The Use of Eyes in Visual Art

Eyes have always been a compelling subject in art. They aren't just another facial feature—they are loaded in meaning, and they can carry an intensity that artists continually return to. When we look at a drawing or painting of eyes, we often feel as though we are being met by the work itself. This sense of direct contact is what makes them so powerful.

One of the main reasons artists focus on eyes is their ability to hold emotion. A glance can communicate tenderness, suspicion, happiness, or sadness, often more effectively than words. For artists, capturing these shifts is a way of subtly translating human experience into image. The smallest detail such as the angle of the eyelid, and the highlight in the iris, can completely alter the mood of the work.

On a technical level, I find eyes fascinating to draw. Their structure is intricate, curves, refelections, subtle textures. Learning to render these elements isn't only about accuracy, it's about developing the skills that underpin an artists wider practice, such as proportion, shading, and attention to detail. Many artists (including myself) return to eyes as a way to refine these foundations. But not every approach is rooted in realism. Many artists lean into abstraction, using the eye as a site of expressive release, or abreaction. In this sense, the act of drawing or painting an eye can be less about replicating what is seen, and more about working through feeling, memory, or psychological intensity. The eye becomes a form that can hold both precision and raw expression, depending on how it is handled. Either way, the choice of high-detail or abstraction, reflects a personal way of seeing. The eye, while universal, is never represented in the same way twice.

Because the eye sits at the center of how we recognise and relate to others, they naturally play a crucial role in portraiture. A face without eyes often feels incomplete, or it becoems unsettling in its absence. When eyes are included, they often act as an anchor, holding the portrait together and guiding the viewer's attention. The eye also carries what we can call presence. That sense of bing in the room with another person. A strategically place gaze can suggest intimacy, confrontation, or distance, depending on how it is rendered. Subtle changes in direction and/or intensity can also shift the entire reading of a portrait. This is where likeness moves beyond physical resemblence, and into something more psychological—capturing the subject's character, inner life, or even the artist's own projection onto them.

Eyes also carry a long history of symbolism. They have been used to represent truth, vision, protection, or insight across cultures. From ancient Egyptian 'Eye of Horus', to modern references to the 'Third Eye', they have often been treated as something more than physical. Placing emphasis on the eyes can project thoughts/ideas about seeing and perception itself.