Artist Spotlight - Bill Braun

"The work of Bill Braun will not only fool you, but will utterly amaze you.  

"Trompe l'Oeil"  is the formal term, meaning to trick the eye, and viewers are always amazed to discover that these works are purely paint on canvas.   His childlike subjects range from beach and snow scenes to deserts, homes, multitudes of flowers, and so much more.  Take another look... You Will Be Fooled !" via Vickers Collection

"I don't like to give an artist statement because it undoes the premise of my work, trompe l'oeil painting. Literally from the French, trompe l'oeil means “trick the eye”. An artist's statement might undo the fundamental aim of convincing the viewer, at least for a moment, that what he sees are actual objects and not a painting. 

The basic rules of trompe l'oeil painting are that objects are rendered in real scale, and totally within a shallow painted space. 

This type of painting has always been a minor branch of realist painting, but with a very long history. The Athenian painters Xeuxis and Parrhasios in 5th century B.C. (as told by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History) and Roman murals of the 2nd century A.D., 16th century Dutch vanitas painting and the 19th century Philadelphia School painters, Harnett, Peto and Haberle, are examples. Today there are still trompe l'oeil painters around; I am happy to be one of them." - Bill Braun

Read more about Trompe l'Oeil here.