An artwork of Kris Aquino as Princess Intan in “Crazy Rich Asians” earned praises for its royal-like portrayal of the actress wearing her Michael Cinco gown.
Artist Denver Balbaboco shared what could be considered a digital portrait of Aquino in his Instagram account.
“It is really amusing to know that the role was given to a legit rich Asian who happens to be the daughter of our former President and former Senator,” Balbaboco said.
“So technically, Kris Aquino will be there as herself, bringing glamor from afar. Lol. And I’m pretty sure majority of the Filipinos will support this movie to catch a glimpse of her.”
Balbaboco shared two pictures of the artwork, with the other one featuring a close-up version of the intricate details found in Aquino’s famous Michael Cinco gown.
People expressed their admiration in the comments section, saying that his artwork is “divine,” “beautiful” and “stunning.”
Michael Cinco himself reshared the artwork in his own Instagram account and praised Balbaboco, calling him a “super talented artist.”
It was also liked by the official Facebook page of Kris Aquino.
Aquino is playing the role of Princess Intan in the film, an aloof Malay royalty who refuses to speak to anyone. While the actress’ screen time is brief, the author has described her as a “highlight” of the film adaptation.
According to Aquino, the name of her character Intan means “diamond” in Malay and Indonesian language.
Face behind the art
Denver Balbaboco is a traditional and digital artist based in Antipolo City. His works have been regularly featured in various issues of Preview magazine, among others.
A quick scroll of his Instagram account reveals that he has also drawn impressive renditions of famous personalities like Liza Soberano, Pia Wurtzbach and Gerald Anderson, Kylie Padilla, Julia Barretto and the late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
In the comments thread of the Facebook post featuring Kris Aquino, Balbaboco shared that he created the artwork like an artist would create an oil painting.
“Same procedure in oil painting using classical technique, let dark be transparent and light, opaque,” he replied to a user.
He also shared in a previous interview with Preview magazine that he uses Adobe Photoshop CS6 to create his digital masterpieces.
“I prefer drawing portraits. I want to perfect the art of portraiture. I’m more into drawing outward appearances rather than drawing based on my emotions. I’m so inspired by the classic portraits of John Singer Sargent. He painted flattering society portraits,” he said. — Photo from Denver Balbaboco
