Pleasing people

Last week when I did my talk for the WI, I wasn't sure of their reaction. I knew they knew I was an erotic artist before I went, and probably expected me to be a brazen hussy of some description (it goes with the territory!). But I went, and I talked to them for an hour or so about being an artist all my life, how I had started life-drawing and how that had evolved into erotic art. I defined erotic art for them. I showed them lots of artwork - landscapes, tigers, fairies, angels and unicorns, tango dancers, as well as numerous erotic drawings. I talked about drawing people, setting up compositions for drawing my models, about painting peoples fantasies of themselves. I told them funny anecdotes of the people I've met and their differing reactions to me as an erotic artist. And I offered to paint any of them who wanted me to and guaranteed confidentiality if they wanted to be painted as scarlet women! They politely clapped at the end, and I chatted with some of them afterwards. But I wasn't sure if it had been a success and I came away wondering how much I might have offended them........

Then this morning - I had an email ......

"Hi Jackie

Sorry for not contacting you sooner.

Your talk to our WI was fabulous.

All of our members were enthralled and fascinated with your erotic drawings and paintings.

A Tribute to your art.

Thank you"

.....Phew! So, they liked it!!!!!! Thank goodness for that! I might be persuaded to do it again then!

And to carry on with an upbeat theme. I've finished the erotic landscape of New York now, and emailed the finished images to the client, so that he could ok it or request any changes he might want, before it was collected. And this morning I got an email from him:

"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Well done, I can't wait till the recipient sees it, I believe it will give her great enjoyment, a unique painting for a unique person, and I absolutely love the title!... and many thanks indeed for your extremely hard work."

So..... another happy customer. Great news. So................ I suppose you're going to want to see the painting now aren't you? Well...... here it is, the finished oil painting on a box canvas:

The painting is called "Towering passions" as I wanted in some way to incorporate the lights of where the twin towers once stood, as a hint of the title, and perhaps take away from the erotic couple a bit - a sort of play on words. And here's the detail of the erotic couple so you can see them clearly and how they look. They're nicely hidden in the main picture but clear enough if you know where to look. The fact they're muted has helped to hide them, and putting the lights over them has also helped to disguise them within the image. I've loved doing this painting as I love hiding images within images.

And just to make it a hat trick - I've just had another conversation with someone who has commissioned me to do the second dog portrait for a Christmas present. She showed me the photos of the dog and we discussed mediums, and size and whether I was getting the artwork framed, all the usual questions that I ask when someone commissions me. Originally she had thought she wanted a pencil drawing of the dog, but then mentioned in passing about a favourite painting she has of another pet dog and how much she loves it and would adore this commission done the same way...... but she wasn't sure of the medium it was painted in, but had always wanted to know. So I took a look at it........ and could tell her the answer to her long wondered question....... it was done, very cleverly, in gouache, the background being a pretty, scumbled wet effect and the dog itself painted in fine wet on dry detail with every hair shown and I said I could paint the new commission in the same way if she so wished. Oh yes!!! I'd made her day with that offer! So, I'm happy to help and glad I can be of service ....... and pleased that sometimes I can help make dreams come true.......