Svyatoslav Ryabkin's "The birdie sings" (50x70cm) represents a natural landscape with a graceful bird in the middle.

The author represented the animal in a street, away from its nest. It is singing a nice song but it has to be careful: the world is full of traps. It should not be so carefree, Ryabkin said.


"The birdie sings" has been exposed several times in Veneto (in Italy): in Spinea (nearVenice, in July 2013 and December 2015, respectively at the exhibition"Clouds" and "The night is short"), in Mogliano Veneto (near Treviso, in March2014 at the Brolo) and finally, in Treviso (in February 2016 at the restaurant "Arman Osteria").


During these exhibitions I asked the children what animal they could see in this painting. They answered in very different ways. Someone told me: "Afish!" probably for the light blue pavement. Someone else: "An elephant!" because its tail looks like a trunk. And other said: "A little bird" for the white wing. The painted animal is a pretty bird but it is not easy to understand because it is very stylized, fortunately the title helps us!

First I thought it was a fish: the blue colour led me astray! And immediately I thought ofPushkin's "Golden fish" tale, do you know it? I read it at the elementary school.

Despite now I know that the painted animal is a little bird, my eyes and my mind continue to see always the same details and at first glance I still see a fish: our mind is really an incredible machine!


I thought about these young observers' answers and all over the world there are a lot of multiple interpretation paintings that are based on the optical illusions. Watch them and have fun to discover all the represented subjects! They enchant, don't they?


This topic is fascinating. Now look these fantastic hidden object images, now easier now more elaborate. Oleg Shuplyak is the author of these wonderful paintings. He is Ukrainian as Ryabkin and they prefer the oil painting. Here you can see a lot of famous people portraits: Dali, Picasso, Gauguin, Darwin, Freud, Zeus and John Lennon! In my opinion Ryabkin might know Shuplyak because he is only two years older than him and their native towns are very near: Ryabkin was born in Zhitomir, whereas Shuplyak was born in Ternopil. By car the two cities are only four hours far!


Also Escher, a Dutch engraver and graphic, is an important artist. He created impossible buildings, labyrinths, geometric distortions and explorations of the infinity. Also he realized incredible paradoxical effects.

Finally, do you know the painting "The old and the young"? Every time I look at it I can see the girl only and I have to strain to see the old woman. Dear Readers, which person do you identify more easily? Tell us, we are curious!


"The birdie sings" was painted in 2009. In that year Ryabkin exhibited in Ukraine in Kiev at the Gallery 36. This painting is very big and bright. The blue and the yellow in their different shades are the colours mostly used. The yellow on the bird continues along the trunks of the tall trees and the blue of the sky reflects on the road. These colours are typical in Van Gogh's most important paintings.


In the Beyeler Foundation in Basel (in Switzerland) there are beautiful paintings of modern and contemporary art. In particular, in the exhibition "Kandinsky, Marc & Der Blaue Reiter" (The blue knight) there were about 60 colorful works. In fact, Kandinsky loved blue, "the colour of the soul" in his opinion.


In "The birdie sings" the thick vegetation seems to pulsate too. Vibrant colours make it dynamic and it seems to be a light and warm spring breeze between the leaves! This beautiful painting conveys a sense of great peace. Dear Readers, does this place remember you a real place where you were or a surreal landscape? Come on, tell us!