What do you see first? In this ambiguous optical illusion, do you see a girl wearing a headscarf? Do you see an elephant walking through the Savannah? Do you see both? Or do you see something else entirely? Hint: There is no one right answer. That is the beauty of cognitive illusions in Op art (short for Optical art). Hidden images exist here. As a child, Christine D. Crosheck was drawn to art that allowed her to “switch" between alternative interpretations, so she was overjoyed when one of her spontaneous sketches allowed her to do the same. She feels that these cognitive illusions often reflect points in our lives where there is no one totally wrong or right interpretation but that there are just different perspectives to be had. Materials used include lightfast Soft Pastels and Markers on Acid Free Paper. The paper surface used was a sheet of white Canson Mi-Teintes Art Paper, with a honeycomb surface suitable for Pastel. The contrasting background color was allowed to show through in places in order to add excitement and energy to the finished piece. Christine D. Crosheck is a Southern Michigan artist that who works in soft pastels and markers to create hand- drawn, evocative figures for abstract paintings. She has applied what she learned in Interior Design to her art. Christine loves creating art pieces for herself but is willing to sell them to individuals and/or Interior Designers who want a unique piece that is also a good conversation starter. Christine D. Crosheck is a female artist who currently resides in Tecumseh, Michigan.
Create a room you'll love living in. Add style to your space with this piece of abstract piece of art that is also an optical illusion. This simple yet sophisticated black and white line drawing immediately invites viewers to interact with it.
In this one drawing composed of three lines, there are four abstract faces. It can be tricky to find all four. Were they immediately apparent to you? It is okay if they were not. Think about how many times you have walked past something without even noticing it. Haven’t we all been guilty of that at some point in our lives? Perhaps this drawing will remind us all to slow down long enough to take stock of what is going on around us. Perhaps it will remind us to better express appreciation for those around us that have on occasion been overlooked or taken for granted.
For the buyer of this piece: When you have guests over, ask them how easily they can find the people in this optical illusion. Do they see all four figures? Do they need a hint? If so, tell them that one of the figures in the middle has his mouth wide open and a huge, exaggerated nose that sticks up past his head. Do they see him now? If so, then tell them that the guy next to him has a big chin. Do they see him? Or were they tricked because they didn’t see that the mouth and the chin share a line, and that can be interpreted in two ways -It is a mouth open wide. It is also an oversized chin. Once your guests can see the two faces in the middle, can they see the other two faces on the outside? Do they need another hint? If they do, tell them that two of the faces are looking right and two faces are looking left. Do your guests still need help? Here is the last hint. Look for an ‘x’ or a ◻️ that represents each figure’s eye. If you know where their eyes are, it is easier to find the rest of them. Do they see all four now? Do you? And, yes, the figure on the far left has no chin. All we can see of him is his nose, eye, and forehead. And, yes, the figure on the far right has some really wild hair. Sometimes it helps if you squint your eyes a bit.
Note: This line drawing came from a spontaneous sketch that Christine made when she was hit with the aura of a migraine. Instead of retreating to the bedroom to lie down, she started making arbitrary marks in her sketchbook without any preconceived plan. Ironically, the brain fog that accompanied the migraine made it easier to bypass her own inner critic and allowed her to draw without overthinking anything. When her sketchbook was full, without analyzing what she had drawn, she laid down. She fell asleep. When she awoke, she went back to the drawing table, picked up a sketchbook, and looked at this page, rotating it 90 degrees. These four abstract faces appeared unbidden. What was even more amazing was that she had drawn them sideways at the time of their origin, and it wasn’t until she rotated the sketchbook that they even became apparent. Her brain just worked out how to draw this optical illusion on its own. She liked it and simply traced it to turn it into what you see here.
Christine D. Crosheck is an artist living in the lower peninsula of Michigan, who works with colored pencils to craft abstract works of art. She has been fascinated with optical illusions since she was a child, so she is delighted whenever she spontaneously sketches one as an adult. Christine resides in Tecumseh, Michigan and creates art herself but is willing to sell it to others who also appreciate it. This piece of fine art is ideal for:
Those who love minimalism.
Those who modern art.
Those who don’t mind being challenged to look at the world differently on occasion.
Those who love optical illusions.
Interior Designers who are looking for dramatic black-and-white pieces to add glamor and flair to a client’s office or home.
Collectors of original contemporary art who seek to create rooms they will love living in.
Materials used in this piece include white colored pencil on black acid free paper.