art :: painted worlds

If you aren't familiar with the art of Trompe l'oeil  then take a look at these. Trompe-l'œil is french for "fool the eye" and an art technique involving  realistic imagery that creates an optical illusion making the object appear three dimensional. Above, you may think you are looking at the panoramic Hudson River through a set of classic architectural columns, but nope... fooled ya! You aren't. What you are looking at is actually a 10' X 60' mural painted on a long cement wall. This amazing artistry is just one example of New York City born, West Coast raised, artist  Eric Grohe's painterly expertise.

Great American Crossroad

Miller Brewing Company

Mount Carmel College of Nursing

Believe it or not all of these beautiful facades  were once plain old blank cement walls until Grohe got his hands on them. His  large public mural projects are painted on site and typically take several months, giving the local community a unique opportunity to witness the day-to-day progress of his art. 

For Eric Grohe, each project is a grand adventure resulting in a believable fantasy that is JUST COOL! Check out more of his fantastic projects at his website.

travel & art:: Death Valley Fantasy

Move over Michelangelo. In the remote California ghost town of Death Valley Junction stands the Amargosa Opera House, where for the past 33 years former New York dancer and artist Marta Becket has performed her own ballets in the small theater she spent seven years restoring and hand-painting with lively, colorful murals.

In 1967 Marta Beckett, a dancer and artist touring the US, got a flat tire in Death Valley, California and stumbled upon the abandoned Amargosa borax building & old run-down theatre. She purchased it the following year, eventually buying the town of Death Valley Junction in 1974. She created the Opera House, painting every inch of it with fantastical murals of medieval audiences, dancers and elaborate balconies and architectural dodads. There she gave performances, (dance, theatre, spoken word) every Saturday, sometimes to audiences of zero. But she didn't care because she had her "painted audience" to watch her!
I remember my sister telling me about this amazing theater that she had visited in the early 1970's - about the stunning murals that Marta painted and how Marta herself grew up in our own hometown of Niskayuna New York. After doing some research I found these fab photos of the theater which I find utterly incredible! The theater's centerpiece mural is of a King and Queen and when Marta performs, she is performing to them. Even now, at a young 82 years of age, this talented woman is still performing.

Watch her soon to be released documentary - Amargosa

If ever you are in Death Valley or near there, take the time to visit this unusual hotel and opera house. It is JUST COOL!

via the foo files