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.

Miniature Eye Portraits, Part 1

"Mother Meera's Eyes" 1 3/8" x 1 3/4", egg tempera on vellum, eye portrait of Indian saint, Mother Meera

"Amma's Eyes", 1 3/8" x 1 3/4", egg tempera on vellum, (eye portrait of Indian saint, Amritanandamayi Ma) available from my website

An example of an eye portrait pin (unknown artist, circa 1805-10) from the Lelia A. and John Hill Morgan Collection shown in Love And Loss, American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures, by Robin Jaffee Frank (p. 264)

My miniature magnifier arrived yesterday, and before moving on just want to mention that fellow miniaturist, Carol Andre, pointed out a very practical and less expensive way of magnification: if you wear reading or bifocal glasses, place a second pair of reading glasses over the first pair to achieve the magnified view (cost is about $1 as opposed to the $17 it cost for my magnifier). Speaking of eyes, it's my next topic!

I want to try another eye portrait. The top two images above are examples of two eye portraits I've done in the past, but lest you think it's my own idea, miniature eye portraits or lover's eyes are a lost art with an interesting history. The third example above comes from Love and Loss, a book I recommend on miniature painting. In the past, tiny jeweled brooches, rings and pins were the frames for a portrait of the single eye of a secret love, the idea being that if you can only see the eye, it is more anonymous--- a form of portrait that no one can easily identify except your beloved. It is said that a former Prince of Wales kept an eye portrait of his mistress which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection, and a secret lover was often the subject of an eye portrait, one reason that they are a rare find now, but some were not only for secret loves. (See this short online article on Lovers Eyes.)

There are some wonderful examples of miniature portraits online, but since jewelers and museums have pretty strict copyright protection on the images, just Google "miniature eye portraits" to see some further examples.

For Part 2 on the topic of eye portraits, I'll show you an eye portrait I am working on.........

A special postscript for anyone visiting this post late who is interested in miniature eye portraits: please visit my blog for more detailed information on this at http://eyeportraitsinminiature.blogspot.com