Meet Patrick Kramer, a hyper realistic painter originally from Kaysville, Utah. Working from photos, he paints whatever captures his interest, from still lives and portraits to city scenes or landscapes.Being a perfectionist, he has always been considering art as an outlet for his slightly obsessive personality.

Patrick studied painting in college, and experimented with hyper realism as a way of perfecting my craft. He never intended to pursue the style, but found it hard to give up, as it suited his nature. Painting full-time, a piece can take anywhere from 1 – 6 weeks (50 – 300 hours) which depends on the size and complexity.

Patrick Kramer was born in Kaysville, Utah, the youngest child of German immigrants. A perfectionist by nature, art was an outlet for his obsessive personality, allowing him to focus on getting things “just right”. Taking art classes throughout high school, he was encouraged by his teachers, and eventually decided to study art at Brigham Young University.

There he continued to focus on realism, improving his technical skills and craftsmanship. Becoming more and more detailed, his work began to rival that of the photograph. This led to questions that continue to bother him: What is the purpose of representational painting in the age of photography? Why paint what the camera can so easily capture? “I came to realize that the appeal of representational painting since the advent of photography is due in a large part to the painting process.

Although the image itself may come to resemble an ordinary photograph, a psychological intensity can be felt in the handmade work, as the artist’s laboriously slow method, intense concentration, and myriad of artistic decisions lie behind the creation of the image.

This is the artist statement: “In my work, I hope the viewer senses this tension between photography and the handmade — the instantaneous and the prolonged, the ubiquitous and the unique, the impartial and the personal.”

Painting whatever captures his interest, Patrick paints a variety of subjects, from still life to landscapes to city scenes. He was featured as one of Southwest Art Magazine’s “Artists to Watch” in May 2012.

Checkout his Facebook page and website for more.