This Ought to Make a Good Shot 1948

Gil Elvgren painted *This Ought to Make a Good Shot* to make a good shot, geddit? I love the wink, the innuendo, the knowingness! It's right there in her eyes, and in the title too, of course. Looking at how smoothly he applied the oil paint here makes me wonder if Elvgren was ever thinking about how to create the *illusion* of depth, texture, and form. The buttery quality of the paint makes the figure seem so realistic and tactile. It's kind of uncanny! I wonder what it felt like to create these subtle gradients of light and shadow. He's a clever one, Elvgren, creating a dialogue between the illusionistic and the material, playing with your and my expectations. It's as if he's saying, "Look closely, and you might just see the world anew.” We are still talking to each other through paintings, all these years later. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?