Liz Taylor - A True Hollywood Legend

Hi All,

I got to thinking about the passing of Elizabeth Taylor recently, and thought I'd do a blog post as a tribute to her.  I'm a little young to have followed her movie career in her prime, but she was always making news, for one thing or another, as I was growing up.

I remember when I was a kid, she was always bigger than life, and of course she was always in the tabloids and entertainment news, even though she wasn't making movies anymore.

Liz - Photoshop and Wacom Tablet
by Tom Kreienbrink; 2011

Later on she became an activist.  She was one of the first (if not "the first"), to really take a public and vocal stand for AIDS research.  She spoke out and she also showed a lot of love and compassion for the people who were contracting and dying from the disease.  Many of her close friends died of AIDS.  For the rest of her life she was very much involved in AIDS related causes, and other causes as well.

Of course, there's her famous White Diamonds perfume commercials and many marriages (we don't need to go into that).  Thru the years she'd struggled with substance abuse and various ailments as well...which sometimes go hand in hand.

I've done a couple pictures of her over the years.  Mainly because she was beautiful and I wanted to paint her.  Pretty simple, eh?  Yeah - maybe there was more to it - but I don't want to psychoanalyze my work or myself here.

So a couple months ago I watched the movie Butterfield 8, which she won an Oscar for.  I'd never seen it before and thought I'd give it a try.  I have to say, it was a good movie and I enjoyed it.  A couple years ago my wife (Sue) and I watched Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf.  That movie was really something.  In it she plays a very bad drunk (as does her movie husband Richard Burton).  It was a very powerful and gritty performance.

Elizabeth Taylor - by Tom Kreienbrink
Acrylic on cold press illustration board - circa 1996

 One of these days I'll have to take a look at a few more of her movies.  I always wanted to see Giant, with her and James Dean.  I might watch Cleopatra or some others as well.

I'm including a couple pictures of Liz that I did.  The top one I just did this morning and the bottom one I painted about 15 years ago.  I remember painting it - I did it mostly with airbrush and acrylic airbrush colors.  Of course I used frisket, for masking and some dry brush as well.

The top illustration that I just completed was rendered in photoshop with a Wacom tablet.  I scanned in a sketch and created layers for the different elements.  

Whether we remember her as a beautiful symbol of Hollywood decadence, as an activist for change and good causes, or as actress in some of the classic movies of a generation gone by; Elizabeth Taylor, we will remember you.

Have a great week everyone.