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Rebel Artist Spirit In Spain, the genres of pin-up art and fantasy-erotica find their greatest expression in the work of Carlos Diez. Besides producing paintings, illustrations and sketches in the studio, he is involved in art education. Born in 1966 in Madrid, Carlos Diez had several early influences that shaped his artistic vision. He was always interested in science fiction films and television series. He claims to have recorded episodes of Space 1999 on audio tape and replayed them countless times. Movies provided great imaginative stimulation and Diez began drawing at a very young age, partly as a way to prolong the pleasure of the movies he saw. Some time after seeing Star Wars, Diez had an important realization. He found that it was much more exciting to draw the likes of Princess Leia than it was to draw the masculine heroes of the movies he adored. The pin-up artist was born. As Carlos himself described it: "All the paper that went through my hands started to get filled with curves and more curves, trying to recreate the image of those beautiful women" The artists fate appeared to be sealed when he found a book of Alberto Vargas illustrations and realized that what he was trying to accomplish in his drawings had precedent, and a name: "pin-up." Although he attended the University of Fine Arts and School of Applied Arts for one year, Diez is largely self-taught. Art school didn't meet his expectations and so he embarked on his career without academic qualifications or much formal training. His imagination and skill with the airbrush led him into early work for record labels and advertising agencies. But again, the rebel spirit was restless and longed to focus on works of fantasy and erotica. Opportunity eventually came knocking, and Diez's work came to appear on poster and covers for a great variety of publications. These include magazines such as Heavy Metal, Playboy, Penthouse, and GQ, as well as comic books including Kiss Comics, El Vibora, Eros Comic, Gigamesh, and Dolmen. The artist has thus achieved very broad exposure and his erotic images have garnered popularity both in his native Spain as well as in North America. Carlos Diez work has become even more various, and he has contributed to TV and radio as well as to the music industry. His work with Locomotive Music, a major Spanish label, has included covers for heavy metal bands such as Transilvania 666, Tribute to Iron Maiden, Easy Rider, Tierra Santa, Azrael and Lujuria. The Internet has helped the artist achieve even broader recognition. He launched his official website in 2002 and quickly began receiving requests and praise from around the world. One of the most important connections he made was with Robert Bane, the renowned collector of erotic art and supporter of erotic artists. Bane asked for some of the artist's original work for an exhibition at the Tamara Bane Gallery in Los Angeles. Diez's subsequent trip to California also provided an opportunity to meat Kevin Eastmen and begin his work with Heavy Metal magazine. The work of Carlos Diez includes traditional pin-up, for which he relies on an international coterie of models (he receives many requests), as well as unique combinations of fantasy and erotica. The artist's development of this combination resulted primarily from the great demand for such work, which led him to study the art of Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo and Alfonso Azpiri. He credits these masters with teaching about the use of color. From Luis Royo, whom he calls the "great master of erotic art," he has learned to appreciate detail. Diez also mentions many others as formative influences, including Sorayama, Geiger, and de Berardinis. Some of the finest erotic images can be found in the book The Art of Carlos Diez: Objects of Desire. The artist himself took great pains arranging each page and ensuring that each detail advanced his artistic vision. This is a full color 136-page collection of paintings and drawings that has been called a "delightful amalgam of erotic daydreams." It provides many excellent examples of the artist's work. Carlos Diez continues to work in Spain. He has celebrated the 10th anniversary of his institute "C10 Formación Creativa Gráfica y Digital." Located in Madrid, the institute offers courses in a wide range of visual arts, including comic book art, manga, illustration, drawing, airbrushing, graphic design, and digital photography. His involvement in education is rather ironic, considering that he was largely self-taught, but he certainly has much to give back to the world of art. Major Accomplishments work has appeared in major magazines including Heavy Metal, Playboy, Penthouse and GQ. comic book work includes illustrations for Kiss Comics, El Vibora, Eros Comic, Gigamesh, and Dolmen. has designed CD covers for a great variety of heavy metal bands with Locomotive Music. work has been shown in the Tamara Bane Gallery in Los Angeles, California. published The Art of Carlos Diez: Objects of Desire. founded his own school dedicated to the visual arts, C10 Formación Creativa Gráfica y Digital.

