Friday, January 30, 2009

Tribute to Pin Up Queen...


UPDATED - Well, here's the finished piece... my tribute to the legendary 1950s pin-up queen with the killer curves and trademark coal-black bangs. "I don't want to be photographed in my old age," she told an interviewer in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."


... Bettie Page, who passed away last month at 85 years old. Her underground popularity has continued to soar despite the fact that the reclusive Page disappeared almost a half century ago, leading many to believe that one of the most photographed individuals of the 20th century was already dead. One example of how Bettie Page has been re-introduced to new generations of eager young fans: Artist Dave Stevens created a comic book hero called “The Rocketeer,” with a love interest clearly inspired by Bettie Page; Disney adapted it as a big budget, same-named motion picture vehicle for Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly. Stevens, recently deceased, became one of Page’s most devoted friends, one of the few she could trust. It was Stevens who escorted Bettie Page to the Playboy Mansion for a private 35mm screening of THE ROCKETEER in 1994. She had never seen the film before. She loved it.

At the request of my fellow bloggin' buddies, we decided to pay tribute to Page this month on our blogs. Here's a sketch i did that i plan to vectorize and color up as soon
as i can.

Stay tuned,
C!