The Story of a Mossy Couple And How to Paint Eyes
Hey there. How are you doing? I’ve been trying to finish a portrait that I’d started months ago of a gorgeous friend of ours. She has the most beautiful bone structure and this Mona Lisa look in her eyes that I’m really struggling to capture. I wish I could have a chat with Leonardo da Vinci right now so he can give me some advice. I played around for a few hours and then put her aside once again. UGH, I don’t normally struggle to paint eyes. When I painted Terry Pratchett’s Librarian and the Warrior Woman they were the easiest thing to do. Maybe inspiration will strike at some stage. In the meantime, I had some other eyes that needed to be finished. Meet the Mossy couple.
They met on our garden path one bright October morning, when the dogs came running round the corner to chase yet another imaginary mailman. The rocks and pebbles tumbled and slid under their furry feet and the Mossy couple quite literally bumped into each other.
I’m not sure if it was love at first sight. They had no eyes at that stage. But they sure hit it off. I swear I heard them whispering to each other.
Or maybe that was my hubby 😉 Anyhows, before I get to the tutorial, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll never miss a post!
How to Paint Eyes on Rocks
Eyes give life to your character so it’s important to spend a little time adding that bit of soul. I normally start by drawing a rough sketch with pencil on the rock. You don’t really need to prep the rocks. The surface is pretty porous and both oil and acrylic paints sticks nicely. You only need three colors, white, black and whatever color you want your eyes to be . I usually paint the whites of the eyes first then add a small thin line of black paint to the upper lid.
Then I paint the iris and blend the black line down into the iris and the whites of the eyes. To blend just “tap” the paint downwards about a 1/4 of the way. It immediately adds depth to the eye.
Next I’ll add the black pupil and a tiny hint of white on one side of the iris and blend it slightly. It always fascinates me. As soon as I add that tiny bit of white and take a photo, my cell phone immediately picks up that it could be a face and the whole facial recognition software kicks in. Weird that.
As a last touch I’ll put another smaller dab of white on the opposite side of the iris, blend it in and then add the highlight to the pupil. That’s what gives the eye some soul 😉
Wipe away the pencil marks and glue on some moss. Ta-da now the Mossy couple can stare into each other’s eyes all day long.
Aren’t they the cutest? We moved them to our front door out of harms way. I don’t want our fur babies to separate them.
And we got them some Santa hats so they can join us for Christmas 😉 I would love to chat to them about what it feels like to be a rock.
What do you think of our Mossy couple? Is it a good thing that their paths crossed? I’d love to know.
And don’t forget to share it with your friends and/or save it to Pinterest if you like the idea.
Oh before I forget, if you don’t want to go to the trouble of finding some of the materials we used, we’ve got you covered Disclosure: Clicking on the links below, means we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more crafty ideas to share with you 😉
Sending you love as always and thank you so much for popping in to meet the lovely couple.
Wow, so cute couple
😉 Thank you, I’ll be sure to tell them
nice write up about Mossy Couple & How to Paint the Eyes. Thanks Michelle. keep up the good work. beautiful blog by the way.
Thanks so much Jaden, I really appreciate that ?
Awwnnn… Such cute couple… I especially loved the ribbon on the girl.
Thank you Cassper ?
nice write up about Mossy Couple & How to Paint the Eyes. Thanks Michelle. keep up the good work. beautiful blog by the way.
Thank you so much Emtee ?
They are an adorable couple and obviously meant to be together for life! I wish I could paint. I’d love to take lessons.
I bought a chia head from the thrift store a few years ago and thought he’d look great with moss hair, but I haven’t been successful at getting it to grow yet. You have inspired me to give it another try.
🙂 gwingal
Thank you Nikki ? If we stayed closer I would give you lessons anytime
Adorable!!!
Thank you 😉
Gosh, wish I could paint like that
Give it a try Siya, you might surprise yourself ?
Michelle, I’m so glad the rock couple met. They look so in love. The eyes are awesome and I’m sure you’ll be able to paint your friend’s portrait soon enough.
❤️ I hope so Keri, thank you
These are sooo fun Michelle!!!?
