Drew Posada (1969 - 2007)

Drew Posada was a pioneering digital colourists and his rich, exotically themed pin-up art reflected his earlier comic book work.

Drew Posada...

"I was born in 1969, as Andrew Posada, with my identical twin brother, Alex Posada. We were raised in a very poor household with our mother and half brother. Alex and I were extremely competitive with each other. We started competing at a very early age and one of the things that was a part of our competitions was drawing. Who could make the best drawing and get the recognition and attention? We didn't have money to buy sporting equipment and video games, etc. but we always had pencils and paper. If it weren't for these facts I don't believe that I would even be an artist.

"I graduated high school in West Seattle in 1987 where I received my only art instruction from an art teacher named Phillip Bradshaw. He didn't teach me technique or art history, he taught me to see.

"I became a professional freelance artist in 1985. After graduating high school I freelanced as an artist and worked as a picture framer. I became a very well known and highly regarded picture framer, but I did not want to spend the rest of my life framing pictures. I did gain a lot of experience working in galleries for 7 years. This is where I first saw the work of Olivia de Berardinis and realized that you could make a very good living doing pin-up work. It became a dream of mine and a goal to someday work for Robert Bane. I first saw the work of Hajime Sorayama in 1994 and found out that he too, like Olivia, was at Robert Bane's gallery. When I first saw Sorayama's work my jaw hit the floor, the benchmark just got raised way out of my sign, he became my enemy and my mentor, I envied him, he inspired me and discouraged me. In my mind I tried not to know that I would never be that good. I read where Sorayama said "you have to have that hunger" and I know I have that. I don't want to be "the next Sorayama" or even try to emulate him, I just want the same success, to do what I love to do, like he does. However, I won't deny that he is the biggest influence in my work. I've been working on my technique ever since I saw his work and I'll never stop. Sorayama has been a big insecurity in self-doubt that I try to overcome, it's an ongoing battle. Sorayama will always be the King to me.

"In 1994 I was flown down from Seattle to San Diego to try out for a job as an illustrator at Image Comics. They hired me immediately and I worked for quite a few studios within Image; Top Cow, Wildstorm and Extreme. This is where I learned how to paint in Photoshop. It worked exactly like a real airbrush and was a lot easier to make changes to my pin-ups. I started showing submissions to the Tamara Bane Gallery in 1996, but I still needed to raise the calibre on my work. I kept trying until I finally thought I had it down, and the rest is history."

In the first week of January 2007 the pin-up and comic book art community sadly lost a great talent in Andrew "Drew" Posada who passed away due to complications brought on by Pancreatitis.