Derek Hess
Limited Edition Print - December 1971
Edition Size: 50
13 x 17 Inches Archival Pigment Print on 330gsm Fine Art Paper
Joining us for his 3rd RUN we welcome back the incomparable Derek Hess. As he joined us for his first RUN, Derek brought us the intricate line work of the musically themed "Ground"inspired by Celtic Frost and Electric Light Orchestra...however, as he returns this May, Derek has brought us a series of works from his latest exploration in mixed media using grease pencils on vintage Playboy magazine covers. Limited to editions of just 50, we are excited to present the first in the series of Playboy prints from the talented Cleveland artist.
"When the idea to draw nudes on adult magazine covers came to me, Playboy was the obvious choice. The main reason for the 1960's and 1970's covers was due to my formative years, those issues were my first exposure to naked women, thanks to my Dad and the top shelf of his closet. Another reason is the integrity Playboy has. There is no shock. There are tasteful photos that compliment, not degrade women. They also withstand the test of time, which these have or I wouldn't be working on them some 40 years since they were published. Out of the few hundred of these covers I worked on, these were the final choices to debut the print series, which was extremely difficult. It’s also a main reason why there book is in the works — which has Hugh Hefner’s blessing — to cover more of them. We decided on these three pieces for a few reasons, the drawing fundamentals, the composition, and that these were basically a few that I was really having fun with." - Derek Hess
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