Check Out The Incredible Paintings That Are Often Mistaken For Photographs

Picture-Perfect! These Incredible Portraits Are Detailed Paintings Which Take Up To Three Months To Complete And Are Often Mistaken For Photographs – Daily Mail

At first glance, these fascinating images look like an incredibly detailed collection of photographs.

However, they are in fact stunning paintings by talented artist Craig Wylie.

Mr Wylie can spend up to three months grafting away on each of his masterpieces.

His portraits capture the tiniest details from his subject’s face, from the dimples in their cheeks to any wrinkles around the eyes.

Using just pencils, oil paints and charcoal, he creates his works of art on large canvasses – the largest he has done measured 6.5ft by 9.8ft.

Mr Wylie used his talents to paint a portrait of double gold Olympic medallist Dame Kelly Holmes.

The opportunity came about after the painter won the BP Portrait Prize – an annual portraiture competition held by the National Portrait Gallery – in 2008.

Mr Wylie, 39, who lives in London, said: ‘Kelly was pleased with my portrait of her.

‘Initially though, she was a little daunted by the size and level of detail of it, as anyone would be looking at an image that size of themselves.

‘I admit I’m not a great flatterer when it comes to portraits, but Dame Kelly did thank me for doing a good job.’

Mr Wylie tries to sell most of his works once he has completed them, he has previously sold one painting for as much as £30,000.

The skilled painter has been making large head-based portraits for the last six years and many of his subjects are friends.

He works from images on his laptop screen and he says the ability to zoom in to extreme close-ups of the images is crucial.

Working from a computer screen means he can access detail that would normally be available to the naked eye.

Mr Wylie was born in Zimbabwe and studied fine art in South Africa before he moved permanently to the UK in 1998.

The artist added: ‘I painted and drew and was exposed to all kinds of art from a young age.

‘My mother was an artist and she always had art materials knocking about while my brother and I were growing up – we made lots of pretty messes.

‘I only decided to make art my profession after starting a journalism degree and deciding it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

‘Once I had made the change to a fine arts degree, I gave it everything as I knew how difficult it would be to make it as a painter.

‘And thankfully I have received prizes steadily throughout my career, the last and most notable was the 2008 BP Portrait Award of which I was very proud.’

Mr Wylie is now looking forward to his next solo exhibition which will be held at the Plus One Gallery in Chelsea, London from early April.

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The Incredible Sketches Which Look Just Like Digital Photographs

The Incredible Sketches Which Look Just Like Digital Photographs – Daily Mail

On first glance, these stripped-back images of well-known figures look like beautifully shot photographs.

In fact, each one is an incredibly detailed pencil drawing.

Their astonishing realism is rapidly making their young artist as famous as his subjects – who include Beyonce, Amy Winehouse, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa.

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Kelvin Okafur, 27, graduated from Middlesex University in fine art and is now making waves across the country.

His subjects include popular music artists Tinie Tempah, James Morrison and Adele.

He has also picked out tragic figures from actor Heath Ledger to the late King of Jordan, King Hussein – and with each, he tries to evoke an emotion in the viewer.

Finally, he has used friends and colleagues for the impressively accurate images, which look like soft focus digital photos.

Last year, the artist from Tottenham, north London, exhibited at numerous major art galleries and won a clutch of prestigious national awards for his remarkable work.

Each of his pieces takes around 80-100 hours to complete, over approximately three weeks in the studio.

Mr. Okafor creates each piece only in black and white – using graphite pencils, charcoal, black coloured pencil and sometimes grey pastels.

Yet he believes that the range of tone, shade and texture is almost endless.

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He draws on a combination of life and photographs, working on his art for up to 15 hours a day.

He admits he is ‘passionate about precision’.

‘I aspire to create art as vivid as eyes could see,’ the artist writes on his blog.

‘I want my drawings to prompt an emotional response, making viewers feel as though they are looking at a real live subject.

Mr Okafor describes the pencil as ‘a humble instrument’, but says this is part of its appeal.

‘I’ve always been creative, but fell in love with using pencils in particular.

‘It amazed me, that with only one shade of lead, you can create so many tones and textures, and almost create the illusion of colour.

‘It was only when my images started to create a buzz with other Middlesex University students that I realised their impact.’

He was selected as one of the top two pieces of work at Cork Street Gallery’s Winter Show in 2012 and recently won the Catherine Petitgas Visitors’ Choice Prize, part of the National Open Art Competition.

His work is currently on display at the The Watercolours + Works on Paper Fair at the London Science Museum, until February 3.

Before starting a piece, Mr Okafor spends a few days analysing a photo, concentrating first on the subject’s eyes, which are central to his works’ impact.

His pieces are now selling for on average £8,000-£10,000, depending on the scale.

‘The attention I’m receiving is surreal and hasn’t really sunk in yet,’ he added.

‘I’m usually sheltered from it in my studio as I continue to build my portfolio, but I’m really humbled and honoured that so many people appreciate my work.

‘I hope to have my own gallery in the future.’

