1

THE PHOTOREALIST ART

OF MARK ALAN RUSSELL
2

THE PHOTOREALIST
ART OF MARK ALAN
RUSSELL
Published by Mark Alan Russell
This version - 6 July 2009

FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON MARK’S ART GO TO

http://www.photorealistpainting.com
or view his blog at
http://www.photorealistpainting.com/wpblog

This book is self published by Mark Alan Russell

and is free and subject to no restrictions
imposed by the author. I believe in free speech.
 3

Contents
GROWING UP 4
NECRONOMICON 10 5
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE 6
SEA SLUG 8
KING OF DIRT 8
FAST, BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS 10
INTERFET 11
EXPENSIVE TOOLS 12
THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET 13
DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER 14
VANQUISH 15
SELF PORTRAIT 16
FLOWERS 16
C IS FOR CHAMPION 18
REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN 19
THE SMALLER PAINTINGS 20
JESUS CHRIST 20
CAROLYN FRANCIS 21
COWS IN A PADDOCK 22
NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN 23
4

GROWING UP
I was born Mark Alan Russell on 27th March 1968 to parents Kathleen and Alan. Attended local
primary and secondary schools until leaving unceremoniously aged 15 to find work. Funnily enough there
was little in the way of practical art education at my secondary school and I gained nothing from it. I do
remember taking a class called ‘Art Appreciation’, it was occasionally boring but it did provide just what
it’s title suggests; art appreciation. On the other hand I really did enjoy a subject called Graphic Design,
which covered more of the Illustration and Technical Drawing sides to art. Nonetheless I found myself at
the young age of 15 embarking upon the journey of life. It’s sufficient to say that I struggled to hold down a
job - (50+) ranging from shop assistant to factory-hand followed, mostly finishing with my storming out over
some petty conflict or other.

MARK ALAN RUSSELL AGED 5

 5

NECRONOMICON 10
Whilst I was struggling to ‘find myself’ and hold down a job I started to take a bigger interest in
the world around me. I would spend a lot of time at the library. One area of interest was art. I knew from
painting t-shirts in my teenage years I was good at art and enjoyed it. So one day I bought some canvas
board, paints and brushes and had a go at making something that I wanted to put on my lounge room
wall. I decided to ‘appropriate’ somebody else’s work. The first work was a copy of Necronimicon 10 by
H.R. Geiger an artist who’s work first came to my attention in the mid to late seventies thru my father’s
Omni magazines. Geiger’s work was a massive inspiration as the work was unrivalled in it’s uniqueness
and it’s ability to make one think about subject matter that was generally outside of the art realm.
Geiger’s complete lack of acknowledgement in books on modern art, despite probably having the most
known work of any living painter made me take the view that the art world was either largely corrupt or
couldn’t recognize talent due to their elitist avant-garde approach. I decided that I would paint solely for
my own pleasure and benefit (my family were horrified at the sight of my first painting).

MY COPY OF H.R. GIGER’S NECRONOMICON 10 - 1997

Whilst it isn’t strictly a photorealist work but it did lead to me learning much in the way of
my drawing and painting skills. I still look at this work and find it absolutely fascinating and it is very
important to me and isn’t for sale for this reason.
6

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE

In the last few years of the millennium I began to paint. I had been inspired by the work of
the photorealists, particularly Richard Estes, who’s work mainly features views of New York city, using
reflective windows to make the viewers eye spend a considerable amount of time taking all the detail in.
The most appealing thing was the extraordinary time one could spend looking at the work, admiring the
skill of the artist.

