I saw the movie "Elizabeth" with Kate Blanchette a few nights ago. I was taken, to say the least. The scenery in the film was gorgeous, and Ms. Blanchettes performance was totally convincing. I was left feeling quite regal, and wanting to paint the queen.
This was a delema for me, as I dont think I am accomplished enough to pull off a painting like this. Plus, it was totally out of character for me to paint an old masters style portrait. However, no matter how I tried, the desire to paint this would not cease.
I sat and thought about the queen and her life, and the thing that impressed me the most about her, was her willingness to throw away her private life, including the only love she experienced, and basically to "marry" England. I think she was stupid, but I was still impressed. So, today I am working on the sketch for the painting of the queen. It will have my own twists to it, after all, I am the one painting it, and I worry about the technical skill needed to accomplish such a task, but I am going to try.
Hopefully it will be in the gallery in the next week or two. We shall see....
