Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Husband and Wife Eye Portraits

fellow artist Kathleen Coy and her husband Jason 
(thanks Kathleen for loaning this photo for the portraiture!)

sketch for Kathleen's right eye portrait  (enlarged - actual diameter 3/4")

sketch for Jason's left eye portrait  (3/4" diameter)

Friend, artist and fellow blogger, Kathleen Coy was kind enough to loan me the lovely photo above of herself and her husband Jason, and from this reference I will be painting their eye portraits!  Also above are two sketches I have prepared.  One thing I've been observing as I paint eye portraits is that it is not only the eye itself, but the area around the eye that must be given attention for context so that the eye does not 'float'.  Facial expression, lighting, and angle of the eye also factor into what makes an interesting eye portrait.

To see some additional eye portraits I'm preparing to paint, please also visit Grander Joy of Spirit, and check back later this week to see these paintings unfold.




6 comments:

Debra Keirce said...

Now how did you decide to do a series of eye portraits? I'm sure there must be a story behind this!

Kathleen Coy said...

I love them, Mona! I can't wait to see how they turn out! :-)

L.Holm said...

Wonderful! And amazing you can get so much expression and individual personality in one small area.

artbyakiko said...

Each one is so small, yet looks great when enlarged! Can't wait to see the actual paintings.

Barbara A. Freeman said...

I had heard about eye portraits and love the concept of them. Thanks for sharing this and the links. Maybe you could get something going....wouldn't it be great seeing a large area of nothing but eye portraits? I'll keep checking back to see the progress of these.

Mona Diane Conner said...

Thanks all. I'm with you Barbara!!

I just love this concept, so to answer your question too, Deb, let's revive a charming lost art is why I am trying to paint a series of eye portraits.