Courtesy: Alexa Meade/Lulo Rivero/Lulofilms
Artist Alexa Meade paints directly onto people, painting shadows and highlights onto her models to create an illusion of a flat 2D image.
Courtesy: Alexa Meade/Lulo Rivero/Lulofilms
Her latest work, The Meade Museum, went on display Friday during Miami Art Week.
Courtesy: Alexa Meade/Lulo Rivero/Lulofilms
Meade began experimenting with shadows and highlights -- something she has always been inspired by -- on figures in 2009.
Courtesy: Alexa Meade/Lulo Rivero/Lulofilms
She now has 104,000 Instagram followers, and 466,000 Facebook fans.
Courtesy: Alexa Meade/Lulo Rivero/Lulofilms
"This was when I saw that my work could have a universal appeal," she explains.
©Alexa Meade
Meade credits the online community for giving her confidence in her work. Alexa Meade collaborated with actress and performance artist Sheila Vand (pictured) on this project.
©Alexa Meade
"It was when I started sharing my work online and these faceless fans who didn't know me were responding positively to my work."
©Alexa Meade
She believes that a growing relationship between technology and art has opened a whole new world to artists.
©Alexa Meade
"Technology has been a great thing -- it's opened so many more possibilities, and there are tools available now that we never imagined before."
©Alexa Meade
She believes that traditional art forms -- those that existed before technology's influence -- are yet to be explored to their full potential.
©Alexa Meade
Meade also recently collaborated with actress Dominika Juillet on a 2017 calendar series that redefines pinup girls.
©Alexa Meade
According to Meade, this race against the clock adds to her inspiration, as it adds an element of spontaneity that creates moments she did previously did not expect.
©Alexa Meade
"Any time that I try to overly plan anything, it loses its magic."
©Alexa Meade
Meade first paints the background and the clothes, which she says takes the longest time.
Alexa Meade
She then paints the models face and body.
©Alexa Meade
The final step is taking the photographs, which she explains is the first moment the artwork really "comes to life."
©Alexa Meade
But she acknowledges that her work goes against the grain of current trends in the technology and art industries.
©Alexa Meade
"You'll see a growing interest in creating 3D works from a 2D image. My work does the opposite, it creates a flat image from something real -- but at the same time I am incorporating technology into it."
©Alexa Meade
It is when she is behind the camera that Meade truly feels like an artist. "The real artwork comes after the painting -- it's more so within the photography."
©Alexa Meade
"The person can only inhabit the art for so long but the art can live forever"
©Alexa Meade
"There is a long-standing notion in the art world that the technique of painting is already established, it's done. I like taking that notion and flipping it on its head."
©Alexa Meade
"The portrait has been with us for thousands of years, but just because something has been around for a long time, does not mean a whole new idea can't also come from it.
©Alexa Meade
"My hope is that this technique will encourage people to take another look at the realm of possibilities that already exist within the art world."

Story highlights

Artist Alexa Meade creates optical illusions by painting on humans

Physical objects and people appear as flattened 2D works of art

Her latest work is The Meade Museum, an interactive painting at Art Basel Miami Beach.

CNN  — 

Alexa Meade makes paintings that breathe. The Los Angeles-based artist creates mind-boggling works of art on a walking, talking canvas: humans. ​She paints directly onto the bodies and faces of models, using brushstrokes and shadows to camouflage figures into their background, turning a 3D scene into a 2D image.

She then captures each incredible illusion in a series of photographs. Her newest work, titled The Meade Museum, went on display Friday during this year’s Miami Art Week. The exhibition showcased some of Meade’s photography from previous projects, but also featured several live installations as well.

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Inspired by shadows

Meade ​began experimenting with this technique in 2009, and now has 104,000 Instagram followers, and 466,000 Facebook fans.

“I’ve always been interested in painting on humans, and it was on people that I first began experimenting with highlights and shadows. What I do now is paint a mask of light on top of people, and try to erase depth perception.”

The result is an incredible optical illusion, causing people and physical objects to appear as ​flat 2D works of art.

Race against the clock

According to Meade, the most challenging part of creating these works of art, is getting people to stand still.

“You’re working with another person and you have to factor in their needs, how long can they stay in a certain position, what’s comfortable for them, how can you be flexible.”

​She aims to complete her works​ in a single day.

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“I spend 8 hours painting the background and clothes, 1 hour painting the model, and then 2 or 3 hours for photography.”

It is in those final few moments that Meade truly feels like an artist.

“The real artwork comes after the painting – it’s more so within the photography. There is no Photoshop and there is so much spontaneity. It’s only once I’ve captured it all on camera that the artwork really comes to life.”

Impossible worlds caught on camera

“The person can only inhabit the art for so long, but in these photos, the art can live forever.”

Meade’s latest work, The Meade Museum, opened to public on Friday December 2 during Miami Art Week.