My latest painting, Carole (2018), honours legendary actress, Carole Lombard. Tragically, when she was at the height of her career, she died in a plane crash in 1942.
She was aged just 33 years old. At the time of her death, she was the highest paid actress in Hollywood. She was also married to screen superstar, Clark Gable.
She was a renowned performer, who began her career when she was just a child. Over the years, she tried more serious acting, but her specialty was in making her audience laugh. Carole had been selling war bonds just prior to boarding her ill-fated flight.
Unusual beauty
She had raised the equivalent of around 33 million dollars to support the war effort. Although Carole Lombard was one of the most famous actresses in the world, she is mostly forgotten due to her untimely passing. It was for this reason I wanted to paint Carole (2018).
Additionally, I found her face strikingly beautiful. In particular, I liked her eyes and found their hypnotic quality similar to that of Pola (2018). I decided to paint Carole (2018) on a large canvas panel, as I did in Lee (2017) and Katharine (2017).
I based my painting on a black and white production still from the 1930s. In order to keep the focus on her mesmerising gaze, I used a simple composition without any accoutrements.
My palette was basic with only a few colours subtly applied. Yet I desired an understated look, so I wanted the eyes to stand out. It was for this reason, I used various shades of blue, as well as black to create her trademark eyelashes.
The result truly captures the depths of her character and breathes life into one of the world’s most famous and most forgotten stars. Carole (2018) pays homage to a talented and beautiful woman and allows her memory to live on for the next generation.