Summary
Prince Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. This vibrant, expressive portrait honors the one and only Prince Rogers Nelson with color, attitude, and movement.
Title: ‘Little Genius’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020
Process
Prince. What can I say? A small man with massive talent. One of the most gifted musicians to ever exist. Naturally, he was a perfect subject for this Prince speed painting.
I started similarly to my Lauryn Hill piece — sketching his head with a thick black marker and refining the facial features with fineliner. Then I blocked in the darkest areas of the painting. For the hair, I mixed all primary colors, leaning more into red and yellow to get a warm brown, plus some Ivory Black for depth.
The jacket was a signature purple — created by combining Magenta and Cyan with a hint of Yellow. After that, I worked on the face. At one point, I thought it was going nowhere. But I kept layering skin tones and blending carefully. Slowly, it came together. Sometimes that’s how it goes — trust the process even when it’s messy.
Once the portrait was mostly complete, I moved to the background. Initially, it was blue, matching my reference. But once I reviewed the piece, it felt too flat. So I switched it up — adding Ochre tones by mixing Primary Yellow and Magenta. Suddenly, the painting came to life. The new background felt funkier and truer to Prince’s spirit.
This Prince speed painting is part of my music-inspired portrait series. If you’re into bold art, creative process videos, and iconic figures from music history, you’ll enjoy the rest of the collection too.
Painting Specs
- One-of-a-kind artwork
- Medium: Mixed Media on Paper (black marker & acrylic paint)
- Size: 24x32cm / 9×12 inches
- Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black | White
Availability
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