This Gunpowder Art Is the Gunpowder of Art

Dino Tomic's art is literally explosive. Only three weeks ago, the Croatian-born artist added a new medium to his arsenal—gunpowder—and Instagram is already mesmerized. As you watch him, armed with a squeeze bottle full of gunpowder, painstakingly shape the grainy substance on his paper, it's hard not to marvel at his eye for detail despite his unruly medium. You also marvel at his confidence as he moves his lighter closer and closer to the page until the powder ignites, the flame running down the lines like dominoes, leaving nothing but ash and Dino's image burnt onto the page. As the artist himself tells Creators, "Everything with gunpowder is a challenge—you really need to think outside the box," and his images, which range from Star Wars characters to more serious environmentalist pieces, do just that.

Gunpowder, however, is only the latest of his art experiments. Dino, who currently lives in Norway, also runs his own tattoo shop, Atomic Circus, and is already known for his expressive pencil drawings and his work with sand as a medium. He says of gunpowder that "it's something new and interesting. After a while, I'll get bored with it and I'll do something new like I always do."

Indeed, the artist seems to manifest the self-proclaimed message of his art to "never give up and always try out new things." In his own words, he observes that his work with gunpowder is "by far [one of] the hardest things that I have tested out so far—it really limits what you can do—but I just can't say no to a good challenge."

Dino makes it clear that persistence is the key to his success, attributing his accomplishments to "just countless hours of trying out new things and failing." He likewise encourages artists to "never be afraid of failing, because that's how you learn. There is no better teacher than practice itself." For Dino, the goal is beyond getting better in each medium he uses, but also to "tell a story" and "bring a bigger audience together." Perhaps, a little like a campfire.

To see Dino Tomic's other work, check out his Instagram here.

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