Editing Ballpoint pen (section)

==As art medium==

[[File:McQueen ballpoint biro drawing art.jpg|thumb|Example of a ballpoint pen work-in-progress – rendering of actor [[Steve McQueen]] by artist James Mylne.]]
Ballpoint pens have proven to be a versatile [[art medium]] for professional artists as well as amateur [[doodle]]rs.<ref name="NYT"/> Low cost, availability, and portability are cited by practitioners as qualities which make this common writing tool a convenient, alternative art supply.<ref name="Oddity"/> Some artists use them within [[mixed-media]] works, while others use them solely as their medium-of-choice.<ref name="Tricks"/>

Effects not generally associated with ballpoint pens can be achieved.<ref name="Weekender"/> Traditional [[pen|pen-and-ink]] techniques such as [[stipple|stippling]] and [[cross-hatching]] can be used to create half-tones<ref name="Mylne"/> or the illusion of form and volume.<ref name="Art of Sketching"/> For artists whose interests necessitate precision line-work, ballpoints are an obvious attraction; ballpoint pens allow for sharp lines not as effectively executed using a brush.<ref name="Japan Times"/> Finely applied, the resulting imagery has been mistaken for airbrushed artwork<ref name="Tokyo Journal"/> and photography,<ref name="Telegraph"/> causing reactions of disbelief which ballpoint artist [[Lennie Mace]] refers to as the ''Wow Factor''.<ref name="Japan Times"/><ref name="Tokyo Journal"/>

Famous 20th-century artists such as [[Andy Warhol]], among others, have utilised ballpoint pens to some extent during their careers.<ref name="Warhol BPP"/> Ballpoint pen artwork continues to attract interest in the 21st century, with [[contemporary]] artists gaining recognition for their specific use of ballpoint pens; for their technical proficiency, imagination, and innovation. Korean-American artist [[Il Lee]] has been creating large-scale, ballpoint-only abstract artwork since the late 1970s.<ref name="NYT"/> Since the 1980s, [[Lennie Mace]] creates imaginative, ballpoint-only artwork of varying content and complexity, applied to unconventional surfaces including wood and denim.<ref name="Gekkan"/> The artist coined terms such as ''PENtings'' and ''Media Graffiti'' to describe his varied output.<ref name="Japan Times"/> More recently, British artist [[James Mylne (artist)|James Mylne]] has been creating photo-realistic artwork using mostly black ballpoints, sometimes with minimal mixed-media color.<ref name="Telegraph"/> In the mid-2000s (decade), [[Juan Francisco Casas]] generated Internet attention for a series of large-scale, [[photorealism|photo-realistic]] ballpoint duplications of his own [[snapshot (photography)|snapshots]] of friends, utilising only blue pens.<ref name="Casas"/>

[[File:Lennie Mace "Uchuu Neko Parade" 2005 Tokyo, ballpoint "Penting" 130x92cm.jpg|thumb|Ballpoint "''PENting''" by [[Lennie Mace]], Uchuu Neko Parade (2005) ballpoint pen and hardware on paper.]]
Using ballpoint pens to create artwork is not without limitations. Color availability and sensitivity of ink to light are among concerns of ballpoint pen artists.<ref name="Care"/> Mistakes pose greater risks to ballpoint artists; once a line is drawn, it generally cannot be erased.<ref name="Japan Times"/> Additionally, "blobbing" of ink on the drawing surface and "skipping" of ink-flow require consideration when using ballpoint pens for artistic purposes.<ref name="Tricks"/> Although the mechanics of ballpoint pens remain relatively unchanged, ink composition has evolved to solve certain problems over the years, resulting in unpredictable sensitivity to light and some extent of fading.<ref name="Care"/>