Double Dutch: Artist draws with both hands at once

[March 18, 2019]    ROTTERDAM (Reuters) - Some artists draw with their left hand and some with their right, but Dutch artist Rajacenna van Dam manages photo-like accuracy drawing with both simultaneously.

Dutch artist Rajacenna van Dam is pictured while drawing with both hands simultaneously at her house in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier

"I can go faster and it's also less boring," she says of her ambidextrous artistry.

It has also been a success, with views piling up on a YouTube time-lapse video of the 25-year-old artist drawing singer Taylor Swift and actress Selena Gomez simultaneously.

Her most photo-like portraits in colored pencil take roughly 40 hours to complete.

As she draws, her eyes focus on one hand, then the other, as she moves from one picture to the other.

She began drawing seriously with colored pencils and gel pens at age 16, inspired by an Italian street artist.

Naturally left-handed, she began drawing with her right hand about six months ago.

In addition to drawing famous people, she enjoys drawing fantasy scenes and also does commercial work, including a current commission for a line of Spanish merchandise.

Drawing has become her profession, but she is not ruling out developing other skills.

"Recently I'm learning piano," she laughs. "But I'm not Mozart."

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)

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