A self-taught artist in the Philippines uses dead cockraches as a canvas for her paintings.

Brenda Delgado, 30, from Caloocan City in Manila, has been drawing and painting since she was 10, but it was only last year that she thought of the bizarre idea to use dead cockroaches for her art.

She said: ‘I was painting at the time when a cockroach flew into my working space. I really wanted to kill it because so many were pestering me.

‘When I was about to sweep them away, I noticed how shiny and smooth their wings were, and I thought maybe I could use them as a canvas. It was really just a spur-of-the-moment idea.’

Using oil paint, Brenda coats the dead bugs’ chitinous wings with bright colours. Among her works are portraits of Marvel’s Venom, the Green Goblin, and an imitation of Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night.’

Brenda added: ‘To my fellow artists, don’t be afraid to explore your talents and challenge yourselves to do the things you think are impossible.’