LOOK: Changchun security guard quits his job to create this 3D horse piece using 500,000 toothpicks

Not satisfied with his life, one security guard in Changchun was inspired to quit his job after watching videos online of artists creating beautiful works of art using only toothpicks.
38-year-old Liu Xuedong said that he had no artisitic training at all, but in the mother of all midlife crises, he decided to quit his job and focus all his time and effort on toothpick art. After carefully watching videos of foreign artists using toothpicks to make artwork, Liu went out and spent 2,000 yuan to buy more than 500,000 toothpicks.

Over a period of three months, Liu watched videos and worked on his piece. Through trial and error he eventually created his masterpiece.

The finished work of a “3D wild horse” is 2 meters long, 1 meter wide and weighs 170 kilograms (apparently a real adult horse weighs about 450kgs).
“I am someone with no real skill,” Liu said. “After graduation, I couldn’t find a decent job. For a long time, I worked security for a number of companies and enterprises, but never made very much. Fortunately, my wife is very virtuous and I have an intelligent daughter. However, I always felt like I should try again to do something with my life.”

Actually, Liu didn’t have to look for foreign videos for inspiration. China seems to already have a thriving domestic toothpick art scene led by this elderly Chongqing artist who used a mere 87,000 toothpicks to recreate Michelangelo’s David.
Seriously though, how much do you sell this kind of thing for?
[Images via Sina]