I love the work of Rob Gonsalves.  Each of his paintings presents a subtle yet magical transformation.  When the viewer finally realizes what is going on, he (or she) cannot help but be impressed.  His painting below, titled “The Phenomenon of Floating” presents a woman floating on her back and looking at the heavens in […]

Below is an ambiguous picture of the face of Harry Houdini.  Is he facing you or are you looking at a profile shot of him staring to the right?  Try covering up the right side of the image with your hand or a sheet of paper and he will seem to be looking directly at […]

In the late 19th and  early 20th centuries, it was a common practice for cigarette companies to include cards with their products to help advertise their brand.  Ogden’s Cigarettes, a branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co. (of Great Britain & Ireland) Ltd, released a series of 25 optical illusion cards in the 1920s.  Number 13 […]

A family opens their front door on Christmas morning only to be frightened by what they see.  But should they be?  What is so scary about this Santa Claus illustration by Russian cartoonist Valentine Dubinin?

Two young women ascend a set of stairs and cross paths.  Are they each looking in a mirror simultaneously? The artist, David Macdonald, notes that: This illusion was made over a period of about a month: including preliminary pencil sketches and planning, drawing the initial construction, taking about 130 photographs from which the final few were […]

Do you perceive a sphere in the image below? Most people will perceive a sphere in the white space of this image, but the fact is that no sphere physically exists.  The placement of the “spikes” makes it appear that they are somehow attached to a sphere.

What do you see in the pencil sketch below?  Do you see a bearded elf or two birds in a nest? The artist, Humberto Machado, cites this ambiguous drawing as one of his personal favorites.