Art Anatomy: The Eye

Decomposing a portrait focusing on each feature of the face is quite fun and allows me to enter into great detail analyzing each single element within the hole shape.
I find it useful to know exactly how an eye is composed because it's important to be aware on how to build the form correctly. Once the exercise is over, and I approach a portrait project, I try to forget all of it and focus only on lights and shadows. Ideally I would like to forget the names of the main features altogether in order to be able to capture just what I have in front of me, without assuming it's form and details: each eye is different even within the very person we are portraying.
You can follow me here to get more examples of art anatomy https://www.instagram.com/michelebajona/

Here in Domestika I give a watercolor portrait course and I focus on the most important feature of the head: the eye. I normally paint the area of the eye socket in different stages gradually reaching the correct shape with tonal values, I and reserve fine details in the final pass, when the entire composition is almost done. At that point I 'activate' the portrait with eyes that communicate a feeling, that are able to transmit emotions.

During my ongoing in-person workshops I try to give all the tools I possibly can to my students and this image (based on an old portrait commission) always works! You will find more external references like this one in my Domestika course (and in different languages).