This is an exact painting of my eye. The colour and the shape are correct for the age I was at the time. The eye is a recurring theme in many of my works, whether they are portraits or surrealist work. I always paint eyes with lots of detail and expression.

Painting my eye was like giving prayer of thanks for the magic of my sight and its gift. I worship my eyes for the great things they let me see and the inspiration they give.

The eye is actually so important to me that I hardly recognise people when they wear sunglasses. I need to see people’s eyes, otherwise, their faces have no meaning for me.

Vison is not only about what you see directly. It is also about the reflection of the surroundings from the position where a person stands and looks.

When I was quite young, I was gifted with the ability of seeing much more than other people around me saw. Every detail in my surroundings was so clear and seemed full of hidden meaning. I would constantly ask, “Did you see this? Did you see that,?” But no one had seen anything. In the meantime, I had seen a tiny little fly, or the world in a grain of sand. I wondered how the small fly walked? How did it move the feelers on its nose? How did sand fall from my hand and fly away in the breeze?  Spiders and their webs kept me busy too!

When you observe the eye very carefully you can see dreams in its depths. In this painting you can see that small figures of animals that are reflected inside my iris. They represent movement and inspiration.

Every eye has shadows that the lids and eyelashes cast on the eyeball. Let us not forget about the nourishing blood supply to the eye. The moisture that is visible in the painted eye helps with reflection.

Last but not least, there is the little light the eye always has, like a little star! The little star is what gives life to the face in a painting and makes the eye look completely realistic. That little light is the last thing I place when I paint portraits.

Last but not least, my Hindu name is “Nayan Tara”: Star of the eye!