Realistic Drawings On Canvas

Caught on canvas! The hyperrealistic drawings that look so good you could mistake them for photographs

By Anna Edwards

The first time you see Dirk Dzimirsky's hyperrealistic drawings, you're convinced they're black and white photographs.

But on closer inspection, you realise they are just the work of a very talented artist and his pens and pencils.

Using photos just for inspiration, he sets up basic proportions and then draws layer upon layer until he creates his incredibly realistic portraits. 

Canvas or camera? The portraits show just how talented the artist is, as his fine detailing shows the lengths he goes to to capture his subject

All with a pen and pencil: The artist uses a photograph to loosely get a feel for his portrait and then painstakingly fills it in to achieve the desired effect

Made you look twice! The artist captures event the glint of water on this man's teeth and the whiskers on his chin

Mr Dzimirsky uses light and shadow to capture the picture and includes every single detail, from a wrinkle to a raindrop, to make his picture look so real.

He said: 'I want to capture and describe a persons precence and specific inner self.

'Similar to what a detailed writer might employ in their analysis of an individual, I portray not only the physical attributes, but more importantly the subjects inner presence of life.'

His pictures capture the light on people's hair, the shadows beneath their eyes and even drops of rain that trickle down their foreheads.

No photoshop here! Dirk Dzimirsky captures every line, spot and shadow on his subject - from the fine hair to the moisture in their eyes. He aims to show the 'essence' of a person in his work

Every shadow and every hair is captured by Mr Dzimirsky's hand and he even reflects the light on the lips and the eyelashes of the girls

You'll need a lot of patience to draw this: The artist, whose work has been displayed around the world, drew every check in the girls' dresses, even capturing the shadows next to their buttons and drawing the water running down this woman's eyebrows

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On his website he says he prefers drawing to photography because it sucks the viewer in more than if they were staring at a photo.

He said: 'I choose drawing over painting as this allows me to create many layers over layers of lines and dots which react to each other in order to create a vibrant texture with directions and movement. 

'This approach enables the finished work to be viewed more by the "senses" as opposed to the standard visual observation of a photo. 

How does he do it? The artist uses photos as references for his drawings but says he is not after a perfect reproduction - even though they look virtually identical

Dirk Dzimirsky says he views the practice of drawing as reminiscent of scratching on a surface to observe what's hidden underneath

'Personally, I view the practice of drawing as reminiscent of scratching on a surface to observe what's hidden underneath, where as the nature of painting projects more the inverse, covering and hiding details and forms that might have contributed to a sensuality of a work.

The artist, whose work has been displayed in galleries across London, Germany and America, says despit ehis hyperrealistic results, he does not want to simply copy a photograph.

'I use photos as references for my drawings but I am not after a perfect reproduction at all. I use a photo very loosely once the proportions are established. 

'I usually work as if I were drawing from a live model actually.'