Did you know that seeing recognizable figures in otherwise random or unrelated objects or patterns is called pareidolia? An example of this is when we perceive images of animals in cloud formations.
In his notebooks, Leonardo da Vinci wrote of pareidolia as a device for painters:
“if you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys, and various groups of hills. You will also be able to see divers combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces, and outlandish costumes, and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well conceived forms.”
This morning, as I looked at the dry blobs of watercolor on my palette, I thought that they looked fluffy, like chicken feathers. I took a photo of the palette as it was and then I added some red crests, dark dots for eyes and thin lines for legs. A flock of chickens appeared!
Here I share a video I made showing my palette before and after the chickens appeared.
If you want to convert random spots of paint into roosters and chickens, go for it! Post your results on Instagram using the hashtags: #LeylasArtPrompt
Click here to see the artwork I highlighted for this Roosters and Chickens prompt.
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