Hold Everything 1949

Gil Elvgren made this painting, ‘Hold Everything’, sometime during his career as a pin-up artist, using smooth, controlled brushstrokes to create a world of gentle curves and bright colors. The surface has a kind of flawless sheen; you can hardly detect any trace of the hand at all. It’s so different from the messy, drippy way I usually work. But look closer, and you can see how Elvgren uses subtle shifts in tone to create the illusion of depth and volume. Take the yellow dress. It's not just one flat color, but a whole range of yellows, from buttery highlights to shadowy folds. This reminds me of the kind of idealized beauty you see in classic Hollywood films. Maybe Elvgren and Norman Rockwell were looking at the same movies? You get a sense that painting is an ongoing conversation between artists across time. And it's okay if we don't always know exactly what they're saying! Art is all about embracing the ambiguity and multiple possibilities.