Black and white lines

I've been inspired lately by the crazy things artists can do with these minimal elements. Black and white lines – probably the simplest ingredients to use in a piece of art, but the perfect thing for creating the most complex imagery.

The thing I've been loving the most about these is how something can come out looking like just a little doodle that anyone could do, and at the same time, like it required an enormous amount of intensive effort and talent to pull off well.

I have some designs in mind for a few t-shirts and maybe some other things with artwork in this vein. I'll post them as soon as I can get them going.

These images are from: 1. Etsuko Fukaya, Core2003, via Yamamoto Gendai via but does it float; 2. Drawing by valentinadesign; 3. Detail of a woodcut print I found at a flea market (the signature is illegible); 4. Illustration by Yehring Tong, via Debut Art via ffffound!