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At first glance, these portraits appear to be the
work of a skilled photographer.
And even upon a closer look, the extraordinarily detailed images seem
too life-like to be anything but a high-definition picture.
But the hyper-realistic works are in fact paintings, created in a London
studio by a budding 23-year-old artist.
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Michael Sydney Moore describes his work as 'centred around high-realism'
in portraiture.
Working from his London studio, he takes between eight and 12 weeks to
complete an oil portrait after photographing the subject.
'I use oils primarily because of the way it interacts with light. This
serves to give a greater sense of depth.
'I like the solitary nature of painting. In a world saturated with
technological stimulus it can be very redemptive to sit alone in silence
painting for long stretches of time,' he said.
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'The intricate nature of painting realism affords a kind of meditative
state which can be deeply nourishing when going well; the flip side of
this of course is the low that comes from long periods of what you might
call artistic block.'
The process begins with the artist visiting a client at home or inviting
them to his studio for photographs. He takes more than 100 until he is
satisfied.
'This stage usually takes around two hours. More than a hundred photos
are taken until a set of three are chosen that I like.
'This informs a series of tonal drawings that allow me to better judge
which would best suit a painting. The painting process itself takes
around 6 - 9 weeks.
'Towards the end of the portrait a further sitting of an hour will be
performed to further compare my values against those of the painting.
Once the painting is complete it will be unveiled to the client.
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'This can either involve a private unveiling at my studio or the
painting being sent to your address.
'From inception to completion a portrait normally takes around 8-12
weeks to complete.'
Untitled 13 will be on display at Mall Galleries in London from
September 25, while Untitled has been sold to a private collector for an
unknown sum.
Portraits by the artist start at £3,400 for 130cm x 90cm with larger
canvasses (160cm x 110cm) costing £5,000, and are restricted to human
subject matters.
Describing his technique, Sydney Moore says:'I do not believe there is
any dichotomy present in the idea that an almost perfect rendition of
the human form can also be intensely expressive.\
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'Expression in painting - for me at least - comes from the deeply
individual and selective nature the artist's voice carries.
'Where I choose to apply paint thickly or turn form using a particular
hue, are as intrinsic to the expressive nature of painting as the
selection of a particular word is to a poet.
'To extend the metaphor; as in poetry, it is not the correct selection
of words, as much as it is their ability to co-exist harmoniously with
both a semblance of reality and the artist's sentiments on the world -
or in my case - the sitter present.'
For more information click here to visit the artist's website.
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