I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

“These incredible pictures capture the stunning moment waves roll on to a tropical beach. Photographers Nick Selway, 28, and pal CJ Kale, 35, position themselves in the magnificent Hawaiian water – and then wait for the waves to crash into their heads. Their only equipment are standard cameras – but a waterproof case means they do not need to sacrifice their cameras for their art”. (Photo by Nick Selway/CJ Kale)

These poignant portraits look to shine awareness on the plight of some of the world’s most endangered ecosystems and species of wildlife. The images combine animals, art and celebrity, with Asia's top models posing with the likes of rhinos, giraffes, leopards and marine life. Here: Mikki Yao with an Asian Elephant. (Photo by Sean Lee-Davies/Caters News)

Maine-based Robert Dowling Jr. creates wonderfully whimsical stories with a slightly surreal touch. The self-taught artist, who works primarily in acrylics and oils, often paints characters with their faces covered or turned away. Love art like this that both children and adults can enjoy in their own unique way.

Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra (C) puts the final touches to his piece of art in tribute to Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, next to his assistants, at the financial center on Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista January 22, 2013. Kobra created the 56-metre (61-yard) tall graffiti artwork as a tribute to Niemeyer, one of the 20th century's most influential modernist architects. Niemeyer died in December 2012, aged 104. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

Pernille Ferdinandsen receives a neck tattoo from Peter Madsen during the third Copenhagen Ink Festival which opened Thursday May 9, 2013 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the biggest tattoo festival in Northern Europe. During the three days, 180 of the world's best and most celebrated national and international tattoo artists show the audience their skills in making art on the body and tattoo's on the audience. (Photo by Lars Krabbe/AP Photo)

“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge”, “The Queen” and “Prince Harry” outside the Summerhall arts venue in Edinburgh, Scotland, where their creator Alison Jackson is holding a live performance of her work called La Trashiata. Debuting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and broadcast to Odeon Cinemas in association with Hibrow Productions, “La Trashiata” will feature a roster of Alison Jackson's brilliant lookalikes singing some of opera's most famous arias. The stage will be set for uncanny doppelgangers to each take to the stage and perform their amusingly appropriate song. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times/SIPA Press/News Syndication)