Hyperrealistic and figurative pencil drawings by Aistė Stancikaitė that use only one colour

"This allows me to move away from the traditions of realism and into a more unusual style of contemporary drawing with a surrealist edge, something that would likely be absent with an entirely lifelike palette," Aistė tells Creative Boom. "The pink or red-hued figures often featured in my work become beautiful, alien creatures rather than everyday humans you'd meet on the street. The simplicity of this technique is an ode to the magnitude of a single colour; the depths and spectrum of light to dark that ultimately defines the power of the final image."

At the beginning of any drawing, Aistė likes to break the image down to its most basic shapes and gradually build up the layers of detail across the entire piece. She focuses on light and texture, keeping a balance between abstract and figurative, to let one main subject take centre stage and leave the rest to the imagination.

Inspired by photography and fine art, Aistė also turns to contemporary design, cinema, architecture, human anatomy and interesting light. "Sometimes it's just a matter of observing everyday life, where something catches my attention, and sometimes it's being inspired by other creative work out there," she adds. "It pushes me to find different ways of looking at the world and helps me develop my practice further."

Originally from Vilnius, Lithuania, Aistė has spent the past 10 years living in various cities across Europe. "I landed in Berlin almost three years ago, and feel quite settled here. My background is in painting but I have always found drawing to be somehow more accessible. I picked up a pencil about four years ago, and that's when my creative career really started," she says.

Discover more of Aistė's work at stancikaite.com or follow her on Instagram.