RICHARD ESTES - SPIRIT

The first true photorealist painting was taken from Snap, a BMX magazine, I had now learnt a grid
would enable a detailed drawing to be made, and that this was to be the key to creating my own photoreal
work. It featured a group of BMX riders in the first berm battling for position. I was always a keen cyclist
and had started riding at the local BMX track in my early 30’s discovering a passion that I’d missed in
the early eighties when it was going through its first surge of popularity. The picture features two riders
prominently – Christophe LeVeque and John Purse, who at the time were dominating BMX. The race was
called the So Cal Nationals and this became the basis for the title of the painting - ‘Southern California
landscape’. Metaphorically speaking this was perfect as an example of America’s worldwide cultural
influences. The addition of a commentator in a green jumper was added to create an idea that this art was
about commenting and not just a visual thrill.
A computer running Photoshop was used to view the work, which meant learning a new set of
skills. The original layout of the magazine article had several photos inset over part of the shadows of
the riders. I then had to work out what actually lay under the overlaid images, so I whited out them out
and with a pen had an educated guess. Once I was happy with the forms I painted them. Still unsure I
contacted the photographer Keith Mulligan who e-mailed a copy of the original. Much to my delight I was
very accurate in filling the shadows in! There were problems encountered, however, the background was
changed because it didn’t suit my needs and the use of canvas board didn’t lend itself to detail work, (I
 7

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE - 1999

decided to use a different support for when starting the drawing for the next work).

IT’S A LITTLE BEAT UP - BUT THIS IS THE ORIGINAL

8

SEA SLUG (Nembrotha Purpureolineata) - 1999

SEA SLUG

My next painting was of a Sea Slug (Nembrotha Purpureolineata). It was a quick and easy painting
to do and was done for my friend Stefan who selected the image from a scuba diving magazine. There are
a number of wildlife artists who use photorealism in depicting their subjects. I guess that I am the first to
photorealistically depict a poisonous sea slug! It was a beautiful image and was largely painted with big
brushes and my fingers. It is the last work I did using canvas board. After a stupid argument I took the
painting back.

KING OF DIRT
BMX was to feature again in the next work, titled ‘King of Dirt’ after the contest series, it featured
a rider (TJ Lavin), mid-trick, (Backflip Turndown) over a big dirt jump. The actual contest took place on Pier
17 in New York City! The painting is also where I really began to use the incredible power of a computer
to manipulate the image to be drawn and then painted. In this case the image was changed to reduce to
the obvious curvature from the wide angle lens. Again the source was from the same BMX magazine and
the photographer was Keith Mulligan. However I felt the subject matter wasn’t serious enough and nor
 9

KING OF DIRT - 2000

was it as hard as I had expected. I did continue to improve on many levels; the initial computer work, the
drawing stage and finally the painting stage. There’s a lot to making a photoreal painting work and there
were no teachers I could look to, no books or anything. I had to develop my own techniques and skills.

KING OF DIRT ORIGINAL

10

FAST BEAUTIFUL DANGEROUS - 2001

FAST, BEAUTIFUL, DANGEROUS

The turn of the millennium saw new, harder images being tackled. My first paintings involved a
learning process; everything had to be learned through trial and error, as I have had no formal art training
whatsoever. A Mercedes CLR sportscar in the pit lane at Le Mans was to feature in my next painting, the
formula one driver Mark Webber was to flip one of these, and another driver looped twice, prompting a
magazine called Racecar Engineering to do an article on the technical and scientific reasoning on why this
could come about. As an avid motorsport fan and fascinated by engineering this photo was perfect – it was
all there for a more serious approach to my art. The notorious narrative of its existence was important, the
people in the background going about their business was visually interesting and the technical complexity
of the surfaces of the car all made for an incredible work of art. I also thought it really cool that there was
even a photographer who appears to be taking the photographers photograph! I named the work Fast,
Beautiful, Dangerous.
There was a realization that so much time was going into the drawing and painting that a work
diary needed to be kept. The total time amounted to 295 hours! It took something like eight hours to just
draw the wheels. The original image was a somewhat limiting factor due to it being too small for what I
really needed - to have every little detail available for the computer to show. It was also difficult to paint
things like the silver blue paint with its reflective qualities and the many people’s skin colors but when you
try for a photorealistic copy these are what make the difference.
The work was entered in the local annual art show organised by local government but didn’t
win any prizes or sell. I was happy enough with the work and looked forward to producing more art that
focused on a more ‘technical’ view of the world.
 11

