My painting, Liz (2018) pays homage to actress Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Taylor. She was known as much for her personal life as for her film career.
Yet she was so much more than just a Hollywood actress. Liz Taylor began her career as a child actress, receiving her big break in National Velvet in 1944.
In the 1950s, she converted to Judiasm. It was around this time that she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for ‘BUtterfield 8’.
She was married eight times to seven men. At times, her infidelity and choice of spouse raised eyebrows. Yet, it seemed that she was always looking for true love but never found it. Elizabeth Taylor may have been preternaturally beautiful, but she was also incredibly human.
Natural Beauty
Above all, Liz was a philanthropist and champion for the underdog. In the 1980’s, she began to campaign for AIDS awareness at a time when this topic was taboo. Through her foundation, she raised over 200 million dollars for AIDS.
Liz never apologised for who she was and lived her life off-screen with as much drama as her on-screen characters. However, my first motivation for painting Liz (2018) was her natural beauty.
She was blessed with a perfectly symmetrical face and striking features. Her eyes were unusually pretty. They were almost violet coloured and framed with double eyelashes, which were caused by a genetic mutation.
I based my painting on a couple of black and white production stills from the 1950s. I used a similar approach when painting stars such as Brando (2018), Bogart (2017), Katharine (2017) and Gloria (2017).
I used a palette of vibrant colours to bring her to life and show her innate style and class. The result is a painting that shows the enduring allure of Elizabeth Taylor. Liz (2018) is a tribute to an unforgettable screen icon and humanitarian.