Richard Weiss, Moonlight Barcarolle, acrylic on wood, optical illusion painting, 37 inches by 20 inches by 6 inches, framed.

"Henry Matisse has said: “We should always see life as we did in childhood.”    

Adhering plainly to this statement, I enjoy creating interactive mind bending optical illusion paintings. The work is in relief but is painted to appear like a conventional flat picture. Movements of the observer result in fluid distortions of the pictorial image, engaging viewers into a playful participation.

Although the initial mind-bending effect is what first grabs the viewer’s attention, upon scrutiny a myriad of details reveal a storyline always based on action and movement, invariably involving UFOs and Tintin, the famous character from the comics.

It is challenging for the artist to achieve the expected result, having a hard time evaluating where to apply the brush with precision on the multi levels of slanted panels.

The goal of my work is to infuse whimsical happiness to viewers by surprising and engaging them into a playful participation, allowing them to create their own unique experience of the optical illusion.

These painting are part of a larger series."

To see this painting in action see the video:

https://vimeo.com/828788253