This lighthearted cheesecake pin up illustration graced the January 1957 page of Bill Randall's wildly popular "Randall's Date Book" 12 page calendar series. For his "Date Book" commissions, Randall played off the success of the Brown & Bigelow Calendar company's yearly Artist Sketch Pad pin up calendar, while adding his own charm and whimsy. Working in full color gouache on board, Randall would create a central pin up illustration, and then create sketches on an overlay that was removable. This both added to the fully realized nature of the color illustration, and allowed him to give a bold cartoony feel to the final calendar page.
In this example, Randall showcases an up-for-anything blonde, nude except for boots and a scarf, engaged in a snowball fight with an unseen suitor. The quip that accompanies her reads "I've had lots of outdoor dates, with girls of every sort. But a snowball fight with Jackie is my favorite winter sport!" Titillating and fun, Randall uses the traces of snowballs whizzing through the air to cover what little of Jackie he leaves to the viewer's imagination. The unexpected juxtaposition of a full nude smiling while at play in a blizzard is signature Randall--his pin-up girls were always having fun, and by extension, it seems the artist was too. Matted and framed behind glass in a handsome gallery frame, this features the original overlay (not placed on the painting but housed on the back), along with the completed gouache on board. A printed calendar page is included in the sale.
