While I love vintage pinup photos I’m not a big fan of most pinup art. Elvgren and similar artists for some reason just don’t interest me very much, and I guess this is the reason most modern pinup photography doesn’t interest me. It so often tends to emulate pinup paintings rather than pinup photos.

One major exception to this is Enoch Bolles. I love Bolles’ pinup paintings. His style is vastly different from most other pinup artists and his girls just have an entirely different air about them. They are so very glamorous, and they are truly seductive rather than looking stupid or displaying contrived innocence (no “oops” faces!). Not that I can’t enjoy that stupid look every now and then, but the attitude of Bolles’ girls are a breath of fresh air to me.

Bolles’ style is highly stylized and not very realistic, as opposed to the Elvgren type girls which quite clearly were painted from models. The Bolles girls are purely imaginary, and they are spectacular! They also tend to wear the most amazing and intricate outfits. Pay special attention to the shoes!

Many of these were found at the excellent Enoch Bolles blog.

Tons of pictures »

I haven’t seen many pictures by pulp illustrator Harry Lemon Parkhurst, but I love the ones I have. They’re exotic and feature the coolest ladies wielding spears, fighting with crocodiles and whatnot. His technique and anatomy are not the best, but who cares with motifs like these.

By the way, I made two separate tags for my own art and other people’s art, in case you’re looking for just one of the two.

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Mary Blair was a wonderful illustrator who did a lot of design and concept art for Disney. among other things she designed the It’s a Small World ride. We have a Mary Blair print over our sofa.

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Harold W. McCauley is another great pulp artist who has made some of my favourite covers. I also love his use of sparkle effects!

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