Dark Gothic Fetish Erotica Gerald Brom is one of the most fascinating American artists currently working in the genres of gothic fantasy and erotic art. With a monstrous imagination combined with extraordinary skill, he produces art that is truly unforgettable. Brom was born in 1965 in the southern United States, but as the son of an army pilot he moved around a great deal. His family lived not only in the U.S. but also abroad in Japan and Germany, which is where the young Brom graduated from high school. Some of his early influence was from the literature of writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Howard and, particularly, Michael Moorcock, whom Brom credits with inspiring his particular brand of gothic fantasy. The artist's talent was prodigious, and at the ripe age of 20, after two years at a technical art college in Georgia, he was working full-time as a commercial illustrator. By age 21 he was working with an impressive list of clients, including CNN, Columbia Pictures, IBM and Coca Cola. He eventually landed a full-time job doing fantasy illustration with TSR, Inc., the hugely successful gaming company that produced, among others, the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. After four years with TSR, Inc., Brom rejoined the freelance world. Since then his powerful imagination and artistic skills have been employed in a wide variety of genres. He has done paintings for novels and book covers, including those by Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Michael Moorcock as well as the War of the Spider Queen and Avatar series for Wizards of the Coast. He has worked on popular computer games, including Doom II, Diablo II, Heretic, Heretic II and Skyborg: Into the Vortex. He has contributed to movies and TV as a concept artist on Galaxy Quest, Sleepy Hollow, Cleopatra 2525, Ghosts of Mars and Scooby-Doo, among others. Early in his career Brom came out with his own set of fantasy art trading cards and he has produced fetish toys, bronze and porcelain figures and even pocket knives. His art has also been published in book form in Darkwerks: The Art of Brom, Brom's Little Black Book, and Offerings. All of this work is part of Brom's huge success, which is also attributable to an enormous cult following. His art is clearly the product of a unique vision, translated onto canvas by enormous technical ability. He claims not to have ever really made a decision to become an artist; rather, it was the only path available and the right doors opened at the right time. Brom has characterized his own art as "gothic fetishism," and a browse through his gallery would lead most to agree with the suitability of the term. There is something sinister about his work, which lends the erotic pieces a supercharged sexuality. It is the eroticism of danger and darkness. In Brom's world, beauty is contorted, fused with monstrosity and infused with mystery. Yet he claims that it comes less from a conscious attempt and more from his natural artistic aesthetic. One can see a clear line of influence from the master of fantasy Frank Frazetta, which the artist acknowledges, but he also claims a number of other influences. These include Richard Corben (best known for his illustrated stories in Heavy Metal magazine), Rick Berry, N.C. Wyeth and, rather surprisingly, Norman Rockwell. One of Brom's greatest strengths, something that can also be seen as one of the greatest strengths of his primary influences, is composition. His paintings achieve a balance of form that immediately draws the viewer closer. Besides having his art published in book compilations, Brom has also recently taken to writing illustrated novels. The first of these, titled The Plucker, featured over 100 paintings and received a variety of accolades, even winning a Chesley Award from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. His second illustrated novel, The Devil's Rose, a tragic western set in hell, was released in 2007. Gerald Brom currently lives in the Seattle, Washington area with his wife and two sons. His current activity, according to his own website, involves the following: "when not eating bugs, he is ever writing, painting and trying to reach a happy sing-a-long with the many demons dancing about in his head." Major Accomplishments worked as commercial illustrator for a variety of major corporations including CNN, Columbia Pictures, IBM and Coca Cola. worked for major gaming company TSR, Inc.. produced paintings for novels and book covers, including those by Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Michael Moorcock. worked on popular computer games, including Doom II, Diablo II, Heretic, Heretic II and Skyborg: Into the Vortex. contributed to movies and TV as a concept artist on Galaxy Quest, Sleepy Hollow, Cleopatra 2525, Ghosts of Mars and Scooby-Doo. published art compilations: Darkwerks: The Art of Brom, Brom's Little Black Book, and Offerings. written two illustrated novels: The Plucker and The Devil's Rose.

