Arachne 1991

Boris Vallejo, who was born in 1941, made this painting called 'Arachne' sometime in his career. Look at how the image emerges out of darkness, like a figure from a dream. It's like when you're in the studio, and a painting slowly reveals itself, through layers and layers of looking and feeling. I wonder what Vallejo was thinking about when he painted this, maybe about powerful women, myths, and the way we're all caught in webs of our own making? It reminds me a little of some other fantasy painters, like Frank Frazetta, who are all about drama and capturing the viewer. Vallejo's touch with the airbrush is so smooth, creating these almost hyper-real figures. Making paintings is an ongoing conversation, stretching back to the earliest cave painters and all the way up to now. Each artist adds their own voice, their own vision, to the mix.