Trompe L'Oeil Art

[Shan]

Trompe L'Oeil - a style of painting in which objects are depicted with photographically realistic detail.

John Pugh is an artist that paints public, residential and corporate Trompe L'Oeil murals.

Here is one of his murals that is said to have been a traffic problem.
(It was reported by the C.S.U.C. public affairs officer Bob Pentzer that
after the completion of the Taylor Hall project several rear-end accidents
were reported occuring at the stop sign adjacent to the mural because
motorists were distracted while viewing the broken wall illusion.)

The Mural

Taylor Hall

Read about it.

Information


There are many but here is one more that was also reported to have caused
problems at an Art Exp in New York. (Witnesses working at a show of
John Pugh's paintings reported three separate occassions where art patrons
inadvertently broke wine glasses and spilled wine or beer as a result of
trying to set their glass or mug on an illusionary shelf of a painted secret
garden niche. )

The Mural

Pompeian Niche

Enjoy but be careful where you set your wine glass.

Shan

[Elliot Kane]

They're paintings? Wow! THAT's impressive!

[Gray Lensman]

Really nice. Now that is what I call photorealism.

[Shan]

Glad you liked them guys.
I found those really amazing and he would have to be some
artist to pull that off.

There is another that I want you to see when I find it again.
I should have book marked it but I didn't. It is done by
someone else, but it is just as amazing.

While I hunt it down. Here is a good one also.

Did you guys see this one? Talk about real looking. This
has got to be one of the best.

Cafe Espresso

Shan

[Gray Lensman]

That's quite some work. This one looks more like a still photograph than anything.

A lot of dedication and precision involved, but great when it works.

[Elliot Kane]

I love that kind of stuff, I have to admit Truly fascinating

[Tsel]

Yes, very nice and well done.
A lot of attention to detail was put into those paintings.

Tsel

[philster]

I think your definition of "trompe l'oeil" needs a little more to be added, Shantara...

It means a form of illustionistic painting that attempts to represent an object as existing in three dimensions at the surface of the painting; literally, "fools the eye."

Yes, it is photorealism, but you can have realistic paintings of non-three dimensional images too.

In any case, these certainly count as trompe l'oeil paintings (especially Art Imitating Life Imitating Art Imitating Life - probably the best example here) and some mighty good work, too.

[Shan]

Knew I could count on you Phil to fill in the details. Thank
you.

As you can see Webster's doesn't give much of a definition
for it.

And yes, Tsel, I know what a dictionary is and I do use it occasionally (rarely but occasionally) at least the
online one. ;D

Oh, and Tsel, thanks for the comment about the paintings.
I know this isn't your type of art.

Shan

[Shan]

Finally found the one that I was looking for.

Take a look at this one guys.

Brotherhood Building

The portico doesn't really exist!

It was painted by Richard Haas on the facade of the Brotherhood building in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1983.

Shan

[Elliot Kane]

That rules

[Gray Lensman]

Another good one. I love the way it seems like you're looking at the actual place.

[Shan]

If it is done good, this stuff can be really fun to look at .

Shan

[philster]

These paintings could do Wile E. Coyote some serious damage, I'll tell ya that.

[Shan]

Now that would be a site to see, Phil.

Shan

[Shan]

OK, guys, I've got one for you.

Take a look at this. This one is absolutely unbelievable.

This is quoted from the first paragraph of the first page.

Community Bridge is one of the most unusual trompe l'oeil
murals in the world. There are many photos of this artwork
throughout this web site. The entire bridge was painted by
hand to create the illusion of an old stone bridge. The
illusion is so strong that art professionals sometimes stand
next to the bridge and ask where the mural is, unaware
that they are looking right at it. Tour guides have noticed
birds trying to land on the gate that is part of The Unfound
Door. Several times birds have been observed attempting
to alight on the fountain. And the city of Frederick receives
regular complaints from visitors excited about the mural
project but aghast that the city would allow ivy to grow
across the priceless mural, unaware that the tendrils of ivy
they saw climbing the painted stonework were themselves
part of the painted illusion.

Be sure to look at the The Unfound Door link in the first
paragraph.

Community Bridge

Shan

[Gray Lensman]

Looks really good. I particularly like the Archangel piece.

[Shan]

I think I liked just about everything about it.

What I thought was really cool is how so many of the
community artists joined in and it kinda became a community
project.

I've never seen anything like this for real (as far as I can
remember), but I think it would be amazing to actually
see the real thing. You probably couldn't get me away from
it for hours.

Have you heard of the still life painter that they mentioned
in the link, William Harnett. His work is unbelievable and they say museums are paying millions of dollars for his
works. I give him credit. His paintings look like you could
actually reach out and touch the objects.

Shan

[janggut]

WOW!

i did myself a great disservice by not going into this thread a lot earlier. all this time i assumed from the french-sounding-name, it must be some art-form that's so high up people who are like me with sub-50 IQ can't appreciate. i have seen Picasso many many times & just as many many times i can't seem to appreciate his works.

but this one's incredible!

[Shan]

Jags, I am glad you weren't disappointed.

Trompe L'Oeil is really a different type of art to me and a
type that holds real fascination for me.

If the artist or artists (as in the bridge project) are really
good with it then it can be an almost unbelievable sight.

I would love to see the bridge project for real.

Shan