Looking for something?

Tap outside or press close

WorkArt & Culture

Digital artworks that look like oil paintings by Phil Galloway

A traditional fine artist, Phil Galloway has temporarily stored away his usual paintbrushes and oils to instead explore the possibilities of digital paint. Using a trusty Surface Pro 3 or Lumia 1520 along with the Fresh Paint or Artrage apps, he manipulates the pixels on the screen as he would oils on a canvas to create bold, colourful and honest portraits. His work is host to swathes of colour and expressive strokes.

Written By:
Expressive digital portrait of a bearded man with dark hair painted in bold brushstrokes of orange, red, black and blue on a light background

Galloway explains: "My mission is to develop my traditional methods of art and drawing through mobile technology to produce realistic interpretations in digital paint. I want to fulfil, yet also challenge people’s perception of traditional art by producing engaging works in which people question how it was produced, what medium was used and on what platform it was created on."

Based in Davenham, Cheshire, Galloway is a freelance artist, available for commissions and projects. He gained his Masters in the History of Art at Aberdeen University and after a decade of working in and running behavioural difficulty schools, he has returned to his creative passion after discovering the possibilities of digital art combined with more traditional pencil work.

His artworks are already getting global attention and he has even collaborated with Microsoft and Lumia on many occasions, won digital art competitions internationally and has exhibited his work across the UK and USA. Make sure you watch the video below, which shows his collaboration with Microsoft.

Colourful digital portrait of a man's face in profile against a turquoise background, painted with bold expressive brushstrokes in reds, oranges, yellows and whites
Watercolour-style digital portrait of a bald man with a contemplative expression, rendered in pastel blues, pinks and yellows with expressive brushstrokes
A bald man wearing black-framed glasses and a white shirt, rendered in expressive digital paint with bold strokes of red, yellow, orange and pink against a mauve background
Expressive digital portrait of a bald man with warm yellow and pink tones against a cool turquoise background, painted with loose, gestural brushstrokes
Portrait of a man wearing glasses and a dark cap, painted in bold, expressive brushstrokes in warm and cool tones by Phil Galloway
Portrait of a bearded man with a shaved head rendered in bold, expressive brushstrokes of pink, blue, yellow and purple on a light blue background
Digital portrait painting by Phil Galloway of a bald man with a white beard, rendered in warm yellows, oranges and pinks with expressive brushstrokes against a grey background
Colourful digital portrait of a man wearing a grey flat cap against a turquoise background, with expressive brushstrokes in reds, blues and yellows across his face
Share

Further Reading