paper available. Money can be contorted, glued or cut without losing definition over time.

Born in 1976, he started using dollar bills in 1999 to create collages and he hasn’t looked back. He likes to centre his work on money and issues related to money. The first thing people think when they look at his art is that is it real money? And if it is, isn’t it illegal to cut up money?


The question is, what is the intention of the artist? Is it to make the note unfit for use/circulation or is it in the name of creating art? In this case, we can clearly see what the artist is doing with his bank notes. He is yet to be arrested for cutting up notes so we doubt what he is doing is illegal.

When looking at work produced the collage artist, you would think that he has used thousands of dollars in one project. That is not usually the case. He looks at the dollar and sees 16square inches of material. Nothing goes to waste, he even keeps the smallest pieces that can be compared to confetti. This allows him to utilize the remainder of the materials he has on different pieces.


He suggests that working with money is cheaper than relying on quality paint and paper from the store. He says “Art materials are expensive. A single sheet of Fabriano Roma paper lists for $17.65, a one-ounce tube of cadmium red oil paint for $28.39. A favourite irony is that dollar bills end up being an inexpensive material—and possibly the only one that effectively gets cheaper through the action of inflation. The value of the materials is eclipsed by the amount of labour required to animate them. I pay my studio assistants more than a dollar just to cut up a dollar.”

For a man who uses the money to make art, it is very simple for him to forget its value. He says that he has to remind himself that money actually means something in the world we live in.

One day he was hungry and wanted to go eat with his studio-mate. He looked at his wallet and found it empty, on realizing this he became annoyed. The funny thing is, he had forty dollars right there on his work table. To him, it was no longer a medium of exchange for goods but a material for art.

He has various works that have been recognized and appreciated by many. Famously he made a portrait of the federal bank reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, Abraham Lincoln, the Mona Lisa, among others.  You can buy an omnibus of his collages or visit his various exhibitions.

Whoever said money can’t buy money definitely has not purchased one of Mark Wagner’s artwork. Money does not run Mark Wagner’s life, it runs his art and he could not have it any other way.

Artist Spotlight: FAILE

Faile is not a new name in the world of street art or high-end galleries. Their work is recognized internationally. Thanks to their partnership there are thousands of art pieces to commemorate their style and work ethic.

Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller form the artistic group under the signature of Faile. The famous duo had humble beginnings, born a year apart their friendship started when they were in high school. During those days schooling together, they always talked about working together.

In destiny’s punctual nature, things had to take a turn. The two separated, one went to New York as the other remained in an art school in Minneapolis. While McNeil was in New York he discovered a whole new world, He had never seen graffiti in the numbers that he witnessed on the streets of New York.

His curiosity sent him on a documentation spree taking pictures of the most interesting pieces he saw. He then called his friend Patrick Miller and told him to come to New York. By the end of 1999, the group Faile was official. Starting off more of a print art based group, the craft evolved and other skills were employed.

When the group started there were three members. Together with Miller and Mc Neil was a lady by the name of Nakawa. Due to circumstances best known to them, Nakawa left the group and started her own journey to success as Lady Aiko.

Their work as a group was widely known even when Nakawa was in the group. Their style which featured “large format, monochromatic, screen-printed female nudes,” Their stencil, wheat pasting combined with comic-like images stood out and introduced a new style in town.

Today, their styles shave definitely evolved maintaining their iconography and duality style while focusing on the same themes that have been recurrent in all their work. Themes like triumph/calamity or love/hate can be denoted by their artwork.


Faile has produced books, held exhibitions in museums, made notable installations such as the Wolf, and even collaborated with the clothing/ music industry. There is not much they haven’t done. They run a permanent studio to take care of work demands.

Speaking of work demands, Faile found themselves in a bit of a pickle recently with the city of Toronto.   The pair had been sought out by the transportation services of Toronto in an exercise to reduce ‘tagging’.

The city had been facing the problem of tagging walls with useless graffiti. The city had already commissioned other works previously to help reduce the tagging issue.  The pair accepted to so the work but found themselves too busy to attend to the work.

The issue arose when the people of Toronto found out that the group had sent interns to do the job. Considering that there was no shortage of homegrown artists, residents did not understand why the pair didn’t have the grace to do it themselves.

The interns did not even know they were to travel until they were informed on short notice. One intern reports “Last Wednesday Patrick [McNeil] came up to me and said, ‘How would you like to go to Toronto on Friday?’” she says. “He said, ‘It’s gonna be a lot of hard work.’ I said, ‘sure,’ and two hours later he came back with my plane tickets.”

Many feel like the $23,000 dollars given to the pair should have been invested in a local artist. When questioned about the decision, the head of StreetARToronto said: “We hope that by inviting street artists from out of town, other cities will invite our artists too, and it gives local artists the opportunity to see the work of internationally recognized street artists.”

While that sounds like good reasoning, it is not the city’s fault that they felt snubbed. The pair should have informed the council of the change of plans so that they could take necessary measures.

There are many people who wanted to see the original Faile work on that Bathurst Street wall. Unfortunately, it was not to be so. The interns, however, did a marvellous job creating a beautiful mural that still stands today.

Admittedly, this might have been an oversight on Faile’s part but the group is still very respectable in the art world. One mistake can be forgiven as long as the group continuous observing a good work ethic.

Although they can’t classify themselves as street artists, they have definitely contributed pieces that can never be forgotten. They are ambitious and seem to have more projects coming their way. Their message is covert but their expressions are overt. And we say, why not?