Now you see it..More of the intricate optical illusion oil paintings that conceal hidden images of historical figures

 Seeing double? Hidden inside these remarkable oil paintings by artist Oleg Shuplyak lies a second layer of mind-blowing optical illusions.
Behind carefully placed objects, characters, colouring and shadows, the Ukrainian painter has cleverly concealed a second image.
Blurring famous figures from art and culture with landscapes the ingenious artist's work requires a double take - or sometimes, minutes of staring - before the hidden images reveal themselves.

Uncle Sam: Artist Oleg Shuplyak places bizarre faces and figures inside his pictures that at first glance cannot be seen

Famous faces among those given Shuplyak's painterly treatment include John Lennon, Pablo Picasso, Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, Paul Gauguin, Zeus and Uncle Sam.
Using this style of painting it can be hard for the artist to balance the weight of the two images.

 

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In fact, in some of the paintings the illusion is so recognisable that it is the original image that is momentarily lost to the viewer.

Double take: The amazing cant-believe-your-eyes paintings by Oleg Shupliak that are much more than they seem

Look again: Shupliak, 44, is actually an architect by day and loves using perspective in his work

The artist reverses our expectations by making the second image is so easily seen that you can actually struggle to see the first one - in his case usually unknown characters in a landscape setting.
Observing the painting closely and attempting not to concentrate on the central face it should still be possible to see the initial setting .
Shuplyak manages not to fall into the trap whereby the artist forces elements needed to construct the illusion into the painting that even if they don't necessarily fit well in the original setting. 

Winter scene: Artist Oleg Shuplyak places hidden figures and faces in the landscapes in a surreal vision of the world

Imagine: Beatles legend John Lennon emerges through this clever montage of images by Ukrainian artist Oleg Shuplyak

Double Dutch: This painting shows two portraits of post-impressionist Vincent Van Gogh, one of which is used to create the nose of the main image

Evolving picture: On The Origin Of Species author Charles Darwin is formed using a brick archway, a country scene, a lady reading and a mysterious cloaked figure

Born on September 23, 1967, in the Ternopol region of the Ukraine, Shuplyak studied architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic Institute.

 

His passion was always painting, however, and he has used the technical precision of an architect to create these intriguing optical illusions.
Often his pictures depict famous historical figures like Charles Darwin, Vincent van Gogh and William Shakespeare.

Here's looking at you, kid: Surrealist Salvador Dali, a fan of optical illusions himself, has now become one

Mind games: This painting, titled Voyeur, shows Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, peering over a lake

Historical references: Marauding Russian tsar Ivan the Terrible comes through in this violent scene

The works are similar to those of the famous Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo, who is well known for evocative paintings in which detailed scenes weave together to create larger images.
Ocampo has dubbed this the metamorphic style, and in his works the second image can sometimes be so subtle it is hard to discern without squinting.

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire who died in 1800

Leafing you in disbeleaf: Two birds, two very different techniques in creating them

and the man himself...

Back at ya: Mr Shuplyak gives himself the special treatment