When one thinks of the word pin-up, artists such as Vargas, Elvrign and others usually come to mind. But LucidSpa claims there can be more to the typical pin up than just the cheesecake of the 40's and 50's. LucidSpa is an ongoing project geared to deliver art lovers and pin-up enthusiasts a fresh and contemporary look at the old army bunker decor. This portfolio contains the illustrations of Ryan L. de Ropp, a designer and photographer from East Tennessee. Heavily influenced by artists such as Patrick Nagel; who's art appears on the cover of Duran Duran's album, "Rio;" Middle Age Japanese portraiture and Anime, Ropp pushes forward with a minimalist style pin-up into territories yet to be fully charted.

As a student in the graphic arts, Ropp was assigned to re-illustrate a music artist's album cover. His obvious choice was "Rio" by Duran Duran. After hours of study and research of Patrick Nagel's style, Ropp set to work to create a new, contemporary look for this early 80's discography. But the pin ups didn't stop there. One illustration led to another and so on, and finally the set was the theme of his graduation showcase: posters viewable with red/blue 3d glasses, so pin-up vixens would jump off the paper.

After some time away from this art form, Ropp is reinvigorated with the drive to create more. Designing each illustration can be cumbersome, however. First, Ropp has a series of photo shoots with models and talent to help depict each final image. The photographs are then edited to enhance physical attributes and otherwise prepare the image for tracing. Each illustration is painstakingly drawn from a reference photograph. Depending on the complexity (or simplicity, for that matter) of the desired final image, each illustration can take as short as 5 hours and as long as 20 hours to create.

Most people see the pin up as an art form of the past, and revisit it for it's kitsch and victory curls. LucidSpa, however, sees that the pin up should never be left to become an archival style and should redefine what it means to be pinned up. By touching contemporary adult themes which might have been considered taboo in the 50's, as well as maintaining a modern and elegant color pallet, LucidSpa drives forward in to the future of pin up, aware of how it as evolved thus far, with the desire to see it go further.

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