Attraction and Provocation Sonia Roji is one of the most talented erotic artists to come out of continental Europe. Roji was born in Madrid, Spain in 1971. The young Spaniard's sensuous works rival those by countryman Carlos Diez (with whom she has studied and worked) and put her in a class with other modern erotic masters such as Olivia de Berardinis and Hajime Sorayama. Her cultured family encouraged her interest in art and she expressed her young self in a variety of media, including painting and sculpture. This family support provided the foundation for her future confidence and success, though perhaps few if any could have predicted that her career lay in eroticism. An important event that helped shape the young artist's future was receiving two books filled with fantasy illustrations as a gift from her father. These provided enough inspiration to carry Roji to the Pena Art School in Madrid. Numerous awards for her fine art works further encouraged her, but plans to study at the Spain's School of Fine Arts were abandoned. She decided instead that she wished to delve further into the world of illustration. After a period of self-teaching, she enrolled in the C-10 Creative Workshop run by Carlos Diez, the most prominent Spanish illustrator and one of the finest erotic artists around today. There, she was able to hone her techniques, particularly with the airbrush. The school also helped the formation of a very productive professional relationship, and the young Roji and Diez collaborated on many projects. Her work with Diez on books and video games led her to Gen Con in 1998. There she met some of the famous fantasy artists that the convention traditionally attracts and more doors began opening for the young artist. She received commissions in a variety of genres, including magazines, books, video games and film concept design. Her skills became even more refined through this type of commission work, and eventually Roji found her way into the world of erotic art. The artist had always drawn and painted beautiful women, but she eventually realized that there was a public hungry for provocative illustration and erotic art. Her skills were recognized by major erotic magazines in Spain, which picked up her work and expanded her influence. Roji's pinup works are highly sensuous displays of airbrush mastery. Nude and semi-nude women with perfectly unblemished skin smile and writhe on white backgrounds. Some are stunningly realistic, while others seem to be hazy visions from erotic dreams. Her paintings show not only technical mastery, but also a very refined sense of beauty. They are sensuous, provocative and enticing. Sonia has worked with a variety of fantastic pinup models. Her A list includes Veronika (renowned pinup model as well as operator and co-owner of the Echo Gallery in Chicago), Eve Ellis (the "Red Queen of Fetish"), Bianca Beauchamp and Taylor Lee. Sonia eventually showed her work to Robert Bane, the well-known publisher, collector and curator of erotic art based in California. He was so impressed that he offered her a permanent exhibition in the Tamara Bane Gallery in Beverley Hills. Her work has also appeared in Chicago's famed Echo Gallery in their 2005 Heavy Metal Exhibition. Original artwork is handled through the exclusive agency of Robert Bane, owner and operator of Tamara Bane Gallery and Robert Bane Editions, publishers of erotic and fine art. Roji has also recently signed with Stickerchick, which now handles the distribution of the artist's images to signature groups. Sonia continues to paint, doing a variety of commissions and regularly contributing to Artcore (magazine for "xxxtreme erotica"). She is also working with a magazine called Senze, which covers the international fetish scene. Her position in the world of erotic art, not only in her native Spain but also throughout Europe and across the ocean in North America, is solid but still expanding. Her work appears in collections throughout the world. Sonia currently lives on the rugged north coast of Spain with her husband and two cats. Major Accomplishments numerous awards at Pena Art School in Madrid, Spain. collaboration with major Spanish erotic artist Carlos Diez. permanent exhibition in Tamara Bane Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA. work shown in Echo Gallery, Chicago, IL. work shown in 2005 Heavy Metal Exhibition. regular contributor to Artcore (magazine for 'xxxtreme erotica). work with international fetishist publication Senze. variety of commissions for books, magazines, video games, and film concept design.

