A man began painting horrific portraits of city residents and became famous (8 photos)

An Illinois resident began painting horrific portraits of passersby for five dollars and gained national fame.





26-year-old Jacob Ryan Reno of Chicago began painting street portraits in May. Every Sunday, he sets up a booth at the Logan Square Farmers' Market with a sign that reads: "Horrible Portraits. Five Dollars. Five Minutes of Horrible."



The man draws portraits of those who wish to participate with black crayons and ballpoint pens on white paper. His works most closely resemble the sketchbooks of an incompetent schoolchild. However, because of this peculiarity, they quickly became famous among the townspeople.

"I tried not to look at the horror he was doing to my face. But when he turned the portrait around, it was so funny. I probably laughed for about five minutes," said Victoria Lonergan. She used to work at an advertising agency with Renaud and then decided to check out his new endeavor.



The American said he first created a "terrible portrait" at a party in 2018. He and a friend got drunk and decided to draw each other, and it turned out really funny. In the spring of 2024, Reno accidentally found photos from that party on social media and thought this type of painting could become popular.



In May, he began regularly painting portraits on the streets and quickly became famous. Now, people line up to see him in terrible condition. Many of his models frame the portraits and hang them in their homes.





Renaud claims that in his portraits, he doesn't strive to accurately depict a person's appearance, but to capture the essence of their personality. However, the most important thing for the artist is to make his models laugh when he shows them the finished work. According to Renaud, not a single person has yet complained about his portrait. After the American's work was featured in the media, he gained fans across the country.