2. Nathan Walsh

"Perhaps the first thing to say about Nathan Walsh's astonishing photorealist cityscapes is that, for all the seeming influence of photography in their making, it is, paradoxically, their distance from that medium which makes them into interesting paintings. Walking the streets, making complex perspectival drawings that subtly adjust space to make a good picture, a knowledge of art history, Bonnington in particular - Walsh uses all these means to arrive at something much richer and more thoughtful." Nicholas Usherwood 2007 Galleries Magazine

6. Tjalf Sparnaay

Tjalf Sparnaay is a Netherlands-born, London-based artist whose oil paintings are ridiculously hyper-realistic. When I first saw these images I assumed they were photographs. Sparnaay is an expert at taking everyday, throwaway items such as discarded Cola cans and a bag of chips, removing the items from their environment, and turning them into textured works of art, no shadow, wrinkle or crevice overlooked. Sparnaay calls his style “Mega-Realism.”

More about the artist HERE.

2. NEW WORK by Minni Havas

Minni uses colored pencils and masking inks to create her artwork. She enjoys working on fashion editorials, creating images that blur the line between photography and illustration. Minni’s latest projects include a series of editorial illustrations for Love Contemporary magazine. Her work was also featured in WAD Magazine’s tenth anniversary issue. In addition to illustrating, Minni is currently working on the launch of MINNI f. RONYA, a fashion label she designs together with Anne Törnroos.

See more work by Minni HERE

7. Jeff Ramirez

If you thought that hyper-realistic paintings always seemed a bit dry and uninteresting, then perhaps you haven't seen these works by Jeff Ramirez. The Los Angeles-based artist keeps his subject matters fresh, making his pieces feel alive and relevant. Currently, you can see some of Ramirez's work along with those by other realist painters, like Aaron Nagel and Jennifer Nehrbass, at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City, California.

Arrested Motion sat down with Ramirez to learn more about him and his creative process. Here was one of the Q and A's I enjoyed the most.

AM: It seems that many of your paintings feature people who are somehow concealing their face in some way or another. Is there some sort of conscious effort to paint this way and if so, what does it mean?

JR: Getting back to my adolescence, I always felt like I was a different person depending on whom I was around, whether it be friends or family or whomever. It often felt unnatural, like a performance. Gradually, I realized that I had grown really skeptical of images and their supposed content, even images of myself. I just didn’t relate to them on the same level as I think a lot of people might. I was more interested in them for context or absurd moments than as mementos or reminders.And now, with the rise of digital photography, social networking and this blurring of reality, there is a real lack of emotional truth in many of these supposedly candid shots. I’m interested in using that look to create new images that do have emotional truth for me and so it is often necessary to obscure elements in order to make for a different experience from these rather ubiquitous images. ( www.mymodernmet.com )

See more work by Jeff Ramirez HERE

6. Tom French

“Born in 1982, Tom French grew up in Newcastle Upon Tyne, North East England. Tom began his studies at the Newcastle School of Art and Design and went on to graduate from the Sheffield Institute of Art and Design achieving a first class BA Honors in 2005.

His works are predominantly figurative. He carefully combines detailed photorealism with strong elements of abstraction and surrealism, focusing on the reflection of the conscious and subconscious mind. French’s work often treads the fine line between the beautiful and unsettling, combining technically tight, classical charcoal drawings with carefree, loose and ostensibly unfinished abstract forms. By fusing the technical with lively abstraction French brings life and movement to his compositions. His work seamlessly merges the use of academic tradition with contemporary urban realism.”

See more work by tom on his BLOG

8. Sarah Harvey

About Sarah:
Sarah Harvey was born in London in 1981. She completed her education at Chelsea School of Art and Newcastle University, graduating in 2004. She has a studio at the Bow Arts Trust in East London.

In 2003 Harvey won the Bartlett Travel Scholarship whilst studying at Newcastle University. She subsequently visited Florence and the surrounding areas of Tuscany, and it was during this trip she happened upon a green swimming pool that has inspired much of her work to date.

"My paintings of figures floating are predominantly self portraits. I aim to create paintings that arouse both a sense of well being and pleasure, whilst simultaneously suggesting notions of insecurity, fantasy and sexuality. Entirely suspended by the water, the human forms are fragmented by the ripples and swirls created by the water, abstracting them, and often with implausible results such as the appearance of disfiguration or distortion. I have become increasingly excited about the abstract elements in these works, and the interplay between light, colour and water. The emerging patterns are becoming more apparent and dominant, drawing the eye not only towards the main focal point of the human form, but also to the surrounding areas, which are of equal significance.

I am greatly influenced by Francis Bacon's Carcass and crucifixion paintings, and of course by the work of Jenny Saville. Both of these figurative artists are intensely intrigued by the imagery of flesh � in both ugly and magnificently beautiful ways."

See more work by Sarah HERE

4. Lee Price

 

Incredible photo-realistic oil paintings, by artist Lee Price. An impressive sense of details and a perfect technique for these paintings based on on nude and food.

See more work by Lee HERE