Pinups

The first image shown here is my favorite Olivia work. I feel that it captures beauty, sensuality, and the essential purpose of adornment in an atmosphere of contemplation and mystery. Olivia has done many other pinups, most of which I also enjoy greatly, but this is the work that stands out above all the others for me. Olivia is beginning to achieve the fame she, in my considered opinion, justly deserves. You can purchase all manner of Olivia-ware. I own a beautiful color book, a tin sign which has a rendering of Betty Page, a set of collector cards, and even a T-shirt. Someday I hope to own a lithograph of this specific work.

Other pinup artists I appreciate include Gil Evgren, a "classic" pinup artist. His work spans many years (about 1937-1980), and the style is quite dated and limited as compared to Olivias... yet there is a warm, lovely feel to his imagery. The second image on the page is Evgren's work. Most of Evgren's work bear theme captions, meant to make a pun or put a twist into the viewing of the image. This one is captioned. "I run into the most interesting people". The temptation is to consider the captions silly, beneath notice - however, it appears to me that they speak to the innocence, if I might use that word here, of his style. Evgren has been well marketed of late, you can purchase sets of collector's cards, book, lithographs and more.

Finally, I appreciate Alberto Vargas' humor and his general feel for style. The last image here is his. It is entitled "Scheharazade", and is not typical of his work for Playboy, where most people have encountered his artwork. Playboy published many full page renderings of his work, and has supported the publishing of a book of his art, with a very appreciative forward by Hugh Hefner.

If you like these, you'll probably also enjoy looking at my tin sign collection.