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Artist Transforms Everyday Objects into Delightful Characters

French artist Gilbert Legrand adds some whimsy into everyday objects by transforming them into delightful characters. For the past 10 years, he's found hidden people and animals in things like ping-pong paddles, tape measures, and even water spigots. Legrand reveals them with paint, and creatively uses the contours and details of a particular object to craft a fantastical portrait. The bristles of a brush suddenly become someone's full head of hair, while the hook of a hanger doubles as a mouse's tail.

It's incredible what the artist is able to do with just paint. With many of his pieces, he's done such a good job at creating a convincing character that you really have to study what's beneath the masks. Legrand's sculptures encourage us to look beyond what we see, because inspiration is everywhere – even in something as simple as a door hinge.

Gilbert Legrand website
via [Bored Panda and Visual News]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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