Classic Fantasy Master Frank Frazetta is widely acknowledged as the most influential artists in the fantasy art world. His impact can be seen not only throughout fantasy and fantasy erotica, but also in comics, Hollywood movies and commercial illustration. Frazetta was born in Brooklyn in 1928 and showed prodigious talent from a very early age. His kindergarten teachers were amazed that he could draw better than most 10-year olds, and at the age of 8 he began studying in the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts with Italian fine artist Michael Falanga. It was here that is talent was encouraged and cultivated. The academy closed when Falanga died, but Frank's future in art was set. At the age of 16 he began doing illustrations for Standard Publishing. That led to work in the comic book industry for several different publishers. He produced work for a variety of mysteries, westerns, fantasies and histories and even published his own comic, Snowman, which he initially conceived of and began drawing while still in grade school. Some of his best works of this time are the covers for the Buck Rogers comics which he did for "Famous Funnies," as well as his work with Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. The Buck Rogers covers gained the attention of Li'l Abner creator Al Capp, who hired Frazetta to work with him on this most famous comic strip but also on his own Johnny Comet strip. They worked together for nine years, after which they had a falling out and Frank reentered the world of regular comic books. This was a difficult period, as Frank's style was awkward after so many years of imitating Al Capp. The artist did find work eventually, particularly for men's magazines. He provided erotic illustrations for Gent and Dude, which have now become collector's items in their own right because of their rarity. He also drew the comic strip parody Lil' Annie Fannie for Playboy Magazine. In the mid-60s Frazetta's talent was recognized in Hollywood and the publishing industry. He left comic work behind for the most part and emerged more fully as a painter. At this time he produced many of the book covers for which he is now most famous. He did Tarzan and John Carter of Mars among many others. Most importantly, his interpretation of Conan left an indelible mark on the entire fantasy genre. His work was now in very high demand. His work with Hollywood was primarily restricted to painting movie posters, although he received several invitations to take on larger roles in many productions. His only real foray into was as creative director of Fire and Ice, released in 1983, which failed commercially mostly because the animation technology of the time was not powerful enough to translate Frazetta's ideas to the big screen. Yet his popularity in Hollywood is unquestionable. He has attracted the attention of many Hollywood celebrities, including Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dick Clark and Orson Welles. George Lucas credits Frazetta's Buck Rogers covers with inspiring his Star Wars series, and Princess Leia's metal bikini costume in Return of the Jedi is drawn directly from Frazetta's work. The full-figured bikini-clad wielding a spear, sword, dagger or other primitive weapon while confronting or taming a wild beast is classic Frank Frazetta. There are Amazonian goddesses and Egyptian queens, voluptuous warrioresses and trophy princesses. The eroticism is raw and savage while still rivaling the fine artistry of anything by Reubens. Frazetta's paintings are done primarily with oil, although he has continued to work with watercolor, pen, ink and pencil throughout his career. One of the most amazing things about Frank's work is speed. He becomes completely immersed in his work and can produce a complete masterpiece within a day. According to modern legend, he earned a full year's salary in a single afternoon with his first movie poster, for the 1965 film What's New Pussycat? It is difficult to overstate Frank Frazetta's influence in the world of fantasy, science fiction and erotic art. The "Frazetta style" can be seen in the works of artists such as Boris Vallejo, Don Maitz, Simon Bisley, Michael Walen, and Jeff Jones. Frank's personal life began with violence on the streets of Brooklyn and included a solid reputation as a handsome, athletic and charming ladies man. At the age of 24, however, he found stability and love in the form of 17-year old Eleanor Kelly. They were married after a four-year courtship and eventually found their way to the modest acreage in Pennsylvania where they live to this day, raising a large family and enjoying country life. Their acreage is home to a museum of Frazetta's work which attracts fans from all over the world. The artist enjoys his old age and his family although his work is somewhat limited by health problems such as a thyroid condition and the effects of several strokes. Major Accomplishments illustrations for a great variety of comic books, including Buck Rogers, Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. book covers for numerous fantasy book series, including Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian and John Carter of Mars. movie posters for What's New Pussycat, Fearless Vampire Killers, Mad Monster Party, Mad Max, and Fire and Ice, among many others. three Chesley Awards from the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. Hugo Award. Spectrum Grand Master of Fantastic Art Award.

