Saturday, October 22, 2011

SOLD - Pin-up Girl #3 - Dancer

Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencil on 100 lb Bristol Paper

Saturday October 22, 2011

This is the third drawing in my pin up girl project. My goal is to complete twenty drawings. I've always liked the art of 1930's, 40's and 50's. Many of the pin up artists from this period got their start in commercial illustration.

Artists like Gil Elvgren, Art Frahm, Pearl Frush, Earl Moran and many others created pin-up girls for advertising pieces, calendars and postcards. They worked in places like Chicago, New York and even in good old Saint Paul for companies like Brown and Bigelow. The work ranged from wholesome to provocative, but very few then or now would argue the quality of the work.

If you Google pin-up art you're very likely to see some fantastic work. You'll probably see some of Gil Elvgren's work, considered by many to the best of the Pin-up artists from the era. His work is very detailed but has a particular softness. His subjects are expressive and if I had to describe and compare him to another artist from his era I'd say he's a bit like the Norman Rockwell of pin-up's. There are many books about Elvgren and his contemporaries, Taschen puts out some of the best.

This particular drawing took me about two and a half hours. The Polychromos pencils I'm using are very good. They have a nice buttery consistency but they're hard enough to get a fine point when needed. Faber-Castell Polychromos cost a bit more, but they are well worth the extra money in my opinion.

This original drawing is now in the collection of Ms. Maureen Matos.

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