William Cochran's Trompe L'oeil Class

I'm excited to tell you all about the class I just finished with world renowned trompe l'oeil artist, William Cochran. I had the opportunity to take his five-day class in a condensed three-day version. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but it certainly forced me to get motivated, focus, and soak up as much knowledge from William as I could! Here is my unfinished study of Ceasar cast in stone.


By no means is this painting done. I would say it's about 1/3 completed. But because I took my time and studied the values it appears to be a realistic study. By day three I was pleased with my painting, but that's not to say it didn't happen without a little bit of left-brain tormenting. As a matter of fact all 16 students were tormented by their painting at one point or another. But the results were outstanding.

Day 1
Day 1 progressing along
Day two - stuck in the mid-tone values and realizing my darks aren't as dark as they should be.
Day 3 - moving onto light values and realizing time is running out with William.

The piece is now hanging in my studio ready for more work. I'll be sure to share more as I progress with this piece.

For those of you who aren't familiar with William Cochran please be sure to visit his website and be prepared to be astounded by his talent. You must take some time to scroll through the works of his public project - Community Bridge. William is one of few living artists adept at the difficult, mind-bending Renaissance perspective technique of anamorphic projection, which creates astonishing illusions of depth when viewed at an angle. You'll see an example of this within the Community Bridge portfolio. My favorite of his works has to be Handful of Keys displayed in Great Neck, NY. Each time I view this piece I am mesmerized, especially by the Asian girl with the handful of keys.

William it was truly an honor to study with you for three days. Look out - I'm about to start setting up still lives all over the house and break out the paints.