They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but the brilliant work of Latoya Mathis, known on Instagram as latoyaswarmmode and Twitter as Swarmmode defies description.

Particularly striking is this image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., drawn to celebrate his birthday on January 15th. Her subjects vary, as the other included photos show, but her artistry and attention to detail are nothing short of amazing. Countless times browsing her work I often have to remind myself that these are not photographs, but sketches.

Happy Birthday Dr. King! Paying homage one pen stroke at a time. May seem like I’m crawling…but I’m still moving. pic.twitter.com/IlNz76bBJN

— Swarmmode Creative © (@Swarmmode) January 15, 2016

Latoya’s work seems to have a quality of life about it. If you don’t follow her on Instagram and Twitter, you should, if for no other reason than to bathe in the beauty of her black brilliance and soak up some of her Black Girl Magic.

Check out some more of her artwork below.

Natalie Cole drawing. Rest my darling. pic.twitter.com/ydGXaDmiH8

— Swarmmode Creative © (@Swarmmode) January 11, 2016

My @tonibraxton drawing remixed I consider her a visual muse so here’s day1 of #UnbreakMyArt See what I did there? 😩 pic.twitter.com/xFEuqO6GbR

— Swarmmode Creative © (@Swarmmode) October 2, 2015

Stay in my arms if you dare, or must I imagine you there. #RIPWhitneyHouston #drawing pic.twitter.com/Jc2dVBVqev

— Swarmmode Creative © (@Swarmmode) February 11, 2015

instagram accounts

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week