Close-Up Eye Paintings Examine How People Feel In The Moment

Often referred to as “windows to the soul”, the eyes can tell a lot about who we are and how we feel. Self-taught artist Maldha Mohamed examines the emotional power of a gaze in his immersed oil paintings. She renders close-up views of a single eye and leaves it up to the viewer to find the unspoken feelings latent in the subject’s face.

Using thick, expressive brushstrokes and a limited color palette, Mohamed paints a range of different colors and eye shapes, each with their own story to tell. “The eyes are extremely fascinating. They can tell you a person’s whole story, where they’re from, the things they’ve been through or nothing at all, all at once,” she told My Modern Met. “I think the eyes are the most sincere thing about a person, and I want to create the most sincere art possible. So I thought, why not use the eyes as a subject medium.

Despite painting the same subject over and over again, Mohamed keeps his canvases fresh with subtle changes to each, whether in angle, light or expression itself. Just like people, his pieces are completely individual. “I like to convey subjects as if they were in a constant battle against time, always fleeting,” she explains to My Modern Met. “This is the expression that I would like to capture and create. This is what I want to capture in my art.

Scroll down to see more examples of Mohamed’s incredible eye paintings and follow the artist on instagram to keep up to date with his latest creations. You can also purchase original paintings and limited edition prints of Mohamed’s work via Guy Hepner Editions and Back to art.