Allen Schultz
Photorealist Artist
Photorealism is a style of art that includes painting, drawing and other graphic media, where the artist uses photographs and then attempts to achieve the same level of detail and realism as the photograph.
Photorealistic paintings and drawings are often mistaken for photographs upon first glance. This is what I try to achieve.
More Than Just A Mimeograph
Photorealism faces criticism by some who reject its categorization as art and think it is nothing more than “mindless copying” and lacks creativity.
I’m often asked, why copy a photograph. A copy machine can do the same thing and can print as many copies of a photo as I want. My answer is, I’m not trying to replicate everything in the photo, only the subject matter and maybe a few other things of interest to help the subject stand, be more of the focal point.
Photorealism is the most difficult style of art. You have to have perfect proportions, shapes, texture, detail, light and shadow. It is time consuming and to be honest, at times it is frustrating. But when you get it right, it is awe inspiring. To draw a portrait of a loved one and have their family stare at it endlessly, remarking on how it looks just like them, is extremely gratifying. My hope is that the customer is as satisfied with my work as I am.
