Soot Paintings - Paint With Fire by Steven Spazuk

French-Canadian artist Steven Spazuk was a conventional painter, until one day he discovered soot painting in a lucid dream. When he woke up, he knew exactly what to do: instead of a paintbrush or a pencil, he was going to use FIRE. 11 years later, his work has evolved beyond the realms of imagination, encompassing a 272-piece soot portrait of Louise Bourgeois, as photographed by Annie Leibovitz. But nothing will ever take the place of the twin portraits of his mother and father, to be exhibited side-by-side, just like in real life.

Spazuk's results are truly spellbinding. Some faces are shockingly realistic while others exist in an ethereal in-between space. There are black and white images, color images, and collages which Spazuk calls 'color mosaics.' His friends attest that Spazuk's work is always evolving. Like fire, Spazuk exists in a state of creative destruction, fanning the flames and learning his own power.