Sharp Precision

Working with craft blades and tattoo needles, Conor Smith etches realistic renderings of wildlife

- Conor Smith

When you look at my artwork now, I think it becomes very clear, very quickly, that I like to work in a style creating realistic wildlife art. But that hasn't always been the case. Finding and developing my style as an artist has taken many years of experimentation with mediums, surfaces and styles. I feel like saying this might be a cliché, as I think many artists find this challenge all too real. I started off with a determination to create artwork that was far flung from realism, using an impasto technique with oil paint to create tactile art that allowed the viewer to not only see the artwork but feel it. However, what I found after each piece was a voice in my head, urging me to add "just a little more detail there," and "just refine that area around the eye." I found myself edging closer and closer to a style I initially had no intention of working in. But it started to intrigue me and drove a passion in me to want to create a realistic artwork that would make someone stop and question if it was a photograph.