LOST HORIZON

This is actually part of a larger "wrap" cover, which extended on the left with little vignettes and area for type,etc. In the 1980s I was painting from black and white photos that I took in a studio on 4th ave. New York. I was the director, camera man and even the costumer. We worked  from a sketch I had painted in acrylic, but I gave the models lots of leeway, so the pose would become fresher, less "posed". My method was to have them keep moving as I shot, strobe lights allowing me to capture them in motion. Often I was surprised when I looked at the shots, to see the ones I thought would be good weren't as good as some of the more accidental photos.

That being said, we illustrators worked fairly loosely from the photograph and thought nothing of changing things like hair and clothing, even arms and legs. In this case, I think I may have used a picture from an earlier shoot, where they were wearing regency clothing and making out in front of a castle in moonlight. We had to work with our ability to make things up, using magazine scrap or just memory and do it fast! When you get into a groove like that, beautiful work emerges sometimes.