Incredible Hyper Realistic Oil Paintings By Artist Patrick Kramer That Look Just Like Photographs

A quick glance at the work of artist Patrick Kramer and you'd be completely forgiven for thinking you just looked at a photograph. But look again closely and you'll see that they are in fact paintings.

Kramer, an American hyper-realist painter based in Springville, Utah, says the process for each new idea usually begins with a mixture of props for the composition and dozens of photographs, which he later plays with on Photoshop. He then uses the final digital composition for reference.

He says of his work, "Being a perfectionist, I have always been considering art as an outlet for my slightly obsessive personality. I studied painting in college, and experimented with hyper realism as a way of perfecting my craft."

The hyper realistic artworks are mainly oil on canvas or board (sometimes pencil) and the subjects range from portraits to still life, landscape, and more. They can take anywhere between 50 to 300 hours to complete.

Speaking to Wall Hop about the appeal of painting in this remarkable style he says, "People will walk past a fairly banal hyper-realistic work, assuming it’s a photograph, but when told it’s a painting, will do a double-take. They’ll go back and scrutinize, look for brush strokes, analyse the work in a way that would never occur with photography. The image hasn’t changed, only the process behind the work, but it changes everything for the viewer."

You can follow Kramer on Facebook and Instagram. And check out some of his work below.