Glimpse Into the Soul Kevin was born in Wisconsin, where he spent most of his life. Art has always been a part of his, from scribbling and drawing in his youth, to playing music throughout his school years. Even when pursuing a music career, drawing was a constant hobby. Years later, music faded into hobby status and computer animation took over. But nothing felt as fulfilling as the tactile feel of painting. Kevin now paints full-time, exploring the ever-fascinating beauty and awe of the female form and character. "I look to find not just an interesting image, but something that tells the viewer a bit about the model - perhaps a glimpse into her soul if we're lucky."

Classic Nude Figure Drawings Alain Aslan, the famed French sculptor and painter, has produced a huge body of extraordinary pinup art that is technically exquisite and playfully provocative. Aslan was born in Bordeaux, France in 1930 and displayed prodigious talent at a very young age. This natural ability helped him gain admission to the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux, where he excelled most notably at clay modeling. He quickly went on at the age of 16 (officially underage) to the prestigious Superior School of Fine Arts in Paris, where he produced many now-famous sculptures and busts of famous Frenchmen, winning several prizes and the amazement of his artistic peers. Compulsory military service did nothing to stop the young artist from pursuing his calling. His talent was recognized and acknowledged by his military superiors, and he was provided with a studio and eventually named the army's official painter and sculptor. After completing his service, he continued to win awards for his sculpture, but also sought out commercial illustration work. The 1950s brought a variety of work. He did illustrations for children's books, including Pinocchio and the stories of Anderson and Perrault. His advertising work included illustrations for the Crazy Horse Saloon, The Casino de Paris, Folies Bergere, as well as major car companies such as Peugot, Renault and Fiat. He also signed an exclusive contract with Publicis, the first French publicity agency, and produced excellent work for publishers Editions Dargaud and Editions Mondiales. Throughout these early years doing commercial illustration and fine art sculpture, Aslan developed his unique artistic vision and technique. His talent and appeal laid the groundwork for what would become some of his most remarkable work: the pinup art he created for Lui and Oui magazines between the years 1963 and 1981. Lui was an upscale French men's magazine started in 1963 featuring nude photography as well as erotic artwork. Aslan was on board from the beginning, producing full-page pinup illustrations on a monthly basis. In 1972, Playboy launched Oui magazine as an American sister publication to Lui. This magazine, which continued to feature Aslan's pinups, continued Playboy's tradition of beautiful women, quality articles and stories, and timely interviews. This brought Aslan's work to the North American market and cemented his fame in the erotic art world. Aslan's paintings for Lui and Oui are perhaps some of the most representative pinup work from the heyday of print erotica in the 1960s and 70s. They are fun and sensuous celebrations of female sexuality, testaments to Aslan's claim that he is in love with nature and its laws. In his own words: "I paint and sculpt 'woman,' the most beautiful subject ever given to artists, because it is inexhaustible and eternal." The artist did not, however, give up on his renowned sculpture work. His 1970 bust of Brigitte Bardot as Marianne, that great symbol of the French Republic, stands out as one of his most significant accomplishments, but the next few decades also brought major works of notables such as General Charles de Gaulle, comedian Alain Delon and French Prime Minister and President George Pompidou. In 1995 Aslan moved to Canada and continued working not only in sculpture but also in painting and drawing. Although his pinup work for men's magazines ended with the demise of Oui in 1981, his artistic commitment to female beauty never wavered. He has produced dozens of erotic drawings that rival his paintings in sensual charge and show amazing technical mastery with that most basic of artistic tools: the pencil. He has also produced important busts of cultural figures in his adopted province of Quebec, Canada. It is rather uncommon but very refreshing to see an artist make such achievements in two artistic realms that many might consider at odds. But in everything he has done, be it sculpture for the French state or pinup for men's magazines, Aslan has brought very high standards of excellence. He has said, in fact, that he felt out of place in the abstract-expressionist trends of his lifetime. For this reason, his erotic work could be said to offer an updated, and slightly racier, version of classical figurative painting. The lifetime achievement of this artist is undeniable, and culminated in an award that few in the world of pinup can match: in 2003 he was named a "Commandeur" of the "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres," the highest distinction in French art and culture. Major Accomplishments