Most of us put on makeup every day, but if we consider the artistry of it at all, we usually just think about how it makes us look prettier. But Israeli visual artist Tal Peleg considers the eye her canvas.
Using not just the eyelid, but also the browbone and highlight space above it, the 29-year-old Peleg crafts whimsical and sometimes pointed portraits and designs in miniature — and in the process, has become quite an internet sensation.
TODAY.com asked Peleg to share some of her favorite eye creations with us (she's also her own model and photographer), and explain both her inspirations and how she made them come to life. Here's what she had to say:
Anti-bullying
People from all over the world suffer from bullying and shaming on a daily basis in the "real" world as well as social media. I tried to express the feeling of isolation and pain that the bullied person feels ... words are thrown at him like many sharp knives or shards (made out of aluminium foil).
Black cat playing with yarn
This is probably my favorite work and one of my first eye-art creations. It was dedicated to my beloved black cat Louis. I don't just paint on the eye, but try to use the shape of the eye and its natural curves as part of the illustration in a creative way.
"The Princess and the Pea"
This work is from my fairy tales series and was one of the most challenging to create. I think it took about 4.5 or even 5 hours ... I used a color lens because the eye was supposed to look like the pea under all the mattresses.
Child artist
This image was created as part of Barbie's campaign, "Be Super." The campaign was all about the power of imagination and creativity, and Barbie asked me to express the little girl's imagination. It was really hard work, probably the most challenging work of them all because of the miniature doodling on the eyelid.
"The Sound of Music"
I really love this movie! I chose to illustrate the first scene of the movie, where Maria is climbing the green hills and singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music." I was really happy with how I captured the movement and the feel of the song on the eye.
"The Princess and the Frog"
I really wanted to create an eye-art illustration for the story of the princess and the frog, and I tried to think of a way to make the eyebrow part of the illustration. I ended up by using the eyebrow as the princess hair.
Insomnia
The inspiration for this work was me trying to fall asleep unsuccessfully. It was late in the night and I lay in bed trying to think about ways to fall asleep. I know counting sheep may help but I thought painting them on the eye would work better for me. So I created this eye-art, and fell asleep right after I finished.
For more amazing creations by Tal Peleg, check out her Facebook and Instagram pages.