I'm Connor Hornby, a hyperrealism artist based in the North West of the UK, specializing in coloured pencil works.

My journey with art began early - around the age of four or five, when I was first captivated by the graphite portraits my father drew and hung on our home’s walls. Faces like Marilyn Monroe, John Lennon, James Dean, and Clark Gable surrounded me growing up. With art supplies always within reach and a father who was also an artist, creativity was less a hobby and more a part of my everyday life.

Today, I work primarily with Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils on Legion Stonehenge vellum paper, creating detailed head-shot portraits and drawings of everyday objects—most of which I photograph myself. While portraits are a staple in my work, I find equal meaning in rendering seemingly "insignificant" objects: a crumpled Zara bag, a single chess piece, or a ripped chocolate bar wrapper. These quiet subjects often carry satirical or symbolic undertones, exploring themes of consumerism, value, and modern identity.

My early influences were the great masters like Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Dali, Van Gogh, Magritte, and H.R. Giger -  alongside more contemporary talents like CJ Hendry. But at the heart of it, my father remains my first and most enduring inspiration.
 

In a world driven by marketability and trends, I choose to follow intuition. Some ideas are spontaneous, sparked by a shape or texture that catches my eye. Others are more deliberate, objects that become open-ended symbols, shaped by the viewer’s interpretation. I create what feels right, not what I think will sell.

My work has been acknowledged by high-profile names like Joe Rogan, Mike Tyson, and Chris Hemsworth, and even led to a 1/1 custom boxing glove collaboration with Rival Boxing. I currently sell both originals and prints, take on commissions, and am working toward exhibiting my pieces in gallery settings.

Whether it's a familiar face or a forgotten object, I draw what I see, not what I think.