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Summer in the City: Oil paintings that look like blurred photographs of city life

Anyone could easily mistake these intriguing images as blurred photographs of city life on a summer's day. They are in fact beautiful oil paintings, which form part of a series entitled The City by South African artist Philip Barlow.

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Blurred oil painting of pedestrians walking on a sunlit city street with soft bokeh lighting effects

Speaking of his work, Philip said: "Although I work within a long tradition of landscape painting, my depiction of the ‘seen’ landscape is simply a vehicle through which I navigate territory of another nature. A landscape less ordinary; where the line between the physical and the spiritual realm has seemingly been removed. However, these scenarios are not intended to be of a surreal nature. Hopefully they will seem curiously familiar and convincingly real.

"The figures in the landscape serve as carriers and reflectors of the light that falls upon them. Bathed in the luminosity, it is my hope that they would become more beautiful. To me, light is the ultimate subject because it embodies the pinnacle of all reality."

Philip currently lives and paints in Riebeek Kasteel, near Cape Town. He is married and has two children and two dogs. You can discover more of his stunning work at www.philipbarlow.com.

Via This Isn't Happiness | All images courtesy of Philip Barlow

Softly focused oil painting of figures in a bustling city street bathed in warm, luminous light
Blurred oil painting of pedestrians on a busy city street in summer light, with figures in various coloured clothing rendered soft and luminous
Blurred oil painting of pedestrians walking on a sunlit city street with tall buildings and soft bokeh light effects in warm and cool tones
Blurred oil painting of pedestrians walking on a sunny urban street with soft bokeh lighting effects throughout the scene
Blurred oil painting of figures in bright clothing walking on a sun-lit city street between buildings by Philip Barlow
A blurred oil painting of pedestrians walking on a sunlit city street with shop fronts and warm atmospheric lighting
Blurred cityscape with tall buildings, traffic lights and vehicles crossing a street in soft focus, from Philip Barlow's The City series
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