The Story of a Mossy Couple And How to Paint Eyes

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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.

You rock my world, babe Click to Tweet

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.

Last update on 2026-08-16 / Source Amazon Affiliates