Painting is a way of expressing emotions and your imagination. Painting is also one of the most popular forms of visual art. But you have to remember, there is a fine line separating art from reality. And this particular genre, called hyperrealism practically blurs the line. When you look at these most realistic paintings, you might think they are photographs.
But in reality, they are paintings. We have to stress, hyperrealism is a genre of painting that resembles a high-resolution photograph.
And while sometimes art tries to detach itself from reality, hyperrealism does the exact opposite. And there is a nice message there. The art movement shows what is behind the picture, the flaws of the model, the real mood, and everything in between. The result is a hyper-realistic painting subject that looks tangible and real.
It is time to look at some of the best realistic paintings. Let’s check them out.
Diego Fazio Pencil Drawings
This guy goes by the name of DiegoKoi. He will blow you away with his drawing skills and realistic drawings.
His newest piece, Sensazioni, depicts a woman. And the pencil drawing will surely cause people to question the reality of the painting. Can you believe he did it with a pencil?
This talented artist uses unconventional means to create realistic works of art. But he found a way to make people believe. He tracks his progress.
Thanks to tracking, we can see he needs almost 200 hours to complete a single illustration.
Alyssa Monks – Smirk
Alyssa Monks is another hyperrealism artist. She has studied, taught, and exhibited art all around the world. And her paintings zoom in to capture intimate gestures and private moments.
In one interview, she said, “Using filters such as glass, vinyl, water, and steam, I distort the body in shallow painted spaces. These filters allow for large areas of abstract design”.
She wants to explore the possibility and potential where representational painting and abstraction meet.
All of her subjects are familiar. And her rendered details and textured layers make the images unexpected and intriguing.
Leng Jun – Mona Lisa the Design of a Smile
Leng Jun is one of the most famous realistic artists. He made a name for himself in the 1990s. During the 1990s, his work revolved around societal issues and critical themes.
But in 2004, he ventured into portrait painting and completely changed the image people have of him. With his modern rendition of Mona Lisa, he showed hyperrealism at its best. His image was inspired by the iconic painting of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Following that, he continued creating realistic oil paintings of women with much more intricate details.
Dan Witz – Mosh Pit
Take a look at any of his paintings, and you will be amazed by the level of detail. His paintings depict real-life situations. And they practically look like high-resolution photographs. Only a few highly-trained eyes can tell that these hyperrealism paintings are done by hand and not by photography.
His best work is the Mosh Pit series. They depict unruly concert-goers in different stages of rowdiness. Looking at the depth and color he used for these paintings you will notice astounding details.
For these realistic oil paintings, he used a masterful combination of old techniques and digital technology. He starts the painting with digital photos. Dan then edits them in Photoshop and paints them on canvas as achromatic prints.
And then he goes back to the old glazing techniques to apply color, form, depth, shadow, and light. And when you look at the final result, you cannot help but love his work.
Jason de Graaf – Acrylic Paintings
Born in 1971 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Jason de Graaf specializes in hyperrealistic still-life paintings using acrylics. He started his career going to college for illustration and design. Yet, he fell in love with painting after one artist and illustrator gave a painting demonstration.
He says, “My paintings are about staging an alternate reality, the illusion of verisimilitude on the painted surface, filtered so that it expresses my unique vision. Though my paintings may appear photoreal my goal is not to reproduce or document faithfully what I see one hundred percent, but also to create the illusion of depth and sense of presence not found in photographs”.
You can say his paintings are all about the relationship of light with reflective and transparent surfaces.
Jason de Graaf – A Wave Of Refreshment
We have another painting by the Canadian artist here. Looking at this painting, you might think it is a photograph. His extensive portfolio culminated with this realistic painting.
It is the very definition of art and talent.
In most of his models and paintings, water is a typical motive. Or sometimes, other assorted liquids. And that is the case here as well.
Diego Gravinese – Milk Girl
Born in 1971, the talented Argentinian artist creates hyperrealism oil on canvas and acrylic paintings. At first glance, you might think they are a series of photographs.
But his works are highly detailed, able to capture both mundane and bizarre scenes in a photo-realistic style. If you go to his website, you can also see some nude works.
Diego is such a talented artist, he deserves to be on this list.
Steve Mills – Oil Paintings
Steve Mills is a photorealist artist. He paints extra-large and excruciatingly detailed oil paintings. Most of his work depicts everyday objects. For example, the Wall Street Journal.
During the 30 years of his career, his photorealism paintings have grown in size, complexity, and time. By his estimates, he needs up to 700 hours to complete one painting.
But when complete, these large time-consuming works of art look amazing.
Robin Eley – Auspicia
Robin has one special talent that makes him stand out from everyone else. For him, that thing is cellophane. It appears in every one of her paintings in the last couple of years.
Robin is an Australian born in the UK. In his own words, cellophane represents modern human isolation. Through it, we can see but cannot touch.
Most of her models appear naked. Auspicia is one of the least naked pictures by Robin Eley.
Robert Bernardi – Oil Paintings
Born in 1974 in Todi, Italy, Robert is a photorealist painter. He explores the beauty of everyday life through reflections and transparencies in still-life paintings.
For his paintings, he uses subjects like plates, glasses kitchen appliances, fridges, candies, and lollypops.
He had his first solo exhibition in 1994, marking the beginning of his solo career. Since 2004, he has participated in several museum shows around the world.
