Joe De Mers specialized in illustration that depicted the modern American girl. He did them not as stereotypes, but as a diverse array of dazzling females sweet, predatory, or sophisticated. To dress them, he enlisted the fashion expertise of his wife, Janice, so that the styles would not become dated in the six months between painting and publication.

De Mers was born in San Diego, California, and attended the Chouinard Art School in Los Angeles. Among his teachers were Pruett Carter and Lawrence Murphy. Later he studied with Reuben Tam at the Brooklyn Museum Art School. De Mers spent about ten years as a production illustrator and designer for motion pictures, mostly for Warner Bothers Studios in California.

His first illust...