An artist painted a self-portrait of himself on a different drug every day — and he ended up with brain damage

In March 1995, artist Bryan Lewis Saunders began creating at least one self-portrait of himself every day.

Born in Washington D.C. but living on and off in Tennessee, in 2000 he set out to look for "experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of self" — and he came up with an experiment titled "Under The Influence" that did just that.

"Every day I took a different drug or intoxicant and drew myself under the influence," he states on his website.

He was the subject of a documentary called "Art of Darkness" about the experience – which, he says, left him lethargic and with "mild brain damage that wasn't irreparable," which he told Business Insider meant "psychomotor retardation and confusion."

Still, he said he is "still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time and presently only take drugs that are prescribed to me by a doctor."

He told Business Insider that his other more recent projects include a drawing experiment where he was totally blind for 30 days straight and, of course, created a daily self portrait.

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Huffing Lighter Fluid

Heroin (dosage unknown, snorted)

Adderall (10mg)