Optical Illusion Art and a Touch of Science

I was pointed to these two pictures from Giavasan.

I can't speak the language but found many items on this site of interest.

First here is a classic piece of art with illusions built in. The way you are moved from one landscape to another seamlessly is an enjoyable form of illusion.

Click on this picture you will be taken to what
I believe is a gallery of similar pictures by the artist.
This next picture didn't have a link and I am not sure who created it. If someone does speak/read Italian maybe you could go to this post and let me know if there is any credit or info given for this picture.

Update: I found the source of the below picture. It comes from the portfolio of Dimitri Daniloff. He has many other interesting items in his portfolio, Thank You Daria for leaving a comment letting me know you found the creator of the below picture.

I included it here because it presents us with the illusion of a real life Mr. Potato Head.


I found the concept of designer parts humorous and wanted to laugh a little why we still can.

I might be too late though as seen below. I guess 20 years down the road the photo above won't be so far fetched, just another parody of the miracle of science.


Click Picture to go to PBS' The Body Shop

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Horses in Snow Optical Illusion

I had many people find this site looking for the answer to 7 horses. I have an illusion on this site by Jim Warren that is called 7 horses. It became clear to me over time that many were coming here for the answer to the below illusion and not the painting by Jim Warren.

This painting is titled "Pintos" and was painted by Bev Doolittle. She had this to say about the creation of this painting.

"I was observing a small group of chestnut horses in a grassy meadow when I became aware that they were 'observing' me. This seemed like an interesting situation for a painting. I also thought it would be fun to have the horses observing you, the viewer, before you could find the horses! So I began to think of ways to camouflage them. The chestnut horses became Pintos, and the grassy meadow turned into a backdrop of rocks and snow." - Bev Doolittle

The reason people are confused is because there is one optical illusion site out there that states as fact that there are seven horses in the painting, but they don't bother showing you where they are. Well I am going do something very similar. I am going to give you the answer without actually pointing out each horse.

The answer is there are only five horses. The reason I am not pointing them out is given some time you can find the 3 adult horses the one colt and one foal.

It is only when someone says there are two extra horses that people are driven crazy and go searching the net for someone to show them the horses.

If anyone has information on this painting that shows me there are more than 5 horses please leave me a message on this post.

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Ascending and Descending

M.C. Escher is a great artist known for many drawings that feature impossible features.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Maurits Cornelis Escher (Leeuwarden, June 17, 1898 - Laren, March 27, 1972) was a Dutch artist most known for his woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints, which tend to feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, and tessellations.

To Purchase this print click the picture.

The M.C. Escher work shown here is titled Ascending and Descending. His work has inspired many other artists over the years.

Wikipedia says the following about the works of M.C. Escher

Well known examples of his work include Drawing Hands, a work in which two hands are shown drawing each other, Sky and Water, in which plays on light and shadow convert fish in water into birds in the sky, and Ascending and Descending, in which lines of people ascend and descend stairs in an infinite loop, on a construction which is impossible to build and possible to draw only by taking advantage of quirks of perception and perspective.

Escher's work has a strong mathematical component, and many of the worlds which he drew are built around impossible objects such as the Necker cube and the Penrose triangle. Many of Escher's works employed repeated tilings called Tesselations. Escher's artwork is well-liked by scientists, especially mathematicians who enjoy his use of polyhedra and geometric distortions. For example, in Gravity, multi-colored turtles poke their heads out of a stellated dodecahedron.

One of his most notable works is the piece Metamorphosis III, which is wide enough to cover all the walls in a room, and then loop back onto itself. That was, of course, the intention.

One such inspired artist is Andrew Lipson. Andrew's page is currently forbidden. I am hoping that this is for a short duration. He has recreated various works of Escher's with Legos.

Copyright © A. Lipson 2002

Here is Andrew's version of Escher's "Ascending and Descending". This was joint work with Daniel Shiu. The full details regarding the construction can be found at the Ascending and Descending (back online) page. Since his page isn't accessible currently I'll let you in on a secret, in order for this construct to look real it had to be photographed from this precise angle. Again, please note that this image is copyright Andrew Lipson.

Andrew has recreated many Escher works. You can see some of them by searching Google, but as soon as his site is accessible again it is well worth a look because he shows angles and shares construction secrets that can't be found anywhere else.

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7 Horses

If you came here looking for the answer to "Pintos" a painting by Bev Doolittle of horses in the snow click here.

This painting is by Jim Warren. It is an illusion of a different type. One the most enjoyable paper activities I did as a kid was the hidden picture puzzles. Find the seven horses in this picture and relive a little part of your childhood.

Click on the picture to find the answers on the artist's site.
While your there take a look around it is well worth the visit.

The artist had this to say about this painting

As a kid, I always enjoyed those drawings in activity books with the faces and animals hidden in it. But they were often too easy, even for your average half-witted 10 year old such as myself. So I painted "Seven Horses", where each horse is a little harder than the next to find, until the seventh, which is almost impossible unless you're Einstein, who is not alive. So if you find six, here is a hint for the seventh:

You didn't think I would quote his hint, did you?

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Anamorphic Art of Kelly M. Houle

Kelly M. Houle creates some amazing art. Below is a portrait of Walt Disney. It is easy to see the Disney characters in this art but where is the portrait? To see this you must use a cylindrical mirror.

The image is laid down flat and the mirror is positioned. The below photograph clearly shows the portrait of Walt Disney seen in the mirror. This a very interesting technique you can read "How Cylindrical Mirror Anamorphosis Works" on this page.

Go to her site and check out the array of art that she has created.

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7 Dolphins

This painting is by Jim Warren. It is an illusion of a different type. One the most enjoyable paper activities I did as a kid was the hidden picture puzzles. Find the seven dolphins in this picture and relive a little part of your childhood.

Click on the picture to find the answers on the artist's site.
While your there take a look around it is well worth the visit.

He has another site that you all might be interested in titled "The Great Illusion" written & designed by Victor Kahn with paintings by Jim Warren

The intro reads:

"You have been invited here to experience another reality.
The reality of thoughts, words and surreal images
that are hidden from you ...within your own mind."

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Inverted Game Board

The below illusion was done by Eric Piotrowski, he took his inspiration from the classic impossible chess set. His site is full of 3d art based on the game Go.

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Dreaming of a Modern Conveyance Illusion Art

The below painting was painted by D.L. Rusty Rust a true American Master.

Erie, Pennsylvania, native D.L. "Rusty" Rust is an artist with a repertoire as extensive as his talent. An immensely prolific painter, Rust adeptly renders intriguing camouflage wildlife scenes, landscapes, seascapes, still-life's and portraits. His work is part of many prestigious collections, including Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, the Ringling Museum of the Circus, and the Norman Rockwell Museum in Philadelphia.

Can you find what is camouflaged in this painting?

"Dream"

Click on the picture for a larger image.

This picture and many others are available for purchase from the artist.

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Seven Hearts Optical Illusion

This is an optical illusion of a different type. One the most enjoyable paper activities I did as a kid was the hidden picture puzzles. Find the seven hearts in this picture and relive a little part of your childhood. I don't have the answers, but I did put down my guesses in the comments.

Copyright Jim Warren
Used w/permission

Update: I found the answers on the artist's site. This painting was done by Jim Warren click on the picture to go to the artist site for the answers. While your there check out the rest of his site it is well worth it.

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