This Instagram Artist Uses The World Around Him To Color His Creations

You could say that the artwork of Nikolai Tolstyh is collaborative, since he uses the natural beauty around him to color his pieces — and we mean that literally.

Tolstyh cuts out the silhouettes of various animals from white paper, and then hunts down the perfect backdrops to fill them in.

He usually chooses backgrounds that resemble the natural coloring of the animal.

He used fallen leaves to mimic the feathers of this little owl.

Pockmarked wood is reminiscent of this beaver’s favorite pastime.

By placing the outlines over natural backgrounds, Tolstyh invites us to see our surroundings in a totally new way.

The idea is relatively simple, and Tolstyh says that he’s inspired by the beauty of nature, as well as by the practice of turning one thing into something else entirely. “I was inspired by nature,” he says, “and its colors [and] unusual textures. If you use your imagination, you can easily see a fox in [a] yellow bush and [a deer in tree branches].”

Depending on where he holds the paper, the images change in color, texture, and pattern.

The possibilities are endless!

By peering at the world through a cutout, we see things in a whole new light.

Tolstyh’s art challenges us to take stock in things that we normally take for granted.

(via My Modern Met)

You can see more of Tolstyh’s cutouts, as well as plenty of beautiful photos from his walks through nature, on Instagram.

Email the ViralNova team!