Tea and scones? Reach right in and help yourself!

Perhaps, at first glance, you assumed this delicious spread was a photograph. It’s actually one of Brett Humphries’s amazing hyperrealistic still life paintings.

You probably know I am quite partial to this genre, especially when the subject is food. I simply had to share Brett’s work with you, so step right up to the buffet and enjoy the feast!

Brett lives and works in the UK, and has been painting and drawing since childhood. He’s been obsessed with detail from an early age, and particularly remembers trying to render objects as realistically as possible.

I realised that a humble object like a piece of fruit had the potential to amaze, if only we would notice. I think this is why the still life genre resonates with me, because it openly celebrates the dance of light between two objects, or the warm subtle hues of a piece of fruit as a thing of real beauty. There is no need to explain or justify, we can just enjoy it for what it is!

When it came to education, he balanced his interest in art with science. After earning a BA Honors in Scientific and Natural History Illustration from Lancaster University, he worked at a CGI studio, where he mastered computer-aided art as a designer and 3D sculptor. 

His studies taught him how to use composition, perspective, extreme detail and different techniques to communicate information through images. He also learned many useful photography skills.

In 2006 he launched his career as a full-time painter, retaining his interest in hyperrealistic techniques. For most of his career, he’s worked in acrylics and began painting landscapes before transitioning to still lifes. 

People weren’t getting physically close enough when they looked at the work. I thought they were missing the important detail. Then a friend suggested I should try still life. I did – and I found it very satisfying. I also noticed that people would really get in close when they were viewing the paintings.

Recently, he switched to oil, which has its advantages and disadvantages. 

Oil is thicker so you can get deeper and more realistic textures. But more thickness means more visible brushstrokes. You don’t want that in a photorealistic painting.

Each of his pieces requires a huge amount of preparation.

I’m always thinking about composition, and how to make every painting easy on the eye. I don’t want anyone to think: why did he put that there? There are numerous decisions to make to get to the point where the arrangement feels completely right. In a way, I see every new painting as a struggle. But I like that. I’m up for the fight.

For his cupcake paintings, for example, Brett taught himself to make cupcakes (store-bought just wouldn’t cut it). This was the only way for his subject to match the picture in his head. The sponge had to rise at precisely the right height above the cupcake paper. He estimates there were about 125 cupcake fails before he got what he wanted.

When he’s achieved the composition he’s happy with (some can take an entire day), he’s faced with the challenges of optimum light. He uses only natural light to illuminate his work, and since daylight changes constantly, he must find “the perfect moment” to photograph his subject.

Then there’s the perishable nature of food – there’s a window of time when whatever he’s photographing – fruit, cakes, olives, vegetables – will look their best. It’s all part of the process and he enjoys these challenges.

Brett admires the Old Masters of still life painting, and describes his work as a modern interpretation of the genre. It has a traditional underlying structure, but with the vibrancy, colors, and subject matter of more contemporary work.

He paints his still lifes as near to life size as possible, to enhance the illusion of being able to pluck something right out of the painting. He enjoys seeing people respond viscerally to his art. 

Humphries has had solo exhibitions at London’s Catto Gallery, the Bracken Gallery in Devon, and at numerous Doddiscombsleigh Art Shows.

For more, visit Brett Humphries’s Official Website and Instagram. He does accept commissions. Originals may be purchased via Catto Gallery.

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