Star Wars Art: How Carl Samson Painted an Oil Portrait of Padmé

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Faced with the challenge of creating a Star Wars-themed art for the book Star Wars Art: Visions by George Lucas (foreword) and J.W. Rinzler (introduction), artist Carl Samson decided to paint a portrait of Padmé (Queen Amidala) in oil with gold leaf on wood panel. And, lucky for us, he explains his step-by-step process for how he painted this epic Star Wars art.

May the Fourth be with you artists (get it?). Watch this fast and fun timelapse of Yo-Dali, and then sit back and enjoy reading how Samson brought Padmé to life.

Star Wars Art: Painting Padme Step-by-Step

This Star Wars art project was especially daunting. At the time, I’d had little experience painting on wood and didn’t know much about how to apply gold leaf. Nevertheless, here’s the story:

1. The Panel in Herman Wessel’s Attic

In the attic of the home/studio of artists Herman and Bessie Wessel (both deceased), I had found an American chestnut panel that had been expertly cradled on the back to prevent warping.

2. Notation of Panel Preparation by Herman Wessel

On the back of the panel was a note, dated February 1935 and signed by Herman Wessel. This note revealed that the panel had been prepared with two coats of zinc oxide (zinc white).

3. Sketch of Madonna and Child

On the panel surface was a lightly sketched image of Mary and the baby Jesus, as if Wessel had planned to copy an existing Byzantine icon painting. Letting this beautifully crafted and preserved panel continue gathering dust didn’t seem to be an option.

Meanwhile, my wife Carol, suggested I  incorporate gold leaf in my piece. About this time, I noticed at the Cincinnati Art Museum (near the former Wessel home/studio) a small but particularly beautiful picture of the Madonna by Dagnan Bouveret. It was gold leafed in the background. And the surface had been carefully incised and lightly hammered to beautiful effect. I suppose the idea of presenting Natalie Portman (Padme/Queen Amidala) as an iconic figure against a circular motif was a subconscious reaction to Wessel’s sketch.

4. Renaissance Mandala

Deciding to omit the typical halo, I began searching for alternatives when I stumbled on Renaissance-era mandalas — representations of the orbital path through the sky of various planets over time. This one caught my eye.

5. Placement of Mandala

With a full-sized charcoal preliminary drawing on tracing paper of Padme and a lot of experimentation, I began to get a feel for what would be an appropriate size and placement of the mandala.

6. Beginning the Oil Portrait of Padme

I then began laying in an image of Padme, one selected from the many choices that Lucasfilm had given me.

7. Indian Red Ground Background for Gold Leaf Application

After researching the various methods of gilding, I decided an oil technique would be best (as opposed to a water/clay bole-based process). That way I could proceed with my usual approach using opaque paints. I settled on an Indian red ground, and began painting the image wet into wet against that background color.

8. Adjustments to Mandala Placement

When I was ready to superimpose the mandala, I put tracing paper over the oil portrait, deciding precisely where to put all those intersecting circles and how they would juxtapose with the image.

9. Transfer and Incising of Mandala

I then chalked the back of the tracing paper, placed it on the panel and retraced the mandala in its final position. Then came the moment of no return.

It was time to start incising, deeply scratching through the red ground and into the panel that had been so carefully prepared in 1935. To get an idea what the gold leaf would look like, I had experimented with a small gold panel, which I placed it on the easel next to my portrait of Padme.

10. Application of Gold Leaf

I treated the areas to be leafed with oil sizing, being extremely careful not to put sizing on any part of the image of Padme. I was so anxious about applying the gold leaf, I neglected to photograph the process!

Gingerly placing each sheet near Padme’s profile without getting it into the actual painting require finesse somewhat akin to what I imagine is necessary for highly skilled microsurgery. I used tweezers, metal applicators with pointed ends — anything that could pick up an incredibly thin sheet of gold and get it up where I needed it to go in order to cover the area while lending a pleasing abstraction. I used three kinds of gold leaf, saving the coppery gold for the corners (see finished portrait).

11. Addition of Hammered Border

As a last minute design change, I carefully added a hammered border pattern around the mandala. I accomplished this with a hammer and a nail punch.

12. The Grand Reveal

Here you see the finished painting Padme Respendent With Naboo Mandala, which is featured in the book Star Wars Art: Visions. The original work was purchased by George Lucas for his personal collection.

About the Artist

Carl Samson is a repeat winner in the Portrait Institute’s National Portrait Competition. He is also the first artist to give a live, videotaped portrait-painting demonstration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Samson began his art studies at age 14 under Allen Banks. He was also one of the last two students to study the classical approach to realistic painting under R.H. Ives Gammell. Later Samson studied with Richard Lack at Atelier Lack in Minneapolis. He has won both the Grand Prize John Howard Sanden Award for Excellence in Portrait Painting and the Distinguished Achievement in Portrait Painting Award in the Portrait Institute’s National Portrait Competition.

His portraiture, including Padme Resplendent with Nabo Mandala, was featured in Artists Magazine. You can find this specific issue here. And, subscribe here to stay up to date on the latest art trends, inspirations, techniques and advice.