A lecturer and an artist from Southsea have been recreating famous masterpieces, including their own “Stona Lisa" out of pebbles on the beach. No, not weed.
Justin Bateman works at Fareham College. He concocted the idea with his friend and fellow artist Tony Brooke, 38, while walking on the beach.
The duo created their own versions of the iconic Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the Girl With The Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.
Each piece of art took upwards of 50 hours of work, including 16 hours to gather the stones.
"We chose artwork that was 18 or 16-bit images, which meant we needed to find 18 or 16 different color tones," Bateman told PA. "Once we collected the stones we then spent time sorting them."
Once each artwork is complete, they leave it in place for four hours before returning the pebbles to where they were found.
“Impermanence is a big part of the work," Bateman said. "Some people may consider this to be a form of vandalism in the natural environment and we prefer to leave only footprints."
They have been joined by children and families on the beach, and encouraged them to help with creating the masterpiece.
“Children have no inhibitions and will happily come over and start creating their own artwork next to us, or helping," Bateman said.
After seeing the reaction to the artwork, he said the pair have plans to create something else — but have not yet revealed what.
“We have big plans, watch this space," he said.
@ZoeyCatBell
@twinkb23/Bluesky