INTERFET - 2001
INTERFET
As a keen observer of the politics of the world I was strongly in favor of the Australian military
deploying to East Timor in order to stop the horrific violence being enacted upon the local Timorese
population after a successful vote for independence. Immensely proud when they did deploy, I painted a
photograph of a sunburnt Australian soldier on top of a vehicle manning a machine-gun. Another soldier
stands further back as they patrol the streets of Dili, the capitol.
This picture was the first move into the truly conceptual realm. The painting wasn’t produced in
order to provide visual stimulus in order to satisfy; but was about an idea – of war and aggression and right
and wrong, and I believe this was a conceptual work even more than a piece of photorealism.
It was difficult to paint the flesh tones of the sunburnt soldier in the very bright sunlight and the
creases in the uniform - it ended taking 166 hours all up. When it was done I sold it to the lady who lived
in the front unit who bought it for her boyfriend. They broke up, she left for another state in a hurry and
he was left with the packing of her things for the removal van. He packed it in a way that when it arrived it
was badly scratched. As I paint with a system of very thin layers of paint and then use very find wet and
dry sandpaper to keep the paint surface totally smooth it was returned to me months later to be repainted.
This took 18 hours! However when I tried to contact the owner she had moved on again and I took
ownership again I guess. I decided that I would never sell a painting to anyone again unless it was framed
behind glass due to the very easily damaged surfaces.
This (and Fast, Beautiful, Dangerous which was done at the same time) were difficult pictures to
do as I had to have surgery to my left hand due to being assaulted by three young men. The surgery was
botched very badly and I had to undergo constant, painful hand therapy which yielded next to no results
and made my life very hard. The depression of not being able to work, and no action from the doctor
12

EXPENSIVE TOOLS - 2002

who’d operated on me, was immense. This was the lowest period of my life and I really struggled but my art
helped me get through it. Later I had the finger completely amputated.

EXPENSIVE TOOLS
Racecar Engineering contributed the original for the next painting, to be called Expensive Tools. It
features a trio of Makino CNC Machining Centres linked by a common palette loader which were producing
Formula 1 engines and cylinder heads. The scene is in a factory - Mugen’s in Japan. The painting is visually
exciting but also embodies the conceptual in that the process of painting photorealism is very much like the
machinery. Accuracy being the key to Photorealism is represented in a photoreal painting of a machine that
is accurate down to 1/1000th of a millimeter! The time spent painting the details was incredible, an example
being the series of holes in the lower right - they took 35 hours! All up the painting took 224 hours.
I feel that art which goes beyond straight photorealism and has a conceptual element to it is all
the more powerful for it. I often look to Dutch art of the seventeenth century and it’s all encompassing
view of daily life even to be an incredible inspiration. A perfect example of this is Rembrandt’s painting of a
cows carcass. This sort of painting would most typically have been purchased by a butcher, as the art was
reasonably affordable. Expensive Tools would best be appreciated if it were to be purchased and displayed
by an engineering company. Whether they would understand and appreciate the metaphor I intended to
make with the practice of producing photorealism is another matter.
 13

THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET - 2002

THE BIGGEST ARSEHOLE ON THE PLANET

September 11th 2001 was so shocking to witness that I had to paint a response to what I saw as pure
evil. Time magazine donated the source image of Osama bin Laden sitting in his tent; when it came to
composing the size of the piece it was decided to add the title to the work written at 90 degrees on the
right side of the board. This work was called ‘The biggest arsehole on the planet’, I don’t want my position
to be misunderstood.
The size of the initial photo from which I started with was quite small and I took little time to do
the work - 121 hours. When it came to doing difficult passages such as his beard I didn’t spend as much
time as I could have. The painting is meant to be 100% conceptual.
I fully expect to get in a lot of trouble with all sorts of Islamic extremists because of this work but
to be a true artist you have to be true to yourself and not worry about what the rest of the world thinks. I
am doing this art for myself - no one else. Future works will develop this particular theme of my thinking. I
have an image I have begun to draw. It is called Failed Mission and is discussed later in this book.
I am not the only one who has taken a similar view - Denis Peterson depicts the worst aspects of
our world by showing the homeless, and the poverty of the third world. He calls his work hyperrealism but I
have an aversion to the over categorisation of art. For me it’s all photorealism. Even artists like Damien Hirst
have taken photorealism as a medium to talk about unpalatable subjects. His theme is death and he has
had assistants churn out images of cadavers in morgues.
I think it is very important as an artist to show the world as it really is - both at it’s most beautiful
and at it ugliest. The worst indictment of the impressionists was there refusal to paint the horrors of the
French revolution, instead painting a wonderfully pretty world.
14

DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER - 2003

DECKEL MAHO GILDEMEISTER

The idea behind the next painting is to return to comparisons between my art and the
extraordinary accuracy and repeatability of CNC (computer numerical control) machinery with the process
of photorealistic painting. DMG (Deckel Maho Gildemeister) are a company of the highest quality; a quality
that I consider to be at the cornerstone of my art. This machine is the most capable of all types of milling
machines due to it being 5 sided, 5 axis in its ability. Essentially it can machine almost any shape and this
particular machine is also extremely fast, powerful and it’s price is well in excess of the million dollar mark.
I am very proud of this work because it does set new standards for my work. The painting of the
lettering is incredibly difficult and due to my perfectionist nature I am still working on refining this in 2009!
It was however shown at a local library with another work in late 2003. At that stage it had taken 329
hours, it’s now at the 481 hour mark.
When people look at this work I want them to take the time to read the description and the table
of specifications, then look closely at the precision of the individual letters, then gaze at the images. I
want them to take it all in, then wonder why someone would paint something like this. I hope many would
arrive at the conclusion that it must be important to the artist. And it is, I want people to understand that
this work is actually talking about people’s art judgements. Much of the ‘art world’ haven’t a clue when it
comes to one of the most important subjects for an artist - his technique. It’s almost never discussed in the
contemporary art world and if it is probably because generally speaking contemporary artists have little
skill when it comes down to the truth of the matter.
 15

VANQUISH - 2003

VANQUISH
The next painting was chosen mainly because it was a very difficult work, visually stunning, and
intended as a homage to Richard Estes’s work who inspired me to take up painting. Taken from Autocar
magazine it features the new Aston Martin Vanquish, the car was designed as the flagship for Aston by
its new owners Ford and represents a stunning mastery of all that represents the quintessential design
hallmarks that set this marquee apart. The car was driven before it’s release by a journalist across the USA
and photographed against an incredible backdrop of Houston city.
The two page spread had to be scanned into the computer before being joined, then the text
removed. Buildings like this were a time consuming challenge and took 150+ hours just to draw! All up 556
hours was invested in the work before it was shown at the local library. The windows were one of the
most difficult passages I’d undertaken and the gravel carpark wasn’t far behind in getting it to look just
right. The car by contrast was very easy.
One of the things that is good about using other commercial photographs to paint photorealism is
that you can start with a photograph that would simply be out of the reach for the average Joe. There’s
no way I could afford the ultra high-end costs of the photographic equipment nor could I have access to
subject matter such as this work and others. A perfect example is the Osama work!
Upon completion it was rather ironic that it was to be a Vanquish in the picture as Mark felt he
had truly conquered his mastery of technique, however I am ever the perfectionist and this work is being
retouched and is owing 579 hours.
16

SELF PORTRAIT - 2003

SELF PORTRAIT
I painted a self portrait, despite having major issues with my appearance, however this didn’t stop
me from hiding any flaws. I saw it as absolutely dishonest to hide my many chins by simply toning down
the shadows that produce these forms. I strive to show things as they actually are. The good, the bad and
the ugly.
I only had a very low-tech, low resolution camera but the 640 X 480 pixel image was sufficient to
lay down a decent drawing. I learnt a lot about the color of human flesh as it relates to painting and this
work is not perfect but when I see other artists work I often cringe. It’s usually to high key for a start and
often looks like they have some weird, odd colored fake tan on! Hair is another thing that is problematic for
the photorealist painter. Often a camera doesn’t capture every hair it does reproduce many very difficult
passages for the artist to draw and paint. Due to the low resolution of the camera I used I found the result
not as satisfying as it could be. The time taken was only 84 hours.