He has now had more than 50 commissions, and the dedicated artist cites his role models as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo – because they not only mastered the arts but branched out into other fields including engineering, poetry, science and maths.

Twitter users describe his work as ‘incredible’, ‘extraordinary’ and ‘astounding’.

The talented artist is gaining a large following and has made videos showing the evolution of his work, to illustrate just how each one is created.

Even so, the extent of his skill is truly breathtaking.

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Can You Spot The ‘Invisible Animal’? Incredible Images Show Nature’s Disappearing Act When Predators Are Near

Can You Spot The ‘Invisible Animal’? Incredible Images Show Nature’s Disappearing Act When Predators Are Near – Daily Mail

Whether they are hunters or the hunted, these cunning animals are all masters of disguise who can fool even the most beady-eyed passer by into believing they are not there.

Some hide under lily pads, some dissolve into the bark of a tree while others slip seamlessly into the snow, either to hide from a hungry predator or silently stalk an unwitting prey.

But the one thing from which they cannot hide is the all-seeing camera lens of photographer Art Wolfe.

He has spent over 35 years roaming the deserts of Africa, the rainforests of South America, the mountains of the United States and snow plains of Canada to capture wildlife at its most invisible.

It’s white in front of you! A willow ptarmigan in winter plumage, hidden on a brushy slope near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The animals are trying their utmost to fool predators but that’s not enough to deceive international photographer Art Wolfe

He has travelled through every continent in the world in tireless pursuit of more subjects for his chef-d’oeuvre ‘Vanishing Act’ that dates back to the 1980s.

Art said: ‘Throughout my career as a nature photographer, I have challenged myself to present new perspectives on well-documented subjects.

‘Like most of my projects this collection has been a long time in the making.

‘Finding and filming animals on location is an exhilarating and painstaking process. I’m still adding to the project even now.

‘Conventional wildlife photography calls for isolating the subject by selective focus, this way the animal is clearly defined.

Having a giraffe: A Giraffe in Transvaal, South Africa. Wolfe’s 35-year career has spanned every continent as he has followed his passion for the environment

ee the wolf from the trees: A wolf peering out from behind a tree trunk in an autumn Montana forest

Eye spy: A spectacled caiman in Llanos, Venezuela. Wolfe works to make it visually challenging to the viewer by using depth of field, scale and placement and confusing the subject

Cunning tricks: A Great Horned Owl uses colour in its plumage to disappear in a temperate forest in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, left, while an American Pika performs a vanishing act in the Cascade Range of Washington, right

Leaf me alone: A Mealy or Blue-crowned parrot disappears like just another leaf in the lush Central American rainforest, Chan Chich, Belize

‘Photographers always want to show off their subject. And yet, is this really the way an animal is viewed by the human eye? Not quite.

‘We don’t have the isolating abilities that a telephoto lens provides. On most occasions an animal remains somewhat concealed by the clutter of its natural habitat-a necessity of survival for both predator and prey.

‘I have basically employed three different photographic approaches and purposely worked to enhance the difficulty to find the camouflaged subject-as difficult as it is in the wild to see animals that do not want to be seen.

Snake eyes: A horned adder matches the colour of the sand in the Namib Desert, Namibia, where they bury themselves using a swimming motion to disappear beneath the hot surface

Can you spot me? A Leopard conceals herself in vegetation at the base of a tree in Kruger National Park, Transvaal, South Africa

Rock and hole: A gyrfalcon at their nest built on a cliff, left, and a California Ground Squirrel blends in with its rocky environment, right

Bark and hide: A Great Gray Owl positions itself in front of a similar pattern to take advantage of his camouflage in Oregon, United States

‘Since it is impossible to capture all the distractions to the senses of an entire landscape in a photo, I worked to make it visually challenging by using depth of field, scale and placement and confusing the subject.’

Art is also a successful book publisher and television producer. He has published at least one book a year since 1989.

The 61-year-old from Seattle said: ‘It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.’

Invisible: A male Spotted Deer disappears among sun-dappled vegetation in Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India

Stop monkeying around: A family of Japanese Macaques disappear amid their rocky habitat on Honshu Island, Japan

I’m white over here! White-tailed Ptarmigan in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

The long grass: An Impala hiding in vegetation in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, Africa

A sandy place to hide: A cheetah cub disguised against the Kalahari Desert, South Africa

Water good place to hide: A Common Snipe, well hidden in the shoreline vegetation of a Minnesota stream

Painstaking: Mr Wolfe, right, says finding and filming animals on location, such as this wandering tattler chick in Wrangell-Saint Ellias National Park, left, is ‘an exhilarating and painstaking process’

Out of sight hawk: A nighthawk resting on rocks where it blends into its surroundings in eastern Washington

Snow way I’ll be spotted here: A coyote camouflaged in the surrounding brush at the edge of a snow dusted field, Washington State, USA

Precarious perch: Two Klipspringers camouflaged against a rocky outcrop in Chobe, Botswana

Branching out: A well-concealed blue dacnis takes a rest in foliage in Panama

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