Happy New Year 2017: bring it on!...

After thirty days of absence, I'm back at blogging... oh yeah! Last time a posted a blog entry, I was about to wrap it up for the year. And I did. Now 2016 is a good memory, a very complex and long one, but a good memory indeed. 2016 was a year full of accomplishments on a personal and professional level, a year where I refused to say "maybe next time". I won't go into detail about it, since I already wrote about that in my past entry, but if you would like to read about it, just click here.

So, what's up with 2017? Do I have any plans for it? I mean, I did a lot for myself last year, so I guess I should sit back, relax and enjoy what I did, right? Not even close. Yes, I did a lot in 2016, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that there is a lot of work left to be done in 2017... and the years ahead. I am not remotely close to being able to hang up my hat and say: "I'm done". But honestly, even if I could, I don't think I would ever been able to do that. Nevertheless, as I have expressed before, the feeling of knowing that there is so much to be done is what keeps me going... and I love it!

Ok, but enough about plans, there will be plenty of time to show my progress, as we delve into 2017, month by month. However, I do have something to show off, even though we are just getting started, and that's the new "Happy New Year" pin-up. The reference model for the image in question is my dear friend Fascinatrix (Karina), an exceptional Brazilian burlesque performer. The last time Fascinatrix and I collaborated was in 2011, when I rendered not one, not two, but five images of her. After these many years of having her pin-ups as part of my portfolio, still being in the favorites among my clients, Fascinatrix is truly an example of how a model can become part of my life, through art. The artwork inspired by her modeling and her performance, has become an essential part of my work. Not because I said so, but because I saw it, through  my fans, through my clients. Thank you, Karina, for being not only a great inspiration, but an example of what is to live art, to breathe art... and to breed art as well. Obrigado, minha amiga!

I want to note that, even though the past mentioned image is the first of 2017, it really belongs to a block of images that I started rendering on the second half of 2016, the last five holiday images of my portfolio so far to be precise. These images consist of the holiday pin-ups of every year, some classic, some new, but all of them featuring a new look/style in my artwork. But more importantly, they feature models with whom I have been fortunate enough to collaborate for the past several years. That doesn't mean that I get to work with their image all the time. At the very most I get to collaborate with them separately once a year. But, that's precisely why I wanted to highlight it: it's truly great to be able to work with so many models, but it's even more rewarding to keep a friendship with some of them after all these years. They have supported my artwork for a long time. We go our separate ways and in a way we get together again every so often to create a new piece of art. Personally, I feel proud and excited when I see the work each one of them has done during the time that has passed in between our collaborations. I not only get to say that I admire them and worked with them, but more importantly, I get to call them my friends. Thank you Lisa Del Toro, Seffana (Seffy Moon), Ijsselina and Fascinatrix for making the images I mentioned earlier, a tribute not only to pin-ups, but to real muses as well. I look forward to work with more models that have been part of my growth as an artist, as well as new models when it comes to my portfolio. But for now, the credit goes to you, my friends, for still being the inspiration that you were many years ago when we just met through our words.

Now, getting back to business after a well deserved vacation, I just want to confirm that my online store is open again. I know, I know, everybody is broke after the holiday shopping, but hey, the store is there, in case you want a  print or merchandise. One of the plans for this year is to introduce more and more merchandise to my online store, so stay tuned. Would you like to be informed about sales and coupons? Just subscribe to my newsletter and you're set to go. Last but not least, if you like my artwork and would like to support it, please consider becoming a patron of my work, through Patreon, a platform designed specifically to connect artists with people who would like to support them. You can visit my Patreon profile by clicking here.

That is all for now. I will be back later on this week to keep rambling about what is to be a pin-up artist, in my own version. I just want to wish everybody a Happy New Year, hoping that this year starts the right way for you. If it hasn't, don't worry, we still have 12 months left to change that. Bring it on, 2017, I am ready and waiting! :)

See you next time!
​~Pops.

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