Patrick Kramer is an American hyper-realist painter based in Springville, Utah. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 2008 with a major in art, Kramer has been painting professionally ever since. Each painting can take Patrick anywhere from 50 – 300 hours. In an interview with Wallhop, Kramer says his process usually begins with photographs. He comes up with an idea, gathers props, takes dozens of photos, plays with them on Photoshop and then uses the final digital composition for reference.
As for the age-old question, “why bother making something that looks near identical to a photograph?”, Kramer explains:
“I would say it’s a unique experience for the viewer. You approach a painting so much differently than a photograph… 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” [source]
Below are some of the Sifter’s personal favourites by Kramer. You can find many more amazing artworks at the links below along with the galleries representing Kramer’s original works for sale.
1. “Anna”
oil on panel, 8 x 8 in.
2. “3 Glasses”
oil on canvas, 24 x 32 in.
3. “Salt Lake Library”
oil on board, 30 x 20 in.
4. “Perseverance / Futility”
oil on board, 24 x 18 in.
5. “Gravity”
oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in.
6. “Rigging”
oil on canvas, 24 x 18 in.
7. “The Optimist”
oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in.
8. “Denial”
oil on canvas, 16 x 24 in.
9. “Odonata”
oil on board, 14 x 11 in.
10. “Pirouette”
oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in.
11. “Measuring Worth”
oil on board, 8 x 10 in.
12. “Spilt Light”
oil on board, 20 x 16 in.
13. “Civic Pride”
oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in.
14. “Matt”
oil on panel, 8 3/4 x 11 3/4 in.
15. “Diminishing Returns”
pencil, 22 x 13 in.
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