The yellow glasses I found in Bellevue, Kentucky aren’t those from the Beatles’ famous Sargent Pepper’s song. The first thing I saw on a cloudy spring day in the seemingly ordinary town of Bellevue, Kentucky, were some unordinary yellow goblets. To me, the goblets were vintage treasures. At first glance the yellow surprised me. My subconscious mind kicked my emotions into gear, while my conscious mind started contemplating what a full bodied red wine would look like in this glass. Would clear sparkling water seem to be lemony? With my imagination now captivated by these yellow glasses, I knew I must buy them.

With my purchase in hand and the tone now set, I was ready to discover what else Bellevue had to offer. As I strolled along tree-lined Fairfield Ave., the main street of Bellevue, I found myself surrounded by a special mix of home and garden finds, seasonal decor, and antique rarities. Eventually, I made my way into another store filled with riches. As my mind finished processing the items throughout the store, my eyes took sudden notice of the images that abounded on the walls of the store. They were everywhere: optical illusions, three dimensional paintings, trompe-l’oeil (derived from French meaning “to fool the eye”) at its best.

Tromp-l’oeil painting acknowledges that the viewer understands the difference between reality and non-reality and then toys with that dichotomy. But I was in Bellevue, Kentucky, a place I would not expect to encounter French-monikered mind tricks. As I once read, I was ”having a much larger cerebral endeavor than I expected”!A brief inquiry revealed that the store(Interior Visions) is owned by Curtis Heuser, one of the Midwest’s premier decorative artists. He specializes in fine mural and trompe-l’oeil techniques. Curtis took the time to show me his portfolios that he keeps in the store. They hold one illusion after another. He has over 20 years of experience and is still embracing his talent for artistically fooling the eye. I was left speechless, which is rare for an avid conversationalist.