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Odd Nugget

2 min readFeb 18, 2018

Ralph Goings was an American artist with an exquisite painting technique for depicting scenes photo-realistically.

Ralph’s incredible artwork is so realistic as to fool viewers into thinking they’re staring at a photograph. Given his interest in depicting diners, pickup trucks and fast foods in most of his work, his art carries a certain hometown Americana appeal.

“Some people were upset by what I was doing and said ‘it’s not art, it can’t possibly be art’.” — Ralph Goings

Goings’ introduction to art is an interesting one. He took to the discipline of painting when, as a young boy growing up during the Great Depression, he discovered Rembrandt’s work while perusing his local library.

Inspired by the great master’s work, Ralph began to produce his own — purchasing paint from a local hardware store and working on old bedsheets in lieu of canvas.

“I was delighted to be doing something that was really upsetting people… I was having a hell of a lot of fun…” — Ralph Goings

Ralph attended the California College of Arts and Crafts alongside other notable members of the photorealist movement such as Robert Bechtle and Nathan Oliviera.

The art he went on to produce largely spearheded the movement and cemented him as a major figure in photorealism.

Enjoy Ralph’s art below!