Warning: Don't look at these photos without something delicious on hand to immediately consume. The pain will be too great.
Netherlands-born artist Tjalf Sparnaay has been creating jaw-dropping, mouth-watering photorealistic paintings since 1987. His meticulous renderings convey reality as convincingly as a photograph. The singed edges of a fried egg, the wilted lettuce in an over-dressed salad, the rogue crumbs of a ham sandwich... no detail goes ignored.
Aside from his culinary canvasses, Sparnaay creates equally spot-on depictions of more traditional still-life fare: fall leaves, dishware, other pieces of art -- in this case, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" -- all make an appearance. Recreating the Vermeer classic is clearly no biggie for Sparnaay, who even paints in the illusion of crinkled plastic shrink-wrap surrounding the painting to prove he can up the challenge a few notches.
We asked the artist, who we spotted on the Daily Mail, why food plays such a starring role in his portfolio. "It offers a lot of possibillities to show craftmanship, light, texture and metaphors," he told us. We'd like to add that it also makes us want a burger, so, there's that.
Check out the deliciously realistic artwork below and let us know how you think Sparnaay's work compares to previous HuffPost photorealist hot shots.
