Spanish Artist Paints Hyper-Realistic Human Figures in Oil

While most portrait artists focus only on their subject’s facial features, Javier Arizabalo Garcia, a Spanish painter, focuses on every human body part to create incredibly realistic paintings. He holds special mastery in painting hands, often considered to be one of the most difficult parts to draw. This is what sets him apart from the rest of the portrait painters.

Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France, this exceptional artist was always passionate about art since his childhood days. It came as no surprise when he joined the Municipal Academy of Drawing and Painting in Irun, Spain, and honed his skills in the company of artists from the Bidasoa region of Spain.

Hyperrealistic Paintings By Javier Arizabalo Garcia

He went on to study Graphic Art at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Leioa, Spain. Although he started as a graphic designer, he soon made inroads into computer-generated photography and imaging. He established himself as a professional artist and started lecturing at his alma mater, the Irun Academy of Drawing and Painting.

It was during this time that Garcia took up oil painting as a hobby and worked on photorealism and classical painting. By and by, he developed an interest in hyperrealism and devised many different techniques for it. He found oil painting as the perfect medium to express his creativity since it allowed him to highlight the subject in maximum detail, as also to understand the light and structure of human anatomy.

Garcia was so enamored by hyperrealism that he has now completely dedicated himself to painting full time. In his works, he not only focuses on the traditional figurative human subjects but still life too, using his signature techniques of realism. A look at his works will show how meticulously he goes about reproducing the subject in a lifelike rendition. It is his deep understanding of light and shadow that allows him to create 3D models using oil paints.

Hyperrealistic Paintings of Hands

Currently based in Spain, Garcia is hailed as one of the leading hyper-realistic painters. He has participated in various group exhibitions. His works are also in collections in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Holland, India, Italy, Kuwait, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey, and the US. He was named Brother of Honor in the Cofradia del Salmon, Irun.