Paco Martín
THE ART OF HYPERREALISM:
PACO MARTÍN AND THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION
PACO MARTÍN
Paco Martín is a hyperrealist artist working primarily with colored pencils. Although his academic background lies in forestry engineering and mathematics, drawing has been a constant presence in his life since childhood, driven by a deep need to observe and interpret reality.
He trained for several years in a classical drawing and painting academy, where he developed a solid foundation in traditional artistic principles. However, his evolution in colored pencil has been largely self-taught, shaped by experimentation, continuous practice, and a personal pursuit to push the technical boundaries of the medium.
His work focuses on the study of light, color, and texture, with a particular emphasis on the subtle details that construct the perception of reality. Through a slow and highly meticulous layering process, he seeks not only precision but also a tangible presence within the image, where everyday subjects acquire a renewed sense of existence.
Still life plays a central role in his practice. In these compositions, he establishes a direct dialogue with the tradition of great still life painters, especially Spanish masters such as Luis Egidio Meléndez and Flemish artists like Willem Claesz Heda, whose compositional clarity, restraint, and treatment of light remain key references.
At the same time, his work resonates with contemporary artists such as Fernando Rivero and Antonio Vázquez, who have reinterpreted realism through a modern sensibility.
He is a member of leading international colored pencil organizations, including the UK Coloured Pencil Society (UKCPS) and the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA). Throughout his career, he has received multiple awards and recognitions, and his work has been featured in specialized publications, including the Strokes of Genius series.
He recently published his first book, Colored Pencil. Hyper Realism. A Step by Step Book, edited by Ann Kullberg and available in both English and Spanish, where he shares his working process and technical approach.
Alongside his artistic practice, he is also dedicated to teaching, leading workshops where he transmits not only technical foundations of colored pencil but also a way of seeing, analyzing, and constructing images with sensitivity and rigor.
His work continues to evolve around a consistent idea: exploring the full potential of colored pencil as a highly demanding artistic medium, capable of achieving levels of depth, subtlety, and realism comparable to traditional fine art disciplines.
