This Marriage Proposal Is One Hell Of An Optical Illusion

Dan Levine's marriage proposal is a true work of art. 

When planning to pop the question to his girlfriend of six-and-a-half years, Levine enlisted the help of his friend Alexa Meade , an artist who uses acrylic paint to transform humans into two-dimensional works of art .

Meade has spent the last seven years refining her mind-boggling craft, but last weekend presented her biggest artistic challenge yet: turning a surprise proposal into a 2D, moving portrait. 

"I had never done anything like that before but I instantly knew that I wanted to say 'yes!'" Meade told The Huffington Post.

Levine convinced his girlfriend that Meade wanted to paint and photograph the couple in front of the street art in San Francisco, California (where the couple lives), just for fun. While Levine had invited a few friends to watch the shoot, only he, Meade and Meade's assistant knew about the surprise.

"Cristina knew that she was getting painted but had no idea what was in store!" Meade told HuffPost.

On the day of the photo shoot, Meade covered the couple in acrylic paint from head to toe and even managed to covertly paint a shadow on Cordova's ring finger. Once the couple was fully painted, they set out to take photos around the city, while a crowd of their friends (and a few strangers) looked on.

The end of the photo shoot was staged at a wall that read, "NEW MURAL SOON," where Levine would pop the question. The couple was posing on the floor when Meade asked Cordova to stand up, giving Levine a chance to pull out the ring.

"It took her a few moments to realize what was happening because she was in photo shoot mode," Meade told HuffPost. "Meanwhile, Dan was sitting there for an excruciatingly long time, waiting to see if she would say yes."

Luckily, she did. And the whole thing was captured on film.

The entire painting process and photo shoot took almost two days, but Meade says her latest art project was worth it. 

"You're never 100 percent sure if that other person is going to say 'yes', so there was room for butterflies," Meade told HuffPost. "It was a beautiful experience getting to share in the magic of their love."

See photos of Levine's proposal and watch the full Snapchat story of Meade's pre-engagement painting session below. 

Want to see Alexa Meade turn people into living portraits? Check out the rest of her work on Instagram or Facebook .