Naughty Santa, Playboy cover 1972

Haddon Hubbard Sundblom made this Playboy cover, titled 'Naughty Santa', with what looks like very soft oil paint. There's a gentle blend in the rendering and the way the colours shift around in the flesh tones and the background. It gives the work a dreamy, idealized feel. The texture of the paint is smooth, with no real impasto or visible brushstrokes. It's like you're looking through a soft lens. Notice how the redness in the Santa hat gets reflected in the red balloon floating by the model's head. It’s like the artist is trying to create an effect of warmth and roundness that radiates throughout the canvas. It almost feels like you could reach out and touch it. Sundblom's work reminds me a little bit of pin-up artists like Gil Elvgren or Alberto Vargas. They all had a way of turning the female form into something almost edible, a candy-coated version of desire. But where those artists were a bit more sharp-edged, Sundblom always had that soft, pillowy touch. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what this image means to you. After all, art is just a conversation, and we're all invited to chime in.