America's Forgotten Pin-Up Girl

Word of the day: Zaftig /zäftig/ adjective: (of a woman) Having a full, rounded figure; plump. Meet Hilda, the creation of illustrator Duane Bryers and pin-up art’s best kept secret. Voluptuous in all the right places, a little clumsy but not at all shy about her figure, Hilda was one of the only atypical plus-sized pin-up queens to grace the pages of American calendars from the 1950s up until the early 1980s, and achieved moderate notoriety in the 1960s. “She’s a creation out of my head. Despite being one of history’s longest running calendar queens alongside the likes of Marilyn Monroe, even the most dedicated vintage enthusiasts probably won’t have come across Hilda before. “[Duane Bryers] had the chops to have been one of the greatest pin-up artists in America, but possibly his lust for ample-sized women prevented that,” admits the online gallery curator and Hilda collector, Les Toil. Of the moment he first discovered the lost Hilda watercolour illustrations, Les recalls:

Photoshop? NO. These Are Real Animals Katerina Plotnikova did something extremely amazing! She used no photoshop! All poses and animals are real! Featured illustrator: Rafael Alvarez Rafael Alvarez is an illustrator based in NYC. Personally I’m a very big fan of his editorial illustration work. The Most Alien-Looking Place on Earth | awesome-elephant.com Socotra Island: you have to see it to believe it We covered some otherwordly places before, but this island simply blows away any notion about what is considered “normal” for a landscape on Earth. (images credit: Jan Vandorpe , socotra ) Imagine waking up on the Socotra Island and taking a good look around you (let’s say your buddies pulled a prank on you and delivered you there, and lets also assume that you don’t have any hangover from abuse of any substances). The second would be closer to the truth for this island, which is part of a group of 4 islands, has been geographically isolated from mainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years. (images credit: dianadrz , Irina Travina) (image credit: socotra ) The climate is harsh, hot and dry, and yet – the most amazing plant life thrives there. (image credit: Marco Pavan ) The name Socotra is derived from a Sanscrit name, meaning “The Island of Bliss”… Is it the beaches? Alien-looking plants: H. (image credit: Christian Besnier ) Dune?

Ask the Crafter Disturbing (But Amazing) Pictures Expose The Absurdities Of Modern Culture *Warning: Graphic Images* One of my first thoughts after coming across these illustrations was, “How have I never seen this artist’s work before?”, because they are freaking amazing. Too few artists today have the courage to tackle important social commentaries with their art. But Spanish artist Luis Quiles has undoubtedly broken this mold with his series of illustrations that depict some relevant and unfortunate realities of our world today. Through his art, Quiles challenges a wide range of controversial issues ranging from over-the-counter drug addiction, censorship, and corruption, to sexism, violence, child abuse, and most pertinent of all, our cultural social-media-crazed obsession. There is something raw and hauntingly telling about the commentaries being expressed through each illustration, perhaps in part due to the apparent truth that exists in the messages. Take your time with this one to enjoy these fantastic pieces of art! The force-feeding of cheap food to the docile and lethargic public. Enough said.

Ink and Scratchboard Illustrations Nico Delort’s impressive ink and scratchboard illustrations inspired by books and stories. virtualshoemuseum.com Ephemeral Portraits Cut from Layers of Wire Mesh by Seung Mo Park Using a process that could be the new definition of meticulous, Korean sculptor Seung Mo Park creates giant ephemeral portraits by cutting layer after layer of wire mesh. Each work begins with a photograph which is superimposed over layers of wire with a projector, then using a subtractive technique Park slowly snips away areas of mesh. Each piece is several inches thick as each plane that forms the final image is spaced a few finger widths apart, giving the portraits a certain depth and dimensionality that’s hard to convey in a photograph, but this video on YouTube shows it pretty well. Park just exhibited this month at Blank Space Gallery in New York as part of his latest series Maya (meaning “illusion” in Sanskrit). You can see much more at West Collects. (art news, west collects, lavinia tribiani)