American artist Alexandra Dillon makes fascinating portraits on the most unexpected surfaces. One day her friend's studio burned down, and she invited her fellow artists to take part in an unusual project of turning the survived burned things into works of art. Alexandra had some old brushes and after drawing her first work she realized that it was something special.

Alexandra is originally from Los Angeles, she studied at the University of California, then in Florence and in New Orleans, and finally she moved to Venice. She is endlessly fascinated by the history of art and finds inspiration in drawings on Egyptian mummies, portraits of the Baroque, masterpieces of the Renaissance and works of the nineteenth century. All of this is reflected in her works from which people of various eras look at us.

Alexandra calls her style "psychological realism": when you look at her portraits you feel like it's a hand mirror and the viewers can see some hidden sides of themself. The artist says that she can create portraits of real people, but it is much more interesting when faces come to her as novel characters come to writers without author's intention and tell their stories.

The artist likes to work with old things, to give a new life to those things that already had a colourful past. She also sees a profound psychological effect in it. Many used brushes were given to her by other artists, some items Alexandra finds at flea markets and in charity shops.

Examples of portrait painting on clothes that Alexandra finds in second-hand shops:

A portrait on ceramics:

The most mystical side of Alexandra's works are eyes on locks. Looking in the eye you can see the whole person and imagine their stories.