Smoking hot chicks come alive

A Brian M. Viveros girl hits you like a shock of nicotine. You draw her in; she enters your bloodstream and goes straight to your brain; your brain activates your adrenal glands; your heart speeds up a patter while dopamine increases in your pleasure center; you exhale. Viveros’s women, who hail from a place in his brain called DirtyLand, often have a smoke. “I was a big-time smoker in 2000 and wanted to have something that was a part of me I could add into my work,” he says. “It is a recognizable element, something that would put a stamp on my work whether you liked it or not. And honestly these girls from the DirtyLand just love to smoke.” The girls’ cigarettes and cigars dangle from their pursed lips, red from either lipstick or a hint of blood. “The blood you see is from battles won,” Viveros says. “I think life in some ways is a struggle for all of us, you fall down but you have to get up. The women I paint are heroes, they’re victorious! They’re the ones that have just stepped off the battlefield taking that second to pose for my camera eye.” These women, battle-tested and strong, with their doe eyes and high necks, spin the idea of pin-ups around. Instead of soldiers having cute pictures of girls from back home, these girls are the warriors. Both guys and girls have embraced the women of DirtyLand. Many have had Viveros’s creations tattooed on them by the best in the buisness: Nikko Hurtado, Corey Miller, David Corden, Khan and Rich Pineda. “The female figure is just amazing,” Viveros says. “There’s nothing else more inspiring, beautiful and powerful to paint. It’s a rush, especially when you start to see her come to life. It’s like I’m Dr.Frankenstein ‘She’s alive… alive!’”