There's a Storm coming

In the early 80s the fluid yet sketchy styles of Bart Forbes and Bernie Fuchs gave rise to a new breed of illustrators. I refer to them as the rubout guys. Led by Mark English and David Grove, these guys crafted a look that would eventually dominate book illustrations. Reckless spontaneity fused with powerful draftsmanship and overwhelming composition were the hallmarks of these masters of picture making. Their ranks would eventually grow to include Robert Hunt, Michael Dudash, and the explosive Kazuhiko Sano. What made their work interesting was not the craftsmanship behind the application of paint, but instead their technique was based on the removal of pigment.

That's the inspiration behind this Perfect Storm cover. I want to incorporate some of the rubout techniques to give this the feeling of an 80s spy/thriller paperback.

I'm quite pleased with the composition of this sketch, but the colors are way off. My plan is to go considerably warmer with the colors by building the color composition off of her bright red orange hair. I'd also like to go warmer with her expression. She should portray a confident sexy quality.