Vancouver-based art student Fiona Tang creates masterful, life-sized drawings of animals that appear to pop right off of the paper. A tough-looking whale emerges from the wall to battle a menacing shark; a regal deer looks straight at the viewer; an immense crocodile pokes its snout out from the wall. Although the artworks look incredibly three-dimensional, each piece is actually a completely flat and 2D drawing, created using a variety of media like charcoal, acrylic paint, conte, and chalk pastel.
Tang pulls off her convincing illusions using a technique called trompe l’oeil, which uses realistic imagery to make 2D objects appear 3D. This technique, combined with Tang’s expressive gestural method of drawing, make for impressive, eye-popping artworks that seem to have a life of their own.
