On the Sudden Death of a Friend

Last week I lost a friend and coworker--Bernie Fansler, the overnight supervisor at the Geneva, Illinois Home Depot store where I work part time, suffered a massive heart attack at home, and finally succumbed last Friday morning.  It's been a very tough time for all of us. Bernie was a true gentleman; he possessed an infectious laugh, was always cheerful, and very accommodating to those of us who worked with him.

Bernie supported his handicapped sister and his seriously ill brother without complaint. Unfortunately, he had no life insurance, leaving the family with no money for a funeral.  Our store is taking up a collection for them, and whatever we raise will be doubly matched by Home Depot's associate charity fund.  I wanted to do something in my position as an artist to help out Bernie's family, so I have  set up a couple of promotions of my artwork.   All the net proceeds of these sales will be donated to our store management for the Fansler family.

One promotion is a special rate on one of my most popular pieces, a drawing of former Playmate Louann Fernald through Fine Art America.  This is an 8" x 10" quality print on stretched canvas, for only $39. My net markup on this is $4, so if you purchase one, you'll be donating four bucks to the Bernie's family.  And if you send it to me, I'll sign the print personally!

I'm also selling some of the prints in my own inventory for Bernie--Carlotta Champagne, Lindsey Vuolo, Farrah Fawcett and others.  Almost all of these are 13" x 19", printed on photo paper, & perfect for framing. They are available on eBay, please see them all.


I realize that things are really tough for people these days, and I understand money is tight.  This is a family that REALLY needs help, and anything that can be contributed by next week will be matched by twice as much.  So besides the personal donation that I am making, I hope that that I can do more for them with my artwork and your kindness. Thank you.

From Photo to Art--Marilyn Monroe

While watching television on Sunday, I noticed that Turner Classic Movies was featuring screen goddess Marilyn Monroe, in some of her best roles, like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," How To Marry a Millionaire," "Bus Stop," and others.

I wrote a blog about her in June,  in recognition of what would have been Marilyn's 85th birthday.  I included images of the two drawings I've done of her.  However, I have never featured her in a "From Photo to Art" entry, and since that blog was posted, I have updated the jpeg of the original drawing.

This artwork is based on a photo taken by photographer Bert Stern in 1962, from a series now known as "The Last Sitting."  Shot 6 weeks before her untimely death, Mr. Stern shot her over 3 days in LA, capturing a flirty, sexy, playful sex goddess (Bert Stern recreated the Last Sitting with actress Lindsey Lohan for New York Magazine a few years ago).  The results

I was greatly inspired by this photograph, as I believe it one of the sexiest, most erotic I've seen of Marilyn.   Who couldn't gaze upon a beautiful screen icon, laying nude on her bed, with just the sheets to partially cover her, and a 'come-hither' look on her face, which is almost post-coital.

Of my two Marilyn Monroe portraits, this was actually the first image chosen, although it was the second one drawn (they were both gifts for family members).  I opted to create this on a buff colored illustration board, instead of my customary white board, and, along with graphite pencil, I also added some colored pencil in a few places to highlight it.

There are some differences between the original reference photo and my art---I added dark tones behind her head because the back light Mr. Stern wonderfully incorporated into the shot, unfortunately took away some of the definition of Marilyn's hair.  I also changed the sheets to make them more rumpled, as if they were "well-used."  I also showed more of the side of her right breast, as a bit of a glamour tease.

I am hoping to create another Marilyn Monroe illustration in the near future. She is the epitome of the Hollywood sex symbol, and her untimely death only made her legend grow.

To see more of my artwork, please visit Fine Art America.

On A Nude Wife Sale....

I decided to run a sale....

or, perhaps the proper term would be a 'promotion.'  It seems that many of the great folks who find this blog have used the search term 'naked wives,' or a variation of those words.  As there is obviously a lot of interest in the subject, and I somewhat specialize in drawing 'naked wives,' I thought that maybe it is the time to promote some special pricing for Naked Wife drawings.

I am offering 10% off the published commission rates for any Naked Wife (or Almost Naked Wife) art commission until July 10, 2011.  This is a great opportunity to immortalize your better half (or ladies, yourself) as the Pinup Goddess that you are.  And 10% off my already reasonable rates can save you up to $65.

I've included examples of Naked Wives in this blog--one commissioned by the husband, the other by the wife herself.  These projects were fun and very rewarding, and I believe the clients were happy with the outcome.

Contact me at vincewolff2004@yahoo.com if you are interested in learning more about this promotion.  I'll send you prices and terms immediately.

On (Almost) Nude Wives

I recently completed a commission, one that I started in the winter.  The husband who hired me wanted a drawing of a photo of his wife, from a series of boudoir images she had taken while he served in Afghanistan.  He was so taken with the photos, that he wanted to surprise her with artwork based on one of them.  We mutually agreed upon the photo, and I got to work.

My aim with this piece was to make the model look nude, even though she is wearing lingerie in all of the photos.  Implied nudity, as it is called, can be much sexier than nudity in many cases---the mysteriousness of the implication can be quite erotic.  Think of any Playboy Playmate ever shot---they almost always are wearing some small article of clothing, or high heels.  The 'half undressed" look, as opposed to complete nudity of fine art nudes, gives the image a more sexual charge.

