Saturday, December 6, 2008

Saint Nicolas Day! Celebrate with a Cigar.

Before this blog peters out I will be justifiably accused of claiming ad nauseam that this or that image is my favorite Bolles pretty girl or magazine cover. But here and now I stand fast (scout's honor!) that this truly is my favorite Bolles advertising illustration. Aside from the punchy composition and incongruous theme (at least by today's standards), this is just a fabulous painting bordering on bravura. Even a casual look reveals a rhythm and cadence in the slashing brush strokes. There is no opportunity for overpainting here: one mistake and you start the entire thing over. And for me it is this very quality that make the illustration so intriguing. In a few years Bolles' technique would become so rarefied signs of brushstrokes would disappear altogether.

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