Doggone Good - Puppy Love by Gil Elvgren

Imbued with visual humor and an offbeat musical ingenuity, the wonderful canvas answering to the name of “Doggone Good - Puppy Love” characterizes the creativity of the pin-up genre. The incomparable master Gil Elvgren orchestrates here an improbable recital, mixing the rigor of a score with rustic DIY. The painting tells a charming story where feminine eccentricity takes precedence over artistic conformism. The artwork testifies to the illustrator’s desire to amuse his audience with visually unexpected situations.

Sitting elegantly on a modernly designed chair, a lovely brunette musician is about to play a very particular instrument. She is dressed in a loose unbuttoned brick red dress, revealing a plunging white neckline and black edged stockings. The object of her attention is a metal handsaw that she keeps bent between her legs, while approaching a classic bow to the blade. Her face displays a concentrated and pensive pout in front of the open score on the metal music stand placed before her. At her feet, an adorable basset hound dog with long ears howls to death, eyes closed, anticipating the cacophony to come. The warm lighting clearly detaches the whole against a neutral and sober background.

The artist’s pictorial genius lies in the astonishing textured contrast between the softness of the flesh and the rigidity of the saw’s steel. The mastered application of oil paint guarantees an impeccable blending of shadings and an unparalleled chromatic intensity. This anecdotal realism celebrates the peak of American illustration.