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by Larry Charles "Trompe l'Oeil" is French for "fool the eye." It's an art form that's been practiced for over 3,000 years as way to create the illusion of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. Because of the extreme accuracy and tightly rendered details required for trompe l'oeil paintings, only a handful of artists make a full-time career from these artworks today. It's not unusual for an artist to spend several weeks or months capturing the exact likeness of a crinkled dollar bill or a tiny, engraved stamp. The lighting effects and the variety of textures -- from glass to wood to fabric -- that are required for these life-size paintings make them the most meticulous artworks of the fine art genres. The Trompe l'Oeil Society of Artists was founded in early 2001 by Larry Charles and Don Clapper as a means to perpetuate this profession and to educate art lovers about this scarce art form. Art lectures, magazine articles, school visits and gallery exhibitions are just a few of the means the Trompe l'Oeil Society uses to share these picture techniques with new audiences. There are currently eight members exhibiting full-time with the Trompe l'Oeil Society: Eric Conklin, Michael Molnar, Gregory West, Gerald Hodge, Michael Gallarda, Don Clapper, Larry Charles and Gary Erbe. Their gallery affiliations range from Singapore to London, from San Francisco to New York City. What makes an ideal trompe l'oeil painting? First, the objects rendered must be full-size and look believable from a foot away from the picture surface. Second, the objects painted tend to be relatively flat so that the human eyes cannot detect any lack of real depth to them. Many artists will overlap flat objects -- such as envelopes or currency -- to create the illusion of depth and space. Others will use dramatic lighting so that the shadows painted underneath the objects will create the depth deception. Third, the artist will use a variety of painting techniques to create realistic-looking textures in the painting. Broken glass, scarred wood, satin ribbons, rusted metal, crinkled paper, smeared chalkboards, and frayed string are just of a few of the textures a professional trompe l'oeil artist needs to be able to paint to fool the eye of the viewer. The more textures in a trompe l'oeil painting, the more realistic it will appear. Finally, a quality trompe l'oeil painting also has to be a work of fine art. An eye-catching subject matter, an artful composition, and a well-thought-out visual statement are essential. It is not enough to simply paint a flat piece of paper or coin on a bare background; the fine art aspects should intrigue the viewer enough to become involved with the painted subject matter. "And it's all done with the naked eye and a paint brush." The Old Master, John Haberle, said it first... the Trompe l'Oeil Society artists practice it every day.
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