FLOWERS
My mother asked me to paint a beautiful work of flowers next. The image was taken from a book
on flowers that had been provided and was quite easy to produce taking only 84 hours. It is an incredible
work who’s beauty is astonishing and a tribute to all the Dutch flower painters of the seventeenth century.
It takes pride of place in my parents lounge room of their home.
 17

FLOWERS - 2004
18

C IS FOR CHAMPION
The ‘C is for Champion’ image when first seen would be so difficult to paint it just had to be
tackled. It was an incredible challenge as every square centimetre was complex and the title ‘C is for
Champion’ was a great metaphor for my boastful accomplishments. I had to paint it first and this work,
more than any would come to stand for my theme in art - to strive for perfection. Perfection being, in
my eyes, the ability to recreate just that - what my eyes saw. When people see this work almost without
exception the first thing people ask ‘is that really a painting?’
The painting was begun in January of 2005, but it isn’t complete and the photo was taken at the
midpoint of 2007. So far the time taken painting and drawing stands at 591 hours. Unfortunately my life is
becoming more and more difficult due to mental health problems. I estimate the time will be around 800+
hours! I want to be remembered for this work more than any other as it is such a difficult piece and was
undertaken through a period of my life when not much is going well.
I’ve tried to sell some of my work but come up against the ‘art world’ and have basically given up
on being a professional artist. However the reward of such an amazing piece of work slowly coming to
form keeps me going as well as the thought that someone, some day will see and love my work; and be
wealthy enough to pay what I ask for it. It is hoped that this work will be marveled at in centuries to come.

C IS FOR CHAMPION - 2008

 19

REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN

Late in 2007 Mark was forced out of his rented flat due to no circumstances of his own making.
He went to live in several boarding houses and early in 2008 met the subject of his next work - Rebecca
Parker. I took many photo’s and she rarely smiled but a few, like this one, she did. I had an argument with
her and we went our separate ways. I was feeling really bad about some of the things I had said to her so
this was what I made as a way of saying sorry.
The result is a stunning example of a loving mother and her two children. The mental health issues
I have resurfaced and we argued again soon after completion, and I fell out with Rebecca again. However
we made up and she allowed me to enter the portrait into Australia’s most important art prize - the 2009
Archibald Prize. It took 169 hours to paint and didn’t make the cut. It does bring a lot of joy to Ms. Parker
and that is all that matters.

REBECCA AND HER CHILDREN - 2008

20

THE SMALLER PAINTINGS

A new series of works was started in late May 2009, inspired by the movement of a group of
artists who call themselves ‘daily painters’. They don’t form a coherent ‘style’ but all share a discipline
towards their work which generally means working every day on their art. Some can produce a new work
every day but my photorealist approach means this isn’t very practical.
I’ll add to the book as the paintings are produced and photographed, provide some basic details of
their size and maybe a brief explanation.

JESUS CHRIST - 2009

JESUS CHRIST
I painted this for Rebecca Parker. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 13 x
30cm.
 21

CAROLYN FRANCIS - 2009

CAROLYN FRANCIS
I had a very intense relationship with Carolyn which ended in many tears. This painting is in a
cemetery near to a home we shared. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board. approx 20 x 27cm.
22

COWS IN A PADDOCK - 2009

COWS IN A PADDOCK
I live in a beautiful town in Australia called Yarra Glen and have decided to paint many of the
beautiful things I see on a daily basis. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 20 x 27cm.
 23

NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN - 2009

NEDA AGHA-SOLTAN
As soon as I saw the horrible video of her dying in the streets of Tehran after being murdered by
the Iranian authorities I decided to paint her portrait. It’s part of the conceptual approach I have to my
work. The work is Chromacolour acrylic on MDF board, approx. 20 x 27cm.