Julian Beever-Pavement Picasso

This is another in my series of My Favorite Artists. Julian Beever, a UK artist originally from Melton Mobray Leicestershire, has been creating amazing optical illusions in the form of pavement art for over 20 years.

I find it hard to stop looking at his work. The illusions are magnificent in that they immediately draw the viewer into a wonderful whimsical world. At the same time your mind is captivated by the fact that the 3D illusion is on a flat surface at your feet, and done completely in colored chalk.

As seen in the video, the artist uses Anamorphic illusion where a photograph is taken of the surroundings at a sharp angle, and a grid is laid over it. I don't pretend to understand exactly how this is done, but Wikipedia has a pretty good section on the history of Anamorphosis in Art.

His artwork is captivating, and thought provoking in the extreme, and I thoroughly enjoy his use of color, subject matter, and his magnificent way of creating wonderful 3D illusions via this process.

Visit Julian Beever's Website
Visit Julian Beever's Flickr Photostream