FLiP Magazine Pinup Published

Finally, the long awaited FLiP Magazine featuring my art of beautiful model/actress Jax Turyna is available to view online here.

The original photo by Ralph Haseltine was changed quite a bit, as you can see.  I also tried to create this artwork in the style of Gil Elvgren and Alberto Vargas, as well as the famous pinups that decorated our bombers in World War II.  I'm very happy with this piece, and I hope you are too.

For a limited time, we are offering 25 canvas printsof Jax' Pinup art. $10 from every one sold will be donated to send pinup books to our troops in VA hospitals. You get a quality canvas print of the beautiful Jax Turyna  for your wall.  Plus, we have a limited supply of 13 x 19 photo prints of this art for only $10, and each will signed byJax, photographer Ralph Haseltine and me. All proceeds will be donated to help the VA troops (except shipping of $5).

This is a great cause. Contact me for more information. Ends December 9!

Please watch FLiP Magazine for details on the upcoming auction for this original.  Also, you can buy a print right now, and ALL net proceeds will be donated as well.  Click here to view it on my website.

Marilyn Monroe, Part 2

New Art

A brand new piece, a new version of my Marilyn Monroe Reclining Nude drawing.  Based on the  photo by Bert Stern, this art is completely updated.

This drawing is actually a very special birthday gift from my wife and me to our son.  He always like the original version, but circumstances prevented us from getting a good print.  So, we decided to just recreate it, only better.

My wife played creative director, and this is truly her vision of how she wanted it to look.  Using graphite pencil, colored pencil and acrylic pen, we varied greatly from Mr. Stern's original photo, and tried to create a more alluring and softer look than what he wonderfully captured on film. From changing the face to the vibrant folds and colors in the blanket, she directed me and pushed me to create a piece that we can say our son truly loves.

I would love to hear your comments on this piece, so please email me any comments. And see my Marilyn Monroe prints at my page on Fine Art America.com 

Good-bye, Norma Jean

On August 6, 1962, the lifeless body of Marilyn Monroe was found in her home.  It was assumed that she died of an overdose barbiturates, although no suicide note or glass were found near her.  A Hollywood star's bright light, troubled as it was, was snuffed out.



Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jean Mortenson) has been the source of inspiration for  artists and photographers for more than a half century. She was Playboy Magazine's very first Playmate of the Month.  She played to the camera like no one had in years, and she appealed to both men and women.  The breathy voice, the hourglass figure, she was truly one of a kind, and she inspired quite a few imitators in the years since (Anna Nicole Smith and Madonna to name a couple).  A film starring Michelle Williams was made about her in 2011, 49 yers after her passing.  that is real staying power!


So, here's to you, Marilyn Monroe...like the great song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin says, we never really knew you at all, but we're so glad for the time you did spend with us.

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.