Hawaii 3-O 1988

Boris Vallejo conjured this tropical vision, Hawaii 3-O, with meticulous brushwork and a surprisingly muted palette for such a bombastic subject. You know, sometimes it’s fun to see just how far an artist can push a concept. There’s this fascinating contrast between the hyper-realism of the figures and the almost dreamy, soft-focus background. Look at the way the light glances off their muscles – Vallejo uses a glazing technique, building up thin layers of paint to create this incredible luminosity. And then, the sand and the sea are rendered with these broad, almost impressionistic strokes. It’s like he's saying, "Yes, I can paint every ripple of a bicep, but I can also just let the paint do its thing." I keep coming back to the way the bodies are staged, it's almost like a classical sculpture. It reminds me a bit of those old pulp magazine covers, that celebration of the fantastical and the idealised human form. It's all a bit silly, but there's a real skill and dedication on display, an ongoing conversation in paint.