Artist captures solar eclipse by harnessing sun power

The artwork will be on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Grand Prairie, Texas

By Lucy Ladis •

Michael Papadakis, also known as @Sunscribes, captured the 2024 total solar eclipse in his signature way — harnessing the power of the sun to create an unbelievable piece of art for the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibit collection. Image take on Monday, April 8, 2024 in Dallas. (Sam Hodde/AP Images for Ripley Entertainment Inc.)
RIPLEY ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Michael Papadakis captured the total solar eclipse in Texas in a special way.

The artist used heliography, a technique that harnesses and focuses the sun's rays using mirrors and lenses, to burn a landscape into a wood canvas.

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Papadakis, known as Sunscribes on social media, blends science, art and ancient photographic techniques to use the sun like a paintbrush to create his artwork. During the 2024 solar eclipse, he created a landscape of Dallas' skyline.

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The artwork is on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Grand Prairie.

Always fluid and always in motion, Michael Papadakis had to keep acute attention on his focal point to keep it from spreading and creating too big of an unintended burn. Image take on Monday, April 8, 2024 in Dallas. (Sam Hodde/AP Images for Ripley Entertainment Inc.)
RIPLEY ENTERTAINMENT INC
Always fluid and always in motion, Michael Papadakis had to keep acute attention on his focal point to keep it from spreading and creating too big of an unintended burn. Image taken on Monday, April 8, 2024, in Dallas. (Sam Hodde/AP Images for Ripley Entertainment Inc.)
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