As I've said before in my blogs, I really enjoy doing nude portraits of wives.   The husbands are always so proud of their spouses, sometimes gushing about the lady's figures, and I've found that, even if she doesn't have possess "model looks."  Every guy likes to think of his spouse as glamourous in some way, and that's very nice to hear.

On Birthdays...Lots of Them

Today is my birthday, my 51st to be exact.  I'm not looking for well wishes or anything, this post is more of a reflection.

30 years ago, I thought my life would be very different than it has turned out.  Regrets, as Frank Sinatra sang, I have a few (more than a few).  There are so many things that I would have changed "if I knew then what I know now."  But, I recently read a book written for incoming college freshmen, The Naked Roommate, by Harlan Cohen (very much recommended).  One thing I took away from Mr. Cohen is that "10% of things in college are bad, but 90% is awesome.  Problem is, we focus so much on the bad 10%, we forget about the awesome 90%."

This statement can be applied to life as well.  We have been given a lot of challenges in the past year or so, and,  even being an optimist most of the time, I have been down a lot.  But  this bit of advice can be taken to heart---most of life is pretty good, and if you focus on that, then you can get through all the crap.

I'm very luck to have a wife that supports my choice of art--not many spouses are willing to let their husbands draw strange, nude women--not only does my wife stand behind me, she is very instrumental and  always offers unbiased critiques.  I am very lucky!

So, I wish all of you the best for the rest of 2011 and beyond.  May you take what life gives you, and if it's lemons, make the proverbial lemonade.

From Photo to Art--Carlotta Champagne, Part Deux

My most popular blog is about how I transformed a photo of Playboy Special Editions model & Cyber Girl Carlotta Champagne into a drawing, and the changes I made to create it.  I thought I'd show another example from the same photo shoot.

As I wrote in the other blog,  my friend Rob Domaschuk, who is a fine art nude photographer, shot Carlotta in my rec room.  We had her pose by my bar in a variety of nude poses, wearing a tie & a fedora hat.  Being the consummate professional, Carlotta struck a variety of wonderful poses--sexy, whimsical, & erotic--and Rob was able to take some great reference pics.My wife suggested this photo for my next drawing of Carlotta, as she really liked her playful pose and dazzling smile.  Unlike the previous image from this set, I didn't want to deviate from the original photo too much.  Carlotta has an extraordinarily ability as a model to evoke so may different facial expressions, and this one really captures her personality.  I thought Rob's original photo was almost perfect as it was.

I started this drawing at Glamourcon 2007 in Chicago, so that people could see how I work while at the show.  Carlotta and I had our tables set up next to each other, and she graciously offered to sign it for a prospective buyer at no charge.  While she and I were off the show floor getting a bite to eat on the first day, my wife came to tell me that someone was, indeed, interested in discussing the drawing.  The gentleman bought it even before it was completed, and he has it signed and hanging in his home.

I get great inspiration from the beautiful women that I am privileged to draw, and Carlotta is definitely pure inspiration.  She has beautiful facial features, a great smile, and a tremendous, hourglass figure.  I have started a 3rd drawing from this set, and will post it when it is completed.

See more great images of Carlotta here at Fine Art America.

On Chasing Art Commissions

Michelangelo did it, da Vinci did it, even guys like Raphael and Titian did it----they worked on paid commissions.   Now , the circumstances are a bit different today than during the Renaissance era---these artists would operate a studio, and have apprentices help them on art commissions while they learned the business of art (it was a guild back then, a trade).  But they still were contracted to create art, and were paid when they did it.

It was always my intention to become a commercial artist, i.e, an illustrator for hire.  When I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I was called a 'prostitute' by some friends when I told them just that.  We were expected to live for our art: to take a some time of job (anything), and paint, draw, or sculpt; get our work in a gallery, and provide for ourselves that way.   Not for me.   My dream was to be published in magazines like Playboy, Esquire--anything that featured art as editorial or in advertisements. I always found more value being viewed by the masses.

Fast forward, and I now work as a marketing director at a magazine agency, which hasn't really helped me become published as one might think.  I also work at a major home improvement chain as a certified nursery consultant.  No help there, either.  So, I chase down commissions on the side, which normally consists of men wanting sexy images of their wives or significant others.  Or the wife having me create an illustration of her for the husband.  Either way,  it's an eventual payday, and I'm not complaining.


Commissions are a nice balance to the work I do for me, my own personal "Michael Jordan" art  (Jordan allegedly had a clause in his Chicago Bulls contract that he was allowed to play pick-up basketball games anytime, for "the love of the game").  There are rewards from both kinds of artwork.  Doing commission work like these helps to pay the bills, but when I do a "me" project, it is always of someone that really inspires me.  Unfortunately, they may sit for quite a while until I complete them.

I have been lucky so far this year---I am completing a commission of a lovely wife in the next week or so, have had a couple of serious inquiries on new art, and agreed in principle with a former client to produce a new one of his wife.  I am lucky that people entrust me with this type of art, and I take it seriously.