admitted to Superior School of Fine Arts in Paris at the age of 16. won the Esprit Prize of the Institute of French Artists at the age of 17. appointed official painter and sculptor of the French army. 18-year contributor to Lui and Oui magazines. sculpted bust of Brigitte Bardot as Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, now in the Louvre. sculpted bust of singer Mireille Mathieu as Marianne, now in the Louvre museum. named Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Teasing, Suggestive Attitudes Hajime Sorayama is inarguably one of the most important erotic artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Although the "AIBO" dog, created for Sony Corporation, is one of his claims to fame, it is his erotic paintings that are most notable. Hajime's works are unmistakable as those that play with light on metallic surfaces and depict curious and sensual hybrids between the female and robotic. Sorayama was born in 1947 in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. After high school, he briefly and disappointingly studied Greek and English at university before transferring to Tokyo's Chuo Art School, where he graduated at the age 22. He spent the following few years working in the advertising business as an illustrator and cultivating the interests that would eventually define him. It was the voluptuous women and cheesecake images in advertising and movies that inspired Sorayama. He carefully honed his hyper-realistic style through the 70s and began applying it to paintings of robotic women. This work was truly prescient and has since spawned many imitators, none of whom have achieved the same level of sophistication as Hajime. Hajime's first book was the monumental Sexy Robot, released in 1983. This propelled him and his metallic figures to fame. He drew directly from more traditional pin-up, showing feminine figures in suggestive or downright erotic poses. Yet he combined this with non-human robotic elements. The sexual and the technological melt together in futuristic sensuality. He followed up his first successful book with others, including Pin-Up, Venus Odyssey, Hyper Illustrations, and The Gynoids. This last work takes the term developed by a couple of British sci-fi writers, combining the Greek terms for woman ("gyn") and image ("droid"). It was Sorayama who most masterfully painted the erotic tension of a single figure both human and mechanical. After his first one-man show in Los Angeles in 1994, Sorayama began producing erotic images for Penthouse. An article on the artist appeared in the magazine's Silver Anniversary Edition, aptly enough. From there it was more books and work for magazines, movies, television, and trading cards. And in the late 90s his "AIBO" dog robot won several design awards and made Sorayama a name outside of the world of erotic art. His notable work also includes the artwork for Aerosmith's album Just Push Play, the design for Future Mickey and His Friends for Disney and work with Playboy TV and SexTV in Canada. The Art Hajime is notable for his technique, which must be extremely refined to create what many people call hyper realism. He sometimes calls this "superrealism," stating that it "deals with the technical issue of how close one can get to one's object." Sorayama does this with brush, pencil and acrylic paint. He saves the airbrush only for the final details. The resulting level of realism is virtually unparalleled in the genre. The truly amazing thing about Sorayama's works is that they can achieve this level of realism while creating highly provocative images of spectacular imagination. This combination of the real and fantasy serves to heighten the eroticism. Although he is most famous for his signature "sexy robots," it would be a mistake to ignore Sorayama's other works. His is equally adept at more traditional pin-up, and tends towards more overtly sexual poses. There is little innocence in Sorayama's paintings. Recent / Current Activity Hajime Sorayama's images are firmly entrenched in the canon of erotica. He is sometimes referred to as the modern-day Vargas, which speaks to his mastery and his influence. The recent release of a DVD entitled Sorayama Secrets Revealed has provided other artists with an inside look into his superb technique, which he continues to apply in the genres of pinup and fantasy as well as his unique gynoid and robot works. In April of 2008 the World Erotic Art Museum in Miami, Florida featured an exhibition of Sorayama's art. Despite his success throughout North America and Europe, Sorayama continues to reside in Tokyo with his wife and two daughters. Major Accomplishments several books, including Sexy Robot, Pin-Up, Hyper Illustrations, Hyper Illustrations II, Hajime Sorayama, The Gynoids, Gynoids Reborn, Metallicon and Latex Galatea. winner of Vargas Award. several one-man shows in North America and Japan. winner of Grand prize of Best Design Awards in Japan for Sony Entertainment Dog Robot "AIBO". designed mechanical warrior for science fiction movie Space Trucker. designed cover of Aerosmith's hit album Just Push Play. created Future Mickey and His Friends for Disney. special Hajime Sorayama edition of Penthouse published for the magazine's 25th anniversary.

