The Dawn of Sexual Intercourse

This is my second assignment for Rob Wilson at Playboy, for the March issue on stands now. The illustration is based on a short story by Martin Amis called ‘The Pregnant Widow,’ about a well-off group of college students who spend a sexual tension-filled summer in a castle in Italy in 1970, on the verge of the sexual revolution.

One of the biggest challenge was including the castle without making it the primary focus. I ended up solving the problem by putting its reflection in the pool.

The funnest part about this project was finding reference and getting it to look 70’s. I was at my parents house when I got the assignment, and immediately thought of the old photographs my dad had taken in the 70’s when he was trying his hand at fashion photography. I found some winners in a pile of dusty boxes and used these lovely ladies as inspiration and reference. I painted the image on wood panel, and used lots and lots of gold glazes to get a nice hazy look.

I couldn’t have asked for a more fun assignment!