Summary
Original painting of Star Wars Character Padmé/Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) by Contemporary artist Bart Carels.
Title: ‘Padmé Amidala’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020
Process
Today was Star Wars Day so, May the Fourth Be With You!
Looking at my reference picture of Padmé Amidala I wondered what would look good with the Purple, Gold and red. Yellow would be good But I wanted the Gold head piece to really stand out, so I went for Green, which also goes well with purple I think and of course the subtle red make-up on Natalie’s face,
Because this is a speed painting and there’s limited time to finish it, I know parts won’t be perfectly covered. And this means my background will be coming through in places, which I also do on purpose. Another reason I thought green would be cool.
Anyway, for the painting I often start with the dark areas, followed by the eyes. If you don’t get the eyes right, the portrait just won´t look good. I have to say I had a hard time with this one to capture the face of the reference picture. I wasn’t too sure either I could pull off the gold material within time. So, taking everything into account, this was a real challenge.
Now that the dark parts and eyes were roughly finished, I colored in the face. A blend of mostly blue (cyan) and red (magenta) with white and a bit of Primary Yellow. I added the red dots on the cheeks and filled the lips with red some red and pinkish tones.
Then the Gold on the head. A mixture of Mostly Yellow with Magenta. I used more red for the darker looking parts and for the parts that lean more towards green, I added some Cyan and less Magenta. Highlights are lighter yellow tones and even Titanium white in places where it’s really shiny. The shadow parts have some more Magenta, Cyan and a touch of Ivory Black in them.
Next I added more value to the face and corrected things here and there. Struggled a bit with the eyes and nose. One millimeter in the wrong place and it looks like a different person. More time could definitely make it more accurate, but considering this was a speed painting, I’m quite happy with the result. I left out all the tiny details on the fabric. For times sake and, this may sound strange, also because I quite like how this part has an unfinished look. I hope you enjoyed this piece!
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Painting Specifications:
- Just one in the world
- Medium: Mixed Media on Paper (black markerand acrylic paint)
- Dimensions: 24x32cm / 9×12 inches
- Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black | White
Availability
