Diana by the Sea

Oops, sorry folks, my posts are even more erratic than usual. I have a major deadline in 10 days that will keep me pretty sketchy here. But I'll slip stuff in when I can. Here's some of the cool earlier stuff of Fritz Willis before he rendered pin-ups just for pin-ups sake.

Fritz Willis — Diana by the Sea

Fritz Willis — magazine illustration

Camels and Coffee

Many many people love pin-up art, and there is much of it (pin-up art, that is) for people to love. The golden age of pin-ups (1930?-1950?) was the best (in my opinion), I think because of a form of innocent sexuality. The nudity is removed from reality and the spirit of more innocent times is swirled into the paint.

Compare the work below, all created by the same artist, Fritz Willis. The top image is one of his earlier paintings and is just this side of being a cartoon for Esquire or Playboy, with stylized features and a golden aura. Below that is Willis' later work, from the Walter Foster art instruction book by Willis. The models are sophisticated women with a 60s' Las Vegas showgirl look about them. They're nicely done, but to my old and weary eyes they are commercial works trying to be fine art, whereas the first one is happy to be just a beautiful pin-up on a barrack's wall.

Fritz Willis — Camels and Coffee

Fritz Willis — cover art to the Walter T. Foster book, The Nude

Fritz Willis — sketch from his book, and some good advice

Fritz Willis — Chianti