What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Today’s subject matter is a still from Star Trek TOS. It’s a still from What Are Little Girls Made, featuring Sherry Jackson and Ted Cassidy as the androids Andrea and Ruk respectively. It’s a really well composed shot, which is probably why it features so often in the closing credits of the program.

I picked out this scene partly because of the great composition but also the mood. I found that it worked well when converted to three blues, so painted it in posterised style with the trippy scheme. I started by masking out the whites and spattering on masking fluid to create a starry background. Then the first layer was the usual random mix of yellows, reds, blues and viridian. I applied quite a thick, dark layer of paint today, so used some kitchen paper to lighten it a bit. And I threw on some salt, creating some more texture. My salt timing is starting to become pretty good. And, of course, the second and final layer was French ultramarine, and I threw on even more salt.

So is the final result any good? Oh yes. There’s so much to like about this one. It’s not just the faces. It’s Andrea’s body language, it’s the starry background, it’s the way the the control panels are lit. But most of all I think it’s the mid tones: those areas without the French ultramarine layer. There’s something about the colours there and about the way the paint looks as if it’s been spilt over the paper. It makes a carefully created painting look like an accident. And that’s magic.

This one is up for sale here.