American Bombshell 2003

Greg Hildebrandt painted "American Bombshell" and, looking at the image, I can imagine the brushstrokes carefully building up layers of color to create a polished, almost hyper-realistic scene. I wonder what Hildebrandt was thinking when he painted it? The woman is holding a machine gun in front of a fiery explosion, a strong female figure amid chaos. The surface is smooth, with no trace of the artist's hand. The textures are meticulously rendered, from the metal of the gun to the fabric of her clothes, to the woman's alluring look in her eyes. There is a lot of technical skill in the way the light and shadow are handled, giving the image a real sense of depth and drama. It's as if the artist is in conversation with the history of pin-up art while adding his contemporary twist. Painting can be a real exchange of ideas across time, each artist building on what came before, inspiring new ways of seeing and feeling.