Karina Dale pin-up artist

Karina Dale has a vision of modern pin-up as a movement through which subjects and viewers can feel empowered and embrace their unique beauty

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"I am a different kind of pin-up artist ... I draw everyone, skinny, fat, black, white, man or woman and everything in between."

Karina Dale is a Portland, Oregon-based pin-up artist who works exclusively in the digital medium. Her pinups reflect a unique diversity that has previously been unexplored by any single pin-up artist on their own.

Growing up in a small town many of Karina Dale's influences were old ads, magazines and antique art found in abundance in off the map locations. As a teen Karina discovered comic books and fantasy art based around tabletop role-playing games and the books inspired by them. Her inspiration to draw strong, capable women derived from Larry Elmore and Luis Royo, while J Scott Campbell and the late Michael Turner inspired her to draw comics. When she discovered pin-up art drawn by Olivia De Beradinis, she knew pin-up was her true calling.

I believe you are gorgeous just how you are - I will represent you on your best day, in your best light, but I don't need to change you

For many years, Karina honed her skills as a pencil artist, preferring artistic simplicity over following her dreams of painting. She concentrated on learning how to draw the human form, drawing portraiture and figures with mechanical pencils and tissue paper as her only tools. Turning to technology in later years, she picked up digital drawing and enjoyed the full-saturated color and malleability of this new media.