An artist has produced a set of eye-popping pictures that jump off the page to blur the line between reality and art.
Stefan
Pabst's jaw-dropping illusion art is the result of decades of honing
his skills that started as a five-year-old in Russia who recreated
pictures from a bible.
Having
moved to Germany aged 15, he now uses a range of paint brushes for what
he calls '3D drawing' using the trompe l'oeil technique - a French term
meaning 'trick the eye'.
It
takes him around three hours to complete his optical illusion creations
included realistic-looking tarantulas, snakes and a range of drinking
glasses.
Russian-born Stefan, who moved to Germany at age 15, began drawing at five when he copied images from an old bible.
Born
in Russia but now living in Germany, the artist uses oil dry-brush
techniques to create his masterpieces that jump out of the page.
Stefan
began drawing at the age of five after he was inspired to recreate the
elaborate images that featured alongside the passages of a 250-year-old
bible.
The
latest set of pictures feature in his new book The Art of 3D Drawing,
which hows artists how to transform simple pencil sketches into
jaw-dropping masterpieces.
Moving on to school, the budding artist admitted that he used to to doodle and paint in his books while in class.
'I
drew the things I saw out of the window, like birds on the windowsill,
but I mostly enjoyed drawing portraits of people,' he said.
'My classmates were impressed by my work and I started receiving portraits requests.'
As his drawings improved, Stefan found that his art classes were becoming increasingly straightforward.
So
to stimulate his ability, he decided he needed to continue producing
pieces of work at a high level and remembers drawing a pair of human
lips – a painting that was again well-received by his classmates.
After school, Stefan, aged 15, moved to Germany where he joined a youth group and immersed himself in the world of art.
But it wasn't until he decided to draw a portrait for a friend on his birthday that his career really kicked off.
'There was broad encouragement for my art and a guest asked me why I have not made my hobby my profession,' he said.
'At that time I could not imagine living alone from art.'
The following week, Stefan began advertising his work online and immediately started receiving portrait orders.
Since then he created his own business and currently works as a full-time artist.
He
now receives orders from companies and social institutions and has
drawn a number of singers, actors, football players and politicians.
His work is also used by an art school in America, who present images of his dry-brush-created paintings as learning material.
He said: 'I paint full-time and work every day in my studio.
'Many
artists and art enthusiasts have contacted me with questions about my
painting technique, so I now upload videos of my work to the internet.'
