Photorealism continued....

The invention of photography in the nineteenth century had a great impact on art. Portrait and scenic artists were deemed inferior to the photograph and many turned to photography as careers. Within the nineteenth and twentieth century art movements it's well documented that artists used the photograph as source material and as an aid. Even though this was the case they went to great lengths to deny the fact fearing that their work would be misunderstood. The invention of the photograph was a break in art's history and also challenged the artists skills in trying to replicate the scenes they viewed.
By the time the Photorealists began producing their bodies of work the photograph had become the leading means of reproducing reality and abstraction was the focus of the art world. Realism continued as an on-going art movement, even experiencing a reemergence in the 1930s.

The term "Photorealism" was first used by New York art dealer Louis K. Meisel in 1968. His definition of photorealism included the necessity of a camera to capture the image or scene, and also identified that the image from the photo must be transferred to the work surface via mechanical means, examples of these are: through the use of a projector, grid method, or transfer paper. This means, in his definition, that mechanical transfering of the reference image is essential to the definition of Photorealism.

Mechanical means have been used by artists for centuries to transfer images onto their canvas, paper or wood panel. The camera obscura was commonly used by Renaissance artists to allow them to capture the intricate details. Many famous and celebrated artists, such as Dutch Baroque master Vermeer and early Flemish Renaissance master Jan Van Eyck used this tool as an aid to create their exceptionally accurate artwork.


Jason DeGraaf who is another photorealist painter, is a Canada based artist born in 1971. His paintings are still life based reflective objects and he has a few of splashing water which are stunning. The way he's captured the movement of the water droplets in his paintings is beautiful. I find it really hard getting the highlights and low lights of my paintings, especially with anything like metal or glass but his paintings make it look so simple.
He describes his approach

"My paintings are about staging an alternate reality, the illusion of verisimilitude on the painted surface, filtered so that it expresses my unique vision…Many of my paintings are about the relationship of light with reflective and transparent surfaces and my journey to understand those qualities and convey my sense of wonder and intrigue over them."

http://www.jasondegraaf.blogspot.com/

I also found Chiara Albertoni who does a lot of nature paintings, including trees, skylines, close ups of flowers and cobwebs with water droplets on them. i love her cobweb ones, i find it really beautiful and magical when you see it and she's captured both of these in her paintings. The detail she's managed to achieve on the paintings of the flowers is gorgeous as well. You cant even tell its a painting, her brush strokes are so smooth and non existent.

She was born in Padova in 1979. She achieved a certificate in Applied arts at Modigliani Art school then went on to the school of fine art in venice.

Here's her website and some of her work.

http://www.chiaraalbertoni.it/