Photo or painting?

Instead, they are the meticulous work of Brooklyn-based artist, David Kassan, 38 - who portrays his subjects with incredible realism, using wooden panels as a canvas.

Kassan's art pieces capture every wrinkle, shadow and mole in outstanding detail, as well as the haunting emotion of each of the imploring gazes. 

His subjects are seen solemnly looking away, eyes downcast, and in some, even seem to be staring intensely at the viewer.

The New York-based artist constructs his portraits by first sketching the outlines of his subjects in chalk - mainly family and close friends - and then filling in the colour detail with oil paints. 

The artist painstakingly works on the features of his subjects for hours, using an extremely fine brush, and the end result is a piece so true to life that it almost appears three-dimensional.

Everything from cracks in the skin to liver spots and even tufts of unruly hair are captured in Kassan's pieces.

And although it looks as if his subjects have been painted straight onto an urban wall, Kassan has revealed that the backgrounds of his paintings have been created to mimic real walls in his Brooklyn neighbourhood.

Kassan was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and went on to study Fine Arts at the Syracuse University in New York.

After he lost his job as a creative director, following the attacks on New York's Twin Towers in September 2011, he began to purse a career as a full-time painter.

He explains to FEMAIL that art has always been his way of of 'understanding the world around me in depth.'

He adds: 'I love the textures and abstractions I see on the streets of my neighbourhood in Brooklyn, as well as the people of my city.

'I spend a long time with a painting because I'm really involved in portraying the subject in the most honest and authentic way that I can. 

'All of my painting subjects are life-sized, so that viewer of the painting can interact with the painting as we interact with other people in our lives.' 

(dailymail.co.uk)