Everyone’s interpretation on an image or symbol differs due to their beliefs, values, and ideas. Although most symbols have a different meaning to every individual, some will always be interpreted the same, such as a stop sign. When it comes to art, artists express themselves in their work and put a great deal of meaning into their pieces. In one of Oleg Shuplyak’s famous pieces, “Self Portrait”, he not only personifies the nature painting into a face, but he specifically uses the objects to make the face look like himself, hence the title of the painting. Since this piece is an optical illusion, for some the first thing that is seen is a face and for others it may be the outdoor scene of a man painting what he sees beyond him. With the use of design elements, Shuplyak tricks one’s mind by creating two images in one and forcing the viewer to interpret more meaning into the painting as they normally would have with just one image.

In order to make the face out of different objects appearing in the painting, Shuplyak structures his lines to create the portrait of himself. First, he uses the tree trunks as the outline of his face and connects the two trees at the top so that the branches and leaves come together to form the top of his forehead. The leaves are wispy and smooth which represent his hair and are feathered to make it look more realistic. Thicker lines make up the main parts of the face, but the thin lighter lines also make the face look more realistic and give detail. Some of the branches form the creases in his forehead and even a tiny bird makes up for another crease on the left side of Shuplyak’s portrait. Not only do the lines make up the objects, but because they are smooth and curvy, making the scenery have a calm feel to it. The look of the face also has a pondering calm look which could easily be a reflection of the artist’s facial expression while painting the outdoor scenery. Ironically, the round lines of the painter’s bottom is the tip of the nose of the face. Although lines are a major element in this piece to create two images, it is only one element that brings it all together.

Another element that is strongly used in this painting is color. Shuplyak uses all natural colors that are very common outdoors. The tones of this piece yet again give it a tranquil feel that ties in with the scenery that is portrayed. The dark brown of the bark outlines the face and makes the face a lot more visible. On the inside of the trees Shuplyak uses brighter colors to emphasize on the features of the face. The bright blue and white is pictured as the man’s forehead, but it is also the sky from the outdoor scene. The eyes, which are made up of the mountains and the small hut, become one of the more prominent parts of this piece and Shuplyak gives more detail to this facial feature. Color and contrast work together in this piece to define the face even more. The top of the face is a much brighter color and almost white versus the center of the face which is more of the green tones. These two colors define the horizontal line between the sky and the land. The mouth of the man is much whiter and grey to look as the rock the painter is sitting on. Shuplyak also uses contrast in colors inside the frame the painter is working on to make it stand out. Having the outline of the frame and being able to see that it is a replication of the one hut, allows the viewers to differentiate reality versus the painting. 

Not only does Shuplyak create this portrait by using color and contrast to portray two different images in one picture, but he also spaces and scales his objects to create the illustration. 

First he spaces out the two trees to the outside of the painting so that the face is centered. He also spaces out the hut and the drawing of the hut to create the eyes. He makes the drawing of the hut the same size as the painter sees it in the picture. Viewers of this painting see the hut much smaller than the painter due to the point of view that it is seen at. Shuplyak makes the painter a lot larger than the mountain and the hut so he can also use the painter as the face’s nose which realistically is always larger than the eyes. Overall the scaling of the picture is balanced to create the image of the man on a rock looking out at the view in front of him and it is also balanced to show the image of Shuplyak’s face proportionally.

Another design element Shuplyak uses to create this unique portrait is texture. The trees have that rough bark texture and the clouds have the fluffy look to them. Adding texture helps make the portrait look three dimensional and more realistic. Since the image of the man painting the outdoor scenery looks so realistic and three dimensional, the image of Shuplyak’s face also looks more lifelike. Realism in this painting portrays much more meaning into viewers’ perspective since they can relate to a natural scenery like this. 

Through the use of design elements, Shuplyak gives the viewers two different perspectives in one photo. Although some may only be able to see the surroundings of a man sitting on a rock painting a hut in front of a mountain, others will see the face of a man. Shuplyak uses the design elements in a way so that most can distinguish both the landscape and the face. Shuplyak is known for his identifiable pieces, and although he still uses original artistic techniques, he adds the abstraction to create his unique masterpieces. Shuplyak emphasizes how meaning can be perceived in more than just one way in a picture, especially with optical illusions.  

 