22 A Challenge For The Eye:
Trompe l’Oiel in the Gers by Mary Shepherd
I
remember being taken to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire many years ago. There at the back of a room hung a violin. Closer
inspection showed it to be a painting of a violin, so realistic as to look three-dimensional. That was my first introduction to the technique of trompe l’oiel. Ever since, I have been fascinated by it and have continually sought out examples of it..
Imagine then, my surprise and delight when, on attending the Opening Night of the Aioli, a new bar/ restaurant in Aignan, to find the exterior and interior walls covered with some very fine examples of trompe l’oiel. Amazing scenes of terraces and balustrades, faux bois and stone, wind their way around the walls.
This is the work of Gers artist, Eric Gilham who came to Gascony 10 years ago from South London. He has an extensive portfolio of pictures which can be viewed on his website at www:
web.me.com/ericgilhamart , where one can see examples of trompe l’oeil and oil paintings. Some of you may be familiar with Eric’s work and may even have seen him at work at various cultural events in Aignan and surrounding areas.
Recently, he has moved to an exploration of the techniques of trompe d’oiel. Apart from the extensive examples of his work in
the Aioli, he has received commissions to over-paint the modern plaster with faux colombage and brick on the facades of local buildings.
His work takes him all over Gascony and further afield. Such is its nature that he often paints directly on to walls. Equally, however commissions can be hung like more traditional works.
In the coming months you will be able to see Eric working on the place at Aignan. Eric can be contacted on
Eric.gilham@
orange.fr Home: 0562082920 Mobile: 0673068539
Trompe l‘oiel is French for ‘deceive the eye', is an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions
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