Get a first look at all the releases coming next week, along with commentary from the artists themselves.
Here’s some good news for Star Wars fans who love going to Celebration and picking up exclusive prints from their favorite illustrators and painters: Lucasfilm has decided that the Star Wars Celebration 2020 Art Show must go on. And StarWars.com is thrilled to reveal the entire slate, coming next week; a widely diverse offering of technique and style, the collection ranges from Chris Trevas’ photorealistic and clever depiction of a moment only alluded to in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, to Danny Haas’ gorgeous tribute to Ahsoka Tano. Every piece in the Star Wars Celebration 2020 Art Show will be available starting December 15 at 12 p.m. PT on darkinkart.com. But first, check out an exclusive sneak peek below, with insights from the artists.
Premonitions
“Leia, away from the busyness of court at the capital city of Alderaan, has taken the Tantive IV to the Royal family's country chateau. This ancient, stately residence was made centuries before the capital city's construction. Although the ancient stones show many years of wear, it remains a place of strength, peace, and solace for the princess. And yet, Leia has a sense of danger and melancholy in her heart as she looks at the setting sun descending behind the towering cliffs. Perhaps it is because this is indeed the last time the princess will look upon her beloved homeworld.” -- Jerry Vanderstelt
Dark Visions
“Even though we only got to see Empress Palpatine for an instant I was immediately inspired to create a piece based off of this new dark version of Rey. I wanted it to focus on the cool confidence and power she brought to the screen, highlighted by the atmospheric glow of her lightsabers.” -- Candice Dailey
Furball
“The idea for this painting came to me after my trip to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in January 2020. We adopted a Loth-cat at the Creature Stall and we carried it around the park all day. It sparked my imagination for all the things loth cats would get up to at this outpost.” -- Kayla Woodside
Ahsoka
“I wanted to celebrate the story we had of Ahsoka through to the end of Clone Wars and Rebels with a collage of her through the years.” -- Danny Haas
The Legend of Lando
The Bad Batch
“The rag-tag squad Clone Force 99, nicknamed the ‘Bad Batch,’ left a huge impression with me when Season Seven of The Clone Wars premiered in early 2020. The Bad Batch's first on-screen tangle with Separatist forces left the clankers in pieces, scattered across the canyons of Anaxes, and it was a moment that I was sure I wanted to depict for Celebration 2020. Hunter, Tech, Crosshair, and Wrecker all had unique moments to shine in their separate but complementary expertises, wowing fellow fans of the show. The chaotic cooperation was something I strived to represent in my piece, showing them together acting as one cohesive unit.” -- Joe Hogan
Regal Guardian
“As Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala was devoted to the protection of her people and her planet. This piece captures the strength of the young queen who, against all odds, formed a partnership with the inhabitants of her planet to defeat the Trade Federation. Her legacy of leadership and service to her people lived on in her children who fought valiantly against their oppressors, just like their mother.” -- Adam Schickling
A Diplomatic Mission
“I decided to digitally paint one of my favorite scenes of the original trilogy: the moment we get to see Vader, Leia, and the rest of the bunch for the very first time. With a passion for cartoons and vintage aesthetic, I decided to reimagine this tense interrogation as a scene in an animated cartoon.” -- Asia Ellington
The North Ridge
“For the 40th anniversary of Empire, I really wanted to create something based around Hoth, but from a different perspective to what we see in the film. Here, Vader approaches through the aftermath of the assault on Echo Base.” -- Malcolm Tween
Padmé’s Love
“I actually did my first Star Wars drawing in my mom’s car on the way home from the theater, but it wasn’t until 20 or so years ago that I was lucky enough to begin making Star Wars art professionally. Not too long after that, in 2002, I participated in my first Celebration Art Show, and have been in every show since. My piece for this year’s show, entitled ‘Padme’s Love,' completes the triptych I began with 'Leia’s Hope' in 2017. We’re currently living in strange times, and while I missing seeing all of you at Celebration, I’m happy that I have the chance to share my work with you. -- Russell Walks
The Places I've Called Home
“I wanted to create a piece that shows the places in Luke's life where he's been the most at home. We all have those locations in our lives...the home we grew up in, the friend’s basement where we spent all our formative years hanging out, the schools we learned how to grow in...and the place where we've settled into our lives as adults. I wanted to showcase those for Luke.” -- Katie Cook
Darth Vader
“Darth Vader is more than faceless villain of the Empire. He is the fallen hero Anakin Skywalker, the prophesied ‘Chosen One’ who would bring balance to the Force. This illustration depicts the Sith Lord facing a window to his future, surrounded by the choices of his past.” -- Spencer Brinkerhoff
The Droids You’re Looking For
“I have been a lifelong fan of Star Wars since I first saw Return of the Jedi on the big screen. One of my earliest memories from watching that movie is meeting C-3PO and R2-D2, two droids who would join me and so many other fans on our epic journey. Droids have become such an integral part of Star Wars and over the years we've had the pleasure to meet so many in the movies, the animated series, the live-action series, the comics, and the video games. For the longest time I have wanted to do a piece of art that would celebrate all those beloved droids and I figured the best place to find a whole bunch of them in the Star Wars universe is on a sandcrawler along with some savvy droid-selling Jawas! I've tried to bring as many droids together from every corner of the Star Wars galaxy in my piece. I hope everyone can find their favorite one in there!” -- Brian DeGuire