Thanks so much Michelle ?
How fun are these? I love seeing the unexpected tucked into nature. These eyes are so pretty, and I love your step by step. Isn’t it frustrating when something you’ve done a bajillion times before escapes you? I tend to work on it over and over until I’m so frustrated with it I quit. Another project on the “unfinished” pile. I need to learn from you and just set it to the side and come back to it later. But back to the project, it does rock my world, this spring I’m going to add some of these to our front porch! Maybe a few in our flower beds too. So fun!
Oh Nikki, I would looooove to see how yours turns out. Your so talented
You are a truly gifted painter, Michelle. The tutorial was easy to follow and I loved the step-by-step photos – really very helpful as I, too, like to paint. (BTW: You’re story of the mossy couple was adorable 😉 ).
Awww Jelica, thank you so much and I’m really happy the tutorial helped
Michelle, You really rocked this one…no pun intended! LOL You did a beautiful job on the eyes and I really love these with the moss on top.
LOL Carol, thank you ?
These are adorable! And thanks for the great tutorial! I’m terrible at visual art (drawing/painting/etc.), but with your step-by-step process, I think even I could do this. 🙂
I’m sure you’ll be able to do it Amy, you’re very creative ?
Oh my…this couple is so cute. I love the artistic talent of yours on these rocks.
Almost as cute a couple as you and David ?
Michelle, I just now realized what an artist you are! That Librarian “monkey” that I’m not supposed to call a monkey, and now this! I read your description of how you draw the eyes and add soul to them, and it totally went over my head. I’m not an artist in any shape or fashion. I can barely draw a stick person…really…but you! Look at that Mossy Couple. You definitely gave them soul.
You make me blush Florence ? Thank you so very much ❤️
I’m still amazed by how good you did this! The eyes look so warm and welcoming. You are very talented and this is such a good idea as decoration.
Thank you Ana ? I really appreciate that
Wow! Those look so real. AND SO CUTE!! love the story that went with it ?❤️
Thanks so much Shraddha, I had loads of fun painting them
This rock painting looks so adorable. It looks so much fun. and this is such a nice idea to do with my child this weekend. Perfect for a garden decoration. I will definitely try this one. Glad you share this kind of idea.
I’m real glad you like it Candy. You’ll and your little one will have loads of fun making them I’m sure
Awww the cutest thing I have ever read in a while. The Santa Claus Hat is soo cute. OMG
Thanks so much Zipporah ?
So clever, are you an artist?
Thanks so much Cheryl. I do love painting but I wouldn’t call myself an artist yet. I still have so much to learn
Oh wow! This is such a cute idea. Those eyes look pretty close to the real thing, the drawings are really good.
Thank you Agnes
Haha what a cute couple these two! Michelle, you are so talented, painting eyes is so difficult but you do this like a pro! GO you! 🙂
? Thank you Bea ?
You did such an amazing job, they look so cute. Love the details, eyes are the hardest part for me when I paint.
Thanks so much Preet ?
Your mossy couple are adorable Michelle. In our village, people have recently started leaving painted rocks around the place for others to find so your post is perfectly timed!
That’s really such a lovely idea, leaving painted rocks for others to find. Maybe I should start a trend her in our neighborhood ?
Woah! What a great and cute couple! They have made hell of a great beautiful eyes and also a great matchmaking! 🙂
Thanks so much Sophi but our fur babies did the matchmaking ?
OMG, This mossy couple is really cute, You are a good painter, their eyes look so real and covering them with Santa hat is a good idea for Christmas. I know it is very difficult to draw eyes even on a paper, and you did it on a rock. Great job dear Michelle.
Thanks so very much Sadhna, I really appreciate that ❤
What a fun idea! I would love to stumble upon these guys in my travels!
LOL Lisa, thank you ?
