Crazy 3D Murals

 Is This California or Ancient Egypt?
This amazing 3D art is the work of John Pugh. It’s painted on a building in Los Gatos CA. Pugh calls this work Siete Punto Uno, named after the 7.0 earthquake that struck the city.
The statues in the mural are jaguars. In ancient Maya, the jaguar was thought to cause all earthquakes.

 Now On to Ancient Greece
This Pugh mural is called “Academie”. Pugh painted it on Taylor Hall at Chico State University back in 1980. The piece was commissioned by Chico State itself, where Pugh got his art degree. This would become the piece that brought Pugh international acclaim.

Trompe L’Oeil
Pugh’s painting style is called Trompe L’Oeil. That’s French for “trick the eye”. When the mural was near completion, a fire truck stopped in the middle of the street in front of it. Then a crew of firemen ran out to rescue the children below the wave. They were 15 feet away before they realized that the children were part of the mural.

Art or Real Life
We know what this looks like: a woman contemplating an art piece on a beautiful patio. But nothing in the frame is actually three dimensional. Each piece of art in the mural is recreated based on art Pugh observed during the trips he made to Paris to complete the project.

Unfinished Business
Some of Pugh’s murals are wonderfully whimsical. This isn’t a shot of Pugh taking a break from work on a piece. This is a fully-finished mural called “Valentine’s Day”.

Totally Tubular
This piece is called “Bay in a Bottle”. Look closely and you’ll see a ship in the tube in front of a chain of islands. The illusion of the reflection of the lights above make the observer feel like he can climb inside.

Family First
This mural is painted on a wall of the Florida Health Department. It’s hard to believe that this isn’t a light-filled alcove. But the light is expertly painted on. Look closely at the bronze sphere. It’s called “The Seed” and it gives this piece it’s name.

Drive On Through
We’d like to see a close-up of the ground. It’s probably coated with skid marks.Why would they make the other side of this fake tunnel look so tempting? Shame on you mural. You are painted with lies.

Holy Tardis!
This is a mural by painter Mark Harris. But it’s not actually painted on. It’s really a giant sticker — that’s two illusions for the price of one. This particular type of sticker is called a wall decal. You can find this and others at online stores like JW Walls. Once you get them home, just pop them on your wall.

 A Busy Building
The mural is by Eric Grohe. It sits on the back of a building in Ohio, and it’s massive. The painted surface covers over 3,000 square feet. And each scene through a window or by a door tells a story. It’s so beautiful that the building’s owners later redesigned the front of the building to match the back.

 

The China Cafe
This is another 3D Illusion that seems sort of cruel. Anyone driving by looking for a bite at The China Cafe will be sorely disappointed.
The cafe isn’t real. Neither are it’s patrons. But the woman in the foreground is. In the mural’s defense, it does a lot to perk up the drab buildings around it.

The Desert
This whimsical piece is called “TSW Mural”. It’s a beautiful landscape of a southwestern desert.
However, the most interesting part is the girl in front of it. She may look like a pint-sized onlooker, but she isn’t. She’s actually an adorable part of this painting.

Under the Arch
Well this is one way to create space in a room. This is another work by Janet Shearer called “Arches Mural”. It only takes one drunk guest to make a break for the hallway that isn’t really there. Then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself (and Janet Shearer) for the property damage. And head trauma.

Picadilly Circus
This mind-bending piece is by artist Kurt Wenner. The Michigan artist is world-renowned for his 3D art. Chalk is his favorite medium and this work of art is completely impermanent.

 Miller Time
Eric Grohe created this faux hallway at Miller Valley Brewing in Milwaukee, WI. In fact, he’s responsible for a number of murals at Miller Valley Brewing. He’s painted 24 to be exact.