Mastering a smokey eye is one thing, but turning your eyelids into complete works of art is another. Tal Peleg pairs visual art and makeup design and brings beautiful imagery to life… on her face.
If you're anywhere near the level of Instagram addiction we're at, you might have come across the insanely intricate eye makeup designs by visual artist Tal Peleg in your Explore tab. Her talent lends to indisputably gorgeous eye makeup looks deserving of the highest praise, and we got the chance to chat with Peleg about her creative process and how she gets inspired every day.
MORE: How did you get started creating these unique eye looks?
Tal Peleg: It was a process…it wasn't like I woke up one day and decided "today I'm going to paint on my eye!" It was an artistic evolution.
I have always thought that makeup is an art form, and also I really loved art and illustration and studied visual communication and illustration for four years, so the eye-artistry was my way of mixing all of these passions together. My makeup works were always on the artistic side, but I started with more abstract eye designs, and over time they got more and more illustrated and detailed.
Where do you draw inspiration for your eye looks?
I'm inspired by a lot of things, I believe inspiration is everywhere. I am inspired a lot by popular culture; it can be inspired by movies, books, TV shows, musicals etc. I'm also very inspired by animals. Sometimes I find inspiration in things that are more challenging to turn into makeup, like my eye-art series inspired by mental disorders, or anti-bullying awareness.
What products do you typically use when creating your looks?
I use mostly ordinary eyeshadows and watercolors. Also, ordinary makeup products like eyeliners, glitter, mascara, false lashes etc. I use a lot of things to glue on the eye as part of the design such as rhinestones, threads, modeling wax, aluminum foil and even salt!
Describe the creative process behind your unique looks.
First of all, I choose an inspiration source, then I think how I should turn it into an eye-art design. The next step is to make a sketch and design how it's going to look on the eye based on my knowledge and experience of what is possible to achieve and what's not (though I always try to challenge myself and push my limits). After the sketch is done, I start to paint on the eye.
The process takes between 1.5 to 5 hours; it depends on how complicated or detailed the design is. I think the average time is about 3 hours. After I'm done, I take a lot of shots of it in my little photography studio so I can choose the best image. After that, I usually remove the makeup.
If you could give an aspiring artist advice, what would you recommend to them?
First of all, never give up and never stop creating, even if you feel like your work doesn't get enough appreciation and recognition. This sometimes takes time to achieve, and a lot of artists get discouraged and stop creating and sharing.
The other thing is to create something personal and give it your heart, don't be a copy cat, or try to copy other artist's style, but find your own way, something that will make your work unique and innovative. I know it's easy to say but not always easy to do. Sometimes it takes time to find your own artistic path, but if you have the will and motivation, this will definitely happen.
Check out all of Tal's looks on her Instagram and prepare to be completely amazed.