Airbrushing Contemporary Nudes A.D. Cook is an internationally recognized, innovative artist whose disciplines include drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and design. His large-scale nude paintings are compelling testaments to the beauty of the female form. Born in 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona, Cook knew at a very early age that he wanted to be an artist. His family moved around a lot, sometimes two or three times a year, living much of their lives in truck campers or travel trailers. The one thing that Cook always managed to cart along on their sojourns was his pencils and drawing pad. As a youngster, the artist created coloring books that he sold at school, QSL cards for his father's CB friends, and mascot patches. Eventually, in the eighth grade, he saved enough money to buy an airbrush. Although he would eventually upgrade from his original Binks Wren, this tool became his most trusted friend and he would go on to enjoy huge success with it throughout his art career. Cook did a lot of graphic design work in his twenties and eventually went to work full-time for Hollywood Entertainment Corporation which ran the expanding chain of Hollywood Video stores. His most notable work there involved painting in-store murals, doing hundreds over the course of his 5-year employment. These murals garnered awards and recognition, winning Airbrush Action magazine's Seventh Annual Airbrush Excellence Competition and being featured in Airbrush Action 3 and Airbrush Magazine. His developing airbrush skills would benefit him greatly in his later entry into the world of nude figurative painting. If the technique and level of realism in these early works is excellent, then his later erotic works may be deemed masterful. After his work with Hollywood video, the artist and his wife founded A.D. Cook and Associates, Inc., in Portland, a business focused on graphic design and print management. Major clients included Iwata-Medea Airbrush Products, Artool Art Products, PIAA Lights Crimson Trace Lasergrips and WebTrends Software. Despite success in business, Cook longed to get out of the design world and into a full-time career in art. Combining his passion for painting with his passion for motorcycles, he produced a series of motorcycle paintings that gained the attention of Indian Motorcycle Company. A promising deal to become their officially licensed artist unfortunately fell through when the company surprisingly went out of business in 2003. It was at this time that the artist finally found his way back to a type of painting that he had virtually abandoned for several years: large-scale figurative works. More specifically: extremely compelling erotic female nudes. Although originally experimenting with pastel, he realized that what he was attempting to accomplish deserved paint. He has since produced an exquisite body of fine art nudes. He relies on live models to create extremely sensuous paintings. He shows perfectly how light and shadow play on the nude female form, showing why he is so highly regarded in the art world. Cook normally conducts a photo session with his chosen model before taking these images into the studio to work on his canvasses. These figurative paintings are generally very large, averaging 9 to 24 square feet, but sometimes even larger. Many of the models are depicted in slightly larger than life size. The results are stunning. Besides his figurative erotic works on canvas, Cook has recently produced some highly innovative work on textured metal. The result is a fascinating combination of photography, painting and sculpture, and to do this he relies on a proprietary technique which he himself developed and calls Artist Fusion "and Metal Fusion". After many years spent in the Pacific Northwest, the artist and his wife now make their home in Las Vegas, Nevada. His work has been featured in many galleries in the American City of Lights and he has recently proudly opened his own A.D. Cook Fine Art Gallery. Here he showcases his original nude figurative works and operates his studio. Major Accomplishments featured numerous times in Airbrush Action Magazine first-place winner of Airbrush Action 7th Annual Airbrush Excellence Competition, Mural Category third-place winner of Airbrush Action Magazine 15th Annual Airbrush Excellence Competition, Fine Art Category one of ten artists featured in the Cycle / Auto Art Show at Gallery at the Square in New York City many one-man shows at galleries across North America a total of 18 Showcase Awards with onemodelplace.com featured in Aphrodisia: The Art of the Female Form opened A.D. Cook Fine Art Gallery in Las Vegas, Nevada

