"BELLE"
©️ Disney 2025
©️ Disney 2025
Oil on linen | 24 × 18 in. (61 × 45.7 cm)
Part of a "Princesses" series (ongoing)
Light is important to me, story and design-wise. Simply put, Belle, intellectually, is a "bright" thinker, which influenced, in part, my placement of the backlighting nearer her head. There's a scene early in Beauty and the Beast in which Belle visits her village's library. There, she speaks to the librarian in front of a large, warm-colored window, which acts as one of the scene's light sources. This window, too, influenced the type of lighting I chose for this piece.
I imagined Belle was reading a book for the majority of the time she sat for her portrait, until it was time to paint her face, at which point I had her turn her head toward the viewer. In my mind, she's still holding out of frame the book she was reading. In terms of posing, Belle's torso being turned away from the viewer was a deliberate statement of humility and a sign of where she places her attention. To her, her portrait is almost an afterthought in light of her values; she is not vain. I like to think that this portrait was painted for her father.
~ 2.5 in. × 3.5 in. Color Study (also called a "Thumbnail" or "Poster Study") for Belle
Timelapse for Belle
