I love this question because I know the answer!
- Because not everyone can do it. We wouldn’t have invented cameras if we could all paint photorealistically.
- Because it’s closer to abstract art than you might think! Abstraction, by definition, is a departure from reality. Absolute reality is impossible to achieve, so a convincing substitute for reality may be the most abstract thing of all. It’s so far from reality that you believe you are looking at another reality.
- In other words, “I thought it was a photo.” :P
- Most photorealism isn’t actually photorealistic. There are lots of ways to deviate.
- Consistency! This is the most important reason (for me, anyway). Photorealism is a continuous decision from beginning to end. That means that every mark you make is part of an ongoing choice to maintain the same level of photorealism throughout an entire painting. When people say I’m not making choices or being “artistic” as a photorealist, I say NAY YOU ARE WRONG. This isn’t start-and-stop painting; I am making a continuous decision. I am deciding exactly how photorealistic to be, and I have to keep deciding that until I’m done. The strand of hair I paint next must be exactly as photorealistic as the upper lip I just painted, and no more and no less.
- Photorealistic art is a demonstration of consideration. A camera spends fractions of a second looking at a subject. A photorealistic artist might spend hours or days. We make you blush!
- Basically, though, it’s like asking why climb a mountain or run a marathon.
- You do it so you can say that you did it. You drew what you saw, and you drew all of it.
Other kinds of art are just as great, obviously. But I get asked this a lot. :)