Hope
“My inspiration for this piece was the theme of hope, which is a current through all of the storylines of Star Wars. These women each represent that hope and I wanted to showcase them side by side to demonstrate the strong female characters that carry this message in each of their stories.” -- Karen Hallion
On the Eve of War
"I started the propaganda series back in 2007 with 'Spirit of '77' and here I am with the 8th piece in the series, 'On The Eve Of War.' The Rebellion was built on scraps and what better way to illustrate that than 'support your own' style propaganda. Usually, I would alternate between the Rebellion and the Empire, but this year I was really struggling to bring an Imperial concept to fruition. I had been wanting to do this piece for a few years and then we lost Peter Mayhew, and it made this piece mean even more to me. I found a new drive to make this piece come together. I hope it captures the heart behind those who never seem to tire in the battle against the Empire." -- Cat Staggs
The Queen’s Wardrobe
“My illustration is a love letter to all of the artists and craftspeople who designed and created such beautiful costumes for Queen Amidala and her handmaidens in The Phantom Menace. It also celebrates the ever vibrant and engaging world of Star Wars cosplayers who create happy Celebration memories for so many fans around the world.” -- Dawn Murphy
Be With Me
“In my work, I frequently reference iconic moments from the Star Wars universe and reimagine them in new ways to present them from a different perspective, such as the 'Rey's Abduction' and 'Mourning for Padmé' illustrations that I created for previous Star Wars Celebrations. Continuing this tradition, I thought this time around it would be interesting to tackle the scene from Rise of Skywalker in which Rey is training on the jungle moon of Ajan Kloss. Rey repeats 'Be with me' over and over as she floats above the ground, inviting the Jedi of the past to speak to her. Frustrated, she feels as though she might never be able to hear their voices. But as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker had once said, 'No one's ever really gone,' and even though Rey was not aware of it, I believe she had never truly been alone. A thousand generations of Jedi lived within her, watching over her and guiding her. Rey was able to draw upon their wisdom, bravery, and strength, and ultimately summoned the courage to face her destiny." -- Erik Maell
Meltdown on Hoth
“I knew I wanted to continue my series of unseen scenes from previous Star Wars Celebrations and my movie choice was obvious since this year is the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. I also knew I wanted to paint Princess Leia again to go along with previous pieces featuring her during A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. With those choices in mind, it struck me that I could make this a personal milestone for myself and revisit one of my earliest career highlights, the Little Golden Book 'Meltdown on Hoth.' My first illustrated children’s book, published in 1998, tells the story of C-3PO and R2-D2’s dilemma when the heat is turned up in Princess Leia’s quarters, as mentioned during banter between the droids in Echo Base. That book project was really the beginning of my fascination with scenes that take place between what we see on screen. I really loved the idea of going back to the story with my current art style. It was a challenge to capture the essence of the full book in a single frame, but really fun to relive the memories of painting all the dripping walls and puddles. Leia’s classic white dress from A New Hope was a new element I brought into this version because it’s so recognizable and she’s wearing it at the end of the movie, so we know the droids managed to save at least some of her clothes!” -- Chris Trevas
No Life Signs
“Like many artists working today, I was heavily influenced by monster movies and Star Wars while growing up. One of the things I loved most about Star Wars was how elements of old monster movies were sometimes incorporated into the story. I was inspired to do the same for this image. The idea was to try and illustrate the menacing threat looming so close but the subject is totally unaware. Like Dracula or Frankenstein emerging from the shadows, a monstrous wampa emerges from the near white out of the snow and haze. Moments before catching Luke Skywalker unaware.” -- Lee Kohse
This is No Cave!
“'This is No Cave!’ depicts the thrilling moment when our heroes, in the Millennium Falcon, just manage to escape from the gaping jaws of the horrific space slug as seen in The Empire Strikes Back. The composition of the piece is also an homage to a classic movie poster starring a very hungry Carcharodon carcharias.” -- William O’Neill
ESB Memories
“ESB Memories is about that feeling, that smell, the excitement of being in a toy aisle in 1980. Staring at the massive wall of toys, imagining playing with them all, and memories of the movie and characters.” -- Corey Galal
OTHER PLACES: The Future. The Past. Old Friends, Long Gone...
“Inspired by Yoda's words to Luke while training him in The Empire Strikes Back, we see Yoda meditating on Dagobah between the prequel trilogy and the original three films. Yoda sees images of characters from not only the Skywalker saga but the entire Star Wars galaxy who are connected through the Force -- both the light side and the dark. The images take the form of stained glass, creating a kind of cathedral of the Force.” -- Jeff Carlisle
Star Wars Celebration 2020 Art Show will be available starting December 15 at 12 p.m. PT on darkinkart.com.
