No. 207: Sitting Pretty

"Barbara Eden pinup" by Tom Wills, July 2013, 26'' x 32''

I recently was urged to "try something different" by a woman at an art show.
She said my drawings of musicians, families, dogs and cats are all very nice, but that I should expand my possibilities.
I said that I've also done lighthouses. Italian towns. A country road. Historic buildings. A butterfly? *
"Not mind-blowing," she said.

For sale at $200. Email hankbonesman@embarqmail.com.

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So I conjured up the Jeannie from the bottle.
Barbara Eden. The first televised navel. It blew my childhood mind, for sure. Still does.
Thank you, Google, for bringing up her image when I typed in "1950s pinup model."
Shazam!

The classic black and white pinup was and remains art. Everything had to be perfect: The lighting, the shadows, the pose.  This photo, I am sure, was shopped around Hollywood before Barbara got her big break in a bottle.

Trying to transfer those shadows and light to pencil and paper proved challenging.
The most difficult thing was making her look smooth. And maybe a little shiny.
Those who know my style understand that I draw dark and rough, lots of angles and hash marks.
This one had to be all clouds. Smooth transitions from light to dark.

The other problem was her face.
Because it is not a full-sized portrait, the face could not be large and central.
It is a full-length body portrait. So some detail in the face had to surrender to the overall image.
She's a young Barbara Eden, not a "Jeannie."
I don't think she could be bottled up.

I had never before drawn the full female form.
It struck me that this pose probably raised a lot of eyebrows, at the time.
My God, she's got breasts and thighs! Where have those been hiding?
Nowadays this is really tame, but still "something different" enough for me.

The chair is one of those swingin' poolside deals, all laced up in plastic.
I admit to digging the high heels.
"Don't take 'em off, don't take 'em off.  Leave 'em on."
I can dream, can't I?

And you know that this is in your head:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwpH_IYg0N8

* In fact, Babs here was drawn in between work on three other projects:  A portrait of two children, a portrait of a friend's mother-in-law, and ... yep ... another dog.