With their emotion and precise detail, these images look like the work of a gifted photographer.
But in fact they are all hyper-realistic paintings and drawings created by Scottish artist Paul Cadden.
The 49-year-old travelled around the world taking thousands of photographs of everyday situations to draw when he returned home.
Stunning: This spectacular drawing, created by artist Paul Cadden, from Glasgow, Scotland, depicts a man walking with an umbrella in Hong Kong
Emotive: The 49-year-old travelled around the world taking thousands of photographs of everyday situations, such as this elderly couple sitting on a step at Barcelona
Realistic: He then brought the photos – including these two women – to life by recreating the images on a piece of regular paper using an ordinary pencil or paints
His spectacular works include an elderly couple sitting on a step in Barcelona, a man walking with an umbrella in Hong Kong and stunning close-up portraits.
The images recreate the photos in incredible detail – from the wrinkles on an old man’s face to the small words on a leaflet.
It is no surprise then that it takes Mr Cadden up to three months to complete one painting or drawing.
Hyperrealism was born from photorealism, which are paintings based on photographs but created in a non-photographic medium.
Mr Cadden, from Glasgow, Scotland, said: ‘I travelled to China and went to Hong Kong for three weeks because I was invited to give a talk to a school about my work.
Incredible: Mr Cadden’s paintings and drawings recreate the photos in incredible detail – from the wrinkles on an old man’s face to the small print on these empty cans
‘In my spare time I walked around Hong Kong, and I also visited Guangzhou in China. I then travelled to Barcelona in Spain and once again took pictures of everyday situations and scenarios.
‘I was constantly taking photographs – I probably took around 20,000 pictures.’
The artist said he particularly enjoys drawing ‘ordinary’ people in ‘everyday’ situations.
‘All of my pictures are just of ordinary people doing normal and everyday things,’ he said. ‘I think there is a real beauty in the simplistic nature of my work.
We now live in the world of Instagram and people are constantly taking photographs – but do we actually look at what we are taking pictures of?’
Mr Cadden’s collection features a body of work entitled ‘Scottish landscapes’ – depicting grim and grotty areas of the country.
‘I was born in Glasgow and I can say in my 49 years of living here, nothing has changed,’ he said.
‘When most people think of Scottish landscapes they imagine the highlands, countryside, tartan and bagpipes. But there are a lot of people living in poverty in the city.
‘Nothing has changed’: This black-and-white pencil drawing shows litter on the streets of Glasgow.
Unbelievable: The artist said he particularly enjoys drawing ‘ordinary’ people in ‘everyday’ situations
Precise: Mr Cadden puts the finishing touches to his hyper-realistic drawing of a man walking with an umbrella in Hong Kong
source:::Story By Sophie Jane Evans in mailonline.com UK
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