I have long admired the artwork of Florida-based artist Brendan Coudal. When he posted this cartoon on Facebook, I asked if I could post it. Currently he describes his work as “contemporary retro-style art.”
As he explains on his site, “I started painting relatively late in life, but always had an interest in art. Shortly after September 11, 2001 (a time when many of us re-thought our lives), I picked up the paints my Dad had given me years earlier and created my first watercolor of a beach scene. It looked pretty good and I surprised myself. Soon after, I sold a painting for a whopping $25. I then got requests for custom pieces (and let’s just say, I would never do a commission today for what I charged back then!). After taking workshops with well-known artists, I started to feel confidence in my painting. I specialized for a long time in marine-life art, moving from watercolor to acrylic, to my current medium of choice, oil.
Then in 2006 I was drawn to mid-century illustration and Gil Elvgren, Albert Vargas and Norman Rockwell were a few of the great artists I researched. Over many months I sketched hundreds of pretty mid-century styled girls, but when I asked my wife Nicole to be my model she thought I was crazy because I was taking time away from marine-life work. Fortunately she gave in and I painted my first ‘pinup’ girl. That image started my journey toward this retro style and I haven’t looked back. Nicole acts as my primary model, gathers historical research and helps with compositions. We make a good team.
My mission is to not only create these fun images, but also to pay homage to great illustrators/artists. I create paintings that evoke a smile, and that’s all I need to keep me going.”
Thanks Brendan!
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