These are so cool Michelle! I see lots of rock painting but never any eyes. Beautiful eyes at that! I can paint whimsical eyes, but not real looking eyes. Love these! I am going to have to give these a try, and I think that I will do them on a rock and not tell anyone then hide them in the flowerbed somewhere to see how long it takes someone to discover them. Lol
Love the mossy hair and your fun story! ❤
Your whimsical eyes are always so amazing Linda and those carrot noses you paint on the snowmen. Love them. Please share your painted rocks when your done my friend, I would love to see them and your gran kids will have so much fun discovering them in the garden
This Rock Painting is so creative and cute idea. I love those eyes on the rocks, perfect decoration in the garden. I would love to try this idea.
I hope you get to try it Shubhada. It’s loads of fun
awww that looks so cute! And the eyes are quite well painted as well 🙂 I think these work perfectly as a little patio or porch decoration 🙂
They look great on a patio and I love seeing the expression on kids faces when they see them the first time.
This is so beautiful and very creative, you did such a great job. I use to try painting with my younger brother when I was in high school and I am sure my brother would be amazed by this, I will be sending him this link to check it out.
Thanks so much Beola. Maybe your brother can paint some for you
Aww they are so adorable! I am loving the details and the idea! What a cute couple!
Thanks so much ladies ?
You painted such beautiful eyes! Would love to do this project with my friends. I’m sure we’ll share lots of laughs with the stories we come up with!
I think that’s an awesome idea Marie. Imagine having a rock painting party. What fun
What a sweet story … and the eyes came out sooooooo well. It must be quite a task stopping to take pictures after each step. I commend your hard work.
LOL Tanvi. To tell you the truth I painted a whole bunch before I remembered to take pictures of every step. Thanks for the lovely comment
These are really good. You did a really good job on the eyes 🙂
Thanks so much Sue Tanya ?
Oh my gosh, they are super adorable and I love the backstory. You are such an excellent artist! I’d love to make a pair too but I know mine wouldn’t half as adorable as yours. I think mine would look drunk lol.
LOL CarolAnn, I’ve painted a few drunk rocks before too ?
I love the rock idea since rock painting and then hiding them around public places is such a big thing here in PA despite our temperatures growing colder! I have not come across rocks like these yet, and may have to make some!
Oh how cool is that. I would love for people to do the same here in South Africa. It’s better than chasing Pokemons ?
OMG!!! These are so darn cute. You do good job with eyes. I was just talking to my son today about how bad I was at drawing faces. Thanks for the share, I might have to give these a try. 🙂
Please do Stacy. They’re really not difficult ?
Ok – I have to make these! You make it look so easy – but without your eye tutorial, I would totally botch that! Sharing this with my crafty friends on Facebook.
Thanks so much for the share Alicia ?
These are so stinking cute!! Mine would probably not look half as good as yours ,lol
I’m sure they would Carly, give it a try ?
This is an adorable idea for a garden! I love how realistic the eyes look.
Thanks so much Emily
Oh my goodness, these are adorable!! What a cute idea, I may have to try this some day, I’ve endless pots of acrylic (surprisingly nailarts don’t use much paint, haha) I LOVE how much depth you gave the eyes, they stand out beautifully!
Ahhhhh Ithi, thank you. I’m really glad you like them.
I would love to have a garden just for this! They look so cute, almost friendly I could say and they remind me of the trolls from Frozen. You have made a great job with the painting, the eyes look really cool and give life to the rocks.
Hey you’re right Joanna, the do look a bit like the Frozen trolls ?
Oh I love these two and their eyes, wow, you did such a great job, I’m sure they love to rock ‘n roll together 😉
LOL Katrin, I’ll have to ask them but I’m sure you’re right ?
This is cuteness off the charts Michelle. Thanks for teaching us how to draw eyes. I never knew but I would love to try my hand at this. You can even make a whole family out of them! Love those Christmas hats too! So did they tell you how it feels to be a rock?
LOL Mary nt yet, they’ve been a bit quite. I think they’re to busy staring in wide eyed wonder ?
Wooow these are so good! I️ have always struggled with eyes … and hands. Very cute!
Yeah hands are real hard and teeth. OMW teeth always stress me out ?
What a cute couple! They have beautiful eyes and are made for each other for sure, Michelle. Your dogs did a great job matchmaking. 🙂
Ahhhh yes Julia, you’re right. I’m going to tell the fur babies what you said ?