Emerald Empress by Barry Kitson

For quite a few months, I had been making a specific request for Barry's suggestion list: "Emerald Vi (Shrinking Violet as the Emerald Empress)". I thought she would look amazing in Barry's style, and I figured she was a character he had never drawn before. I was just over the moon when his wife and art rep Caitlin informed me that Barry had chosen one of my suggestions to draw - except the pencil prelim featured the regular Emerald Empress (from the original Legion continuity), instead of Emerald Vi from the Reboot. I'm sure some wires got crossed somewhere, and at first I wasn't even sure if the piece was for me or for someone who had actually requested the OG Empress. Caitlin did some digging, and it turned out the piece was indeed based off of my suggestion, so I was then given the choice to purchase the piece or let it go for sale to the whole Facebook group.

Now, in several other circumstances, I would have been a little upset or sad. I once went a whole year without Barry picking any of my suggestions to draw, so it could have been a real shame to get chosen but end up with the wrong character being drawn. Thankfully, the artist in question here is Barry Kitson, which means that anything he draws is absolutely, positively, stunningly gorgeous, and well worth picking up! It would have been ridiculous to walk away from this one, especially when Barry worked the pencil prelim up into one of the most incredible paintings I've ever seen! (Also, he and Caitlin were both so sweet and understanding about the character mixup, which I wanted to note because I think it goes to show what wonderful people they are.)

Well, where on Earth to start with this one? I think the most striking feature is how the paints Barry used make the Empress appear to be glowing just as much as her Eye is. The greens are all so bright and saturated, and you really get the sense that she's giving off this ominous green aura. I think the effect is heightened by all the beautiful deep blues Barry used for the space background - and on that note, I didn't specifically request that Barry put in a space background, but I kept my fingers crossed, and of course it came out just beautiful. Sometimes he'll throw a bunch of colours into his spacescapes, but I like that he kept this one mostly one shade of blue, so all the different greens in the foreground really pop against it.

I had to pick up the pencil prelim for this one, too (it's in the additional images). The amount of detail in it is just insane, and I honestly think it's polished enough to act as a finished piece on its own. Look at the individual strands of hair, the carefully-placed creases in her clothing (the folds around her bent wrist are so true to life it's not even funny), and the little details of her costume, like the emeralds around her waist. Understandably, some of those details had to be lost in order to turn it into a painting (compare stuff like her tiara in the prelim versus in the painting, where it's much less textured), but that's why I'm happy to own the prelim, too, so that those details can all be preserved! Someday I might even ask Barry to do an inks-only version for me, too, using the prelim as a reference. And frankly, I'm just amazed at how many details Barry was still able to preserve with his watercolours! The folds in the cape and the shading on her gloves and boots are all so carefully captured.

I think the best thing about owning both the prelim and the painting is that the Empress has different expressions in both, and it's hard to pick which one is my favourite. In the prelim, she's looking right at you, with a cold, unamused frown that says her patience with you has run out. In the painting, she's looking off into the distance with a slight smile, almost like you're not even worthy of her time as she daydreams of conquering the galaxy. Both expressions carry that haughty, regal air that's so integral to her character, and I love that Barry was able to find two different ways to convey it.