Chinese artist Leng Jun is a master of hyperrealism. Look at the detail on this painting! Some people do argue that his works are more like photographs than what is traditionally thought of as painting, but he has worked so hard to stretch his skill to its very limits and see what he is capable of and I think that is amazing.
I also love the translucent waves painted by Armenian-Russian painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. He manages to capture the primal light, motion, and texture of the sea, something that anyone who has stood by an ocean can recognise. These paintings were done in the 1800s but could just as well have been created today.
