Can you imagine a situation when a work of art is so realistic that someone would accuse the artist of fraud? Moreover, the whole situation would be investigated by Trading Standards?
Well, this actually happened to 36-year-old professional artist John Fisher who was one day visited at his home by two inspectors who had questions about the authenticity of his highly detailed pencil drawings. At that moment, Fisher was really surprised because he knew he did not violate any laws. Inspectors explained that they needed to investigate an anonymous report claiming that the artist was 'scamming' people by using an app to produce his intricate drawings.
Fisher showed examples of his photorealistic drawings and even rubbed some bits out to prove that he used real pencils to create them. It didn't take long for the officers to believe the artist as the proof was there. He admitted that this malicious report could have harmed his business and it's really upsetting that people would go that far without even double-checking their information.
Fisher started his career a few years ago when his father persuaded him to radically change his life: quit his job as a chef to open his own business and become a full-time artist. Though he had a rough start, now he has more than 4,400 followers on his Instagram selling his black and white drawings across the UK. His unique art is often mistaken for photographs because it is so realistic!
#1 Self-Portrait
"Every portrait artist should put themselves under the microscope at some point and it was time for me to do just that. No frills, no filters, this pencil drawing is my first attempt at a self-portrait and first, of a series of water-themed drawings I'll be doing over the course of the year. I could almost call this a miniature as it only measures 8x8 inch but I class my miniatures as anything below 6 inches. Either way, it's a small drawing when compared to my usual 16x12 pieces."
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64points
#2 Ruby And Lily
"Ruby the Springer Spaniel and Lily the Pointer, drawn from 2 separate photos over 20 hours."
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58points
#5 Stan Lee
"Comic book writer, actor, and producer. The legendary Stan Lee."
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54points
#7 Snowy Fun
"A commissioned pencil portrait of a small dog playing outside."
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47points
#9 Highland Cow
"This is my pencil contribution to the Highland Cow trend. Because why not?"
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46points
#10 Pennywise
"Actor Bill Skarsgard as he appeared in the movie, IT, where he played the iconic killer clown, Pennywise. The movie is a 2017 adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel."
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44points
#11 Chester Tribute
"A tribute to the lead singer in Linkin Park who sadly, took his own life in 2017."
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42points
#12 Ralph
"It was a pleasure to draw this stunning horse and I was really pleased with the outcome."
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40points
#13 Angela Lansbury
"This pencil portrait took roughly 12 hours to complete and was drawn from a photo taken in 1950."
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40points
#14 Beatrice
"Here's my pencil tribute portrait of Beatrice the cow who sadly passed away recently. This drawing was commissioned by her owners who loved her dearly and wanted a reminder of Beatrice in her prime."
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39points
#15 Clint Eastwood
"My pencil portrait of one of my own heroes, Clint Eastwood."
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35points
#16 Archie
"This pencil portrait was commissioned by Hannah as a tribute to her boy Archie who passed away recently."
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34points
#19 Baby Portrait
"A commission from Janet who gifted this to her daughter after the birth of her new baby boy."
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32points
#20 Bill Paxton
"My pencil portrait of the late Bill Paxton. The only man to have taken on an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator."
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32points