The hands of Filipino artist Elito Circa are literally drenched in blood, but only to create art, Reuters reports.

Using his own blood, the 52-year-old artist creates paintings on canvas that have drawn both praise and criticism because of his unusual choice of material.

Circa was born into a low-income family and had limited access to school supplies and art materials. He explored a variety of materials, including plums and tomatoes, but his fascination with using blood began when he scratched himself as a child.

Now Circa goes to the city clinic every three months to draw blood, usually 500 ml, which he keeps in a refrigerator in his studio for future projects.

Circa set his sights on an ambitious project of creating the largest "blood painting" in history on a 100-meter canvas in 2023, setting a world record.