The concept of love and romance is one that many have tried to put into words, only to fall short. Why? This powerful experience is more complex than any one language can hope to capture, a life-changing series of emotions that can lead to true happiness or complete heartbreak.

However, while words may fail to truly do justice to the experience of love, Brazilian illustrator Gabriel Picolo has done an amazing job of capturing this feeling in his artwork. The artist has gained considerable fame since he took on a project called ‘365 Days of Doodles’ in 2014, during which he drew at least one drawing every day for the whole year. Today, he has over 1 million followers on his Instagram page, and 745,000 followers on Facebook. His powerful images have touched the hearts of people around the globe.

“For my drawings, I take inspiration from Studio Ghibli, Disney, video games among other stuff,” Picolo wrote on his Patreon site. “I love to draw something that is relatable to me and other people as well. It may be a complex doodle about feelings or an eye candy fan art but what I love the most is the connection I create with who’s seeing my work.”

While not all of his work depicts the topic of love, he has done a number that really captures the highs and lows of romance, dating, and life as a couple. These images reveal both the obvious cuddling and kissing that one would expect to see, but also the smaller nuances, holding hands, intimate glances and little gestures revealing their love and affection for one another. These smaller details show the true connection that a couple in love experiences. He does it all with such talent and creativity, you can’t help but fall in love with his work!

Here are some of our favorite Gabriel Picolo images depicting love:

Icarus and the Sun

One ongoing project that Picolo has shared via social media is his illustrated story ‘Icarus and the Sun’. In the Facebook album, he writes, “Inspired by Icarus, who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. If he was in love with the sun, then this might as well be a story of forbidden love.” The images tell a heartbreaking tale of forbidden lovers, longing to share their lives with one another, only to face the reality that it just can’t work.