Seductive Professional Passion Michael Moebius is one of the finest talents in erotic art to come out of Eastern Europe, or what was Eastern Europe at the time of his birth in 1968. Hailing from the area near Dresden, Moebius was raised in East Germany and showed an early interest in art. He claims that his first paintings in childhood were of animals and comic book characters and that maturity turned his attention and admiration towards female beauty. It was this interest in erotica which would eventually propel him to fame, but he didn't commit to art from the beginning. As a teen, Moebius attended a vocational school to learn construction, a field in which he worked until joining the army at the age of 21. His service spanned the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, an event which would have major ramifications for all East Germans, Moebius included. His eyes were suddenly opened to a variety of images from the west that provoked his imagination. Despite his artistic compulsions, he continued in the construction field and entered university to study Engineering. It was to be a relatively short-lived career, however, as he could not resist his artistic inspiration for very long. This inspiration came from two primary sources. The first was the artwork of Hajime Sorayama. He claims to have been "instantly drawn" to Sorayama's pinup art and credits the Japanese artist with helping him develop his own artistic sensibility. The young German taught himself to at first imitate and later to move beyond the compositions of Sorayama. The greatest influence, however, came from a rather different source. The opening of East Germany to the West brought not only Western movies, but also Western movie posters. Particularly fascinating to Moebius were the posters done by the Italian artist Renato Casaro, whose paintings apparently transformed the young German. He wrote a letter to Casaro and was surprised not only to receive a response but to be invited to meet the man who would become a lifelong mentor. Casaro would come to teach Moebius much of what he now understands about light and shadow, atmosphere and life. After his Engineering studies, the artist took a big chance and entered one of his artworks into the 2004 European Championship for Illustrations. He won. The next several years brought illustration and industrial design work for record companies, architectural firms and other industrial employers. In order to sharpen his already precise techniques, Moebius entered the Art Academy in Dresden. It was during this time as an art student that he began working with Playboy Germany, as well as other magazines such as Cosmo. The relationship with Playboy would prove to be extremely fruitful and continues to this day. The art of Moebius represents some of the finest erotic art of the past century. He pays enormous attention to the use of light and shadow "partly a result of his relationship with Renato Casaro" and what he calls a "heightened sense of reality." At the same time, he strives for honesty. His purpose, in his own words, is "not to paint pretty women but to visually communicate the beauty of the female form and the power of a sensual moment." Even a brief look at his work is enough to convince any viewer that he succeeds at this. Since the late 1990s, Moebius has exhibited his work very broadly. His paintings have been shown at the Robert Bane Gallery, the Robert Bane Global Gallery, Playboy Expos, a variety of glamour, comic and art conventions, fine art expos and pinup shows in France, the United States, Spain and Japan. The full list of exhibitions is extensive and serves as a testament to the artist's appeal. Michael continues to produce erotic works for a variety of clients and for sale through his Moebiusart Online Shop. He has also recently collaborated on Playboy's unique line of fine art prints called "Uniquely Playmates." This project clearly places him in the same ranks as other pinup heavyweights such as Olivia de Berardinis. This master of mood and character currently spends much of his time in Beverly Hills, California. He also travels around the world looking for inspiration, enjoying Germany and Italy in particular, the latter country being where his faithful mentor resides. Major Accomplishments winner of 2004 European Championship for Illustrations. attended Dresden Art Academy. produced illustrations for Playboy Germany and Cosmo. exhibited work at the Robert Bane Gallery, Robert Bane Global Gallery, Playboy Expos and a variety of other comic, art and pinup expos and conventions. collaborated on Playboy's Uniquely Playmates.

Elegance and Mystery Al Serov has been traveling all his life. He was born in Poland in 1970 in the family of a Russian military officer. Staying in Poland did not last for long. At the age of three a future artist was brought back to Russia. The old beautiful city of Saint Petersburg (it was called Leningrad at the moment) became his new place of living. The little boy was swept away by the beauty of the Czar’s palaces. Now Al Serov is a freelance fantasy artist. He works digitally using high-end equipment and latest technologies. The hallmark of his work is the high amount of detail, the rich textures, and the ultimate realism of feminine forms. Al believes that he has finally found the calling of his life. Al Serov’s specialty is posters and cover artworks for books, magazines, CDs, etc. The artist currently resides in GTA (Great Toronto Area), Canada with his wife and son.