When it comes to their loved ones, most people are content to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

But one Spanish artist has taken the expression a step further by stitching portraits of his family, friends and girlfriend into the palms of his hands.Artist David Cata, 21, uses his body as a canvas for his project Overexposed Emotions which illustrates how much the members of his family, including his girlfriend, Tamara, are woven into his life.Each eye-watering artwork takes about four hours to complete, after which David, a music student and artist, films himself picking the stitches out of his hands.Using a needle he very carefully pierces the top layer of his skin before drawing the thread through to create a stitch.He then repeats the process with different coloured thread for up to four hours to create surprisingly detailed pictures of people who have influenced him. And remarkably, an outline of each face is still visible in the picked flesh of his hand - but there is very little blood.David, from Veriero, Spain, says the process doesn't hurt because it is only superficial, but admits that pain wouldn't bother him anyway.'Every person we meet makes us in some way,' he said. 'Their image projects onto us, reminding us where we come from.'By sewing into the palm of my hand I paint the faces of the people that have left their mark on my life: family, friends, partners, teachers.'Their lives have been interwoven with mine to build my history. Pain is no boundary.'Each portrait uses different coloured threads and intricate techniques to capture the resemblance of each individual family member.But it is clear that the most detailed work goes into the eyes and mouth.So far, he has stitched the likeness of his brother, Javier; his grandfather, Cata; his Aunt, Fe; his father; his girlfriend, Tamara; his grandmother, Josefina; his friend, Carlos; his teacher, Ciuco and many more.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az