Art Never Dies: The King of Pop

By Nichole Camarillo
This is it, you guys (no pun intended). It's been a long and exciting road in this painting series. But this new painting marks the end of the "Art Never Dies" portraits. Which means I now bring to you... That's right... Michael. Jackson. :D It was such a beautiful experience working on this painting and video. And although choosing which songs would make the cut was the most difficult part by FAR, everything took a lot of hard work. I'm so proud of this series, and have had so much fun with it. I really want to thank you guys for being a part of it. Now, I introduce to you... The King of Pop.

"ART NEVER DIES: THE KING OF POP" by Nichole Camarillo



[Above: close up of shoulder detail]

[Above: close up of hair detail]
I definitely wanted to give you some zoomed in shots first. As you're about to see in the final image, almost all of the metallic gold and silver detail is lost when shrunken down so small. Basically, when looking at the end image, anything you see that is yellow, is actually a super awesome twinkling gold. Lol. And anything gray is actually silver. Here we go...

YAY! Michael!
I appreciated different things about each artist in this series before beginning. And through the process of painting their portrait and making these videos, I've been able to appreciate them in a whole new light. Especially Michael.

I was a very big fan of his music before his passing and was horribly saddened by the news. But I don't think I really understood how deep and powerful his music actually was. Or how sad and fragile he himself actually was. Or how, despite all of the negativity surrounding him, he was able to affect so many MILLIONS of people in such a positive way. He was an incredible force. And I really felt that while working on this project. So on that note, let's take a look at the time-lapse...  



You guys usually only see the end result. Or, with this series, you've also been able to see a quick 3-5 minute video of the painting process. But there are sometimes weeks of research, of learning, of really getting to KNOW as much as I can about each of these people. Regardless of how much I thought I had already known. Going through so many photos, watching and reading so many interviews, watching and reading how other people perceived them, finding out what they did with life, what they gave, who they knew, who they loved, who THEY were fans of... all of it. There were even songs of Michael's  that I absolutely hated before this project. But I really sat down and listened to each and every one of those songs. REALLY listened. Now... I think they may even be some of my favorites. Lol.

I do all of that with one goal in mind. So that even in such a simple, minimal, not even close to photo-realistic portrait, the viewer can still say- Wow... that really is him. That really is Michael Jackson. And that really is Mac Dre. And Bruce Lee, and Marilyn Monroe, and Frida Kahlo. I just wanted to feel like I really connected to each artist. And then through my art, show you what I've seen.


Thank you guys SO much for sticking with me through this project. And for all of the wonderful feedback you've given. I'm really glad you enjoyed it. It's been a lot of fun to do, and definitely to share with you. If you are new to this series, or just want a refresher, you can check out the rest of the "Art Never Dies" posts. And for those of you that were Winners in our Facebook Give-Aways, then you can be happy to know that prizes will be mailed soon. :)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent!!!
I really didn't understand (the depth & power) either. But about 2weeks after his passing, I was at Walmart (in the music dept.)and they were playing ABC.And I overheard 2 little Mexican boys (about 6 or 7 yrs old) one telling the other "mira ese cancion ABC es de Micheal Jackson. I listened and watched as they both boys got their groove on.
Tia G

Robert Trujillo said...

DOPE, gotta love this dude no matter what.Good work.

kf said...

i love this! good job!