background

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Golden Eye

Thanks to everyone for your sympathies regarding the hacking of my email!  I'm glad to say everything has been reset and secured. So, I hope to never have that issue again.  It's troubling to hear how many of us have dealt with this very thing :(

But, on to brighter subjects....very bright as a matter of fact :D

I have tried my hand at gold-leafing for the first time.
I love the way it looks!
...and perfect for Butterfly Effect's Theme of EYES this week.


Though, technically, I have just eye, not eye(s)...haha!
But, here is the whole piece.

"Make Magic"
7 x 9 inches on Chipboard
See the gold leaf in her hair and on the hat band...
Goldilicious :)

Eyes really are the heart of a painting, to me....and my favorite part of a face.
I've been told that I do them well, so I thought I'd share a few things I always do when I paint them.
Studies have shown that people perceive photos of women with large dilated pupils as being friendlier and more attractive....weird, huh?  Makes sense then, I guess, that I prefer to make mine big. 

This was taken before I filled in that missing part of gold leaf on the lash line. 


Whatever side of the face that is towards the light will have the white dot of reflected light on it. I, then, make sure that the iris is lighter in hue in the opposite corner. I choose a darker color....a deep purple here, and use it to darken the rim and the lines within the iris.  I make a thicker line just under the lid for the cast shadow.  I tried putting smaller dots on the light side this time, too. 

 I've also tried on other paintings, a faint white, smudged line to imply moisture....both vertically...


...and horizontally....


...and have used this method for animal eyes, as well...


I think a believable eye really draws your viewer in.
....and that's a kind of magic we all want from our art :)

Please stop by the Butterfly Effect to get an eyeful of the other entries this week....and maybe submit your own!

Okay, gotta run...
You guys are the best,

Abracadabra!
*poof*

21 comments:

Diane said...

Oooh--so Beautiful!!

Lisa Graham said...

She is pretty Cameron...I love how her hat is sort of down and her hair is covering one eye. You do do eyes well. Don't you love that gold leaf? I love how you have just a few lines of it on her hat rather than one long line trimming it...it is more interesting the way you did it.

Happy Monday Cameron!

Carol said...

Stunning!!! I love how you do eyes :0)

Dianie said...

Cameron,
This is such a gorgeous drawing.
I love the effect the gold leafing gives this piece.

Eyes are my favorite ;)

Have a fantastical magical week.

Take care,
~Diane

lmp said...

Your artwork is simply incredible. I love your eye(s). Thanks for your visit to my blog. :))) Lisa

Gina said...

Wow!!! Such beauty!! All your pieces are just perfection, and the hint of gold is very classy indeed :D XXX

Šolanje na domu-Waldorf said...

Gorgeous! I love doing eyes this way as well. :)

Wini said...

Hi Cameron, She is Gorgeous and I love the gold leaf!! It adds an elegant touch. Agree about the eyes being the heart of the painting, and yes her eye is stunning!! Sorry about the hacking and good to hear its solved now. I knew it wasn't you when I got the email and I just deleted it.

Kristin said...

I really learned a lot here - thank you for sharing that - I will try the different colors and light expressed from an angle!
AND I LOVE your new girl!! the hat, the cards, the stamping on the bottom to go with the theme and that gold eyeliner is absolutely brilliant! xoxo

Heather Henry said...

I love the way you do the eyes too. I agree, they really add so much expression to a picture. Love this one and I emailed you back about it. :D The gold leafing is cool, i've never tried that, but it really makes it pop. Love it!! Each of these pictures are fantastic. You are great at drawing animals too. That is something I'm working on. Yay!!

manomij said...

What a great tip Cameron, I think I need to return to my painting table and start practising it. All the eyes I have painted are ready for improvement So thanks Cameron I am going to write it down so I won't forget!
Thanks
ManonX

Fallingladies said...

Great art and great tips! She's so sly looking! I will be with you when you post lesson 7 or whatever one has the monkey, as i just finished mine!

PiaRom said...

I love how you do the eyes...looks so magical !!! They are always so shiny and dreamful :)

Glycérine said...

Beautiful !!

Heather Foust said...

These are all so beautiful! So glad you are up and running!

Lauren said...

This painting is beautiful and so fun!! I just love the gold leaf. And thank you for your tips on painting those beautiful eyes--I am always looking for ways to make mine better, they are my favorite part of a painting as well! Big hugs to you, Lauren

JessiVille said...

Cam, She's gorgeous. The gold leaf is a beautiful touch. LOVE how you do the eyes! I especially loved the horizontal highlight on the kitty's eyes too. So real - almost like the inner glow they have in the light.
Jessi :)

Caz said...

wow I LOVE your work! That making magic picture is sooooo good :-) I also like the one with cat in as it look slike my lovely cat Lupin!!

Jennifer Michelle said...

Cam! This is such a cool piece! I think that's really interesting that women with larger pupils are perceived as more attractive. How peculiar! But your ladies ARE beautiful so I must say I agree.

Joyce van der Lely said...

love your eye(s) and love the Magic ! Thanks for sharing ♥

Erin K said...

Wow...I love the gold leafing on the eyes...just adds that special spark of magic to this goregous illustration.

Oh! That's awful what happend to your email! Always bugs me how good, honest people want to use the internet and those silly terrible people have to make it hard for the rest of us. But I. so glad everything has been fixed up. ^_^

I didn't know that people thought women with large pupils looked more honest...maybe it has something to do with looking childlike?

Heehee...ahh, isn't adding all that white to eyes fun? Always love to see your work! Have a happy Firday tomorrow Cam!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...