Weary but upbeat

Well it was hard work, but it was worth it. Worth spending  eight weeks working and planning for it, worth spending five hours setting it up, worth chasing up the need for lighting (that I had been promised in the first place!) worth standing on my feet for 10 hour days trying to sell, worth my knees, ankles and feet burning with aching, worth the mental and physical tiredness.

It was worth it for the reaction I got for my "Fantasy fannies" banner, and the fannies paintings themselves. And for the tarses paintings. It was worth it for the conversations I had. It was worth it for the commissions I will get from it. It was worth it for the connections I've made. It was worth it for the promotion I've had. For the radio interview I was asked to do. For the praise I got. For the work I'll get out of it. And the sales I made.

It was worth it for the friends I saw there, particularly the ones who had travelled to see me. I've not seen the Erotic writer Lucy Felthouse since the last Erotica and it was really good to catch up with her.

It was worth it to see the outfits of some of the visitors - women in sexy oufits and tight corsets, men with boobs, women with cocks, the human dalmation, the leather, rubber and fetish gear.

It was worth it for seeing old friends made last year, and new ones made this.

It was worth it to see the other artwork, and meet up with the other artists. To see my various friends from the Guild of Erotic Artists.

It was worth it for the conversation I had with the guy who was only there because it was too wet to play golf that afternoon, he had never been to Erotica before and would never go again, and wondered how a "nice girl like you" got into erotic art. So I explained, with a smile, that I'm quite happy to paint dog portraits, landscapes and houses if he wants to commission me. But I get far more feedback from doing erotic art!

And it was worth it for the convesation I had with an attractive couple of my acquaintance who had been invited to a dinner party and were taking a bag full of goodies they'd bought at Erotica, along with them. The bag, on closer inspection contained three pink vibrators and other smaller vibrating devices. It also came with an invite to join them which I had to decline with regret as I was too tired to be sparkling company. But I am intrigued as to how their interesting meal went, and how well the vibrators went down...............so to speak....................... :)

Its Erotica time......

I'm always hyped up before an art exhibition. The thrill of knowing that now is the time to show the art that I've been working on since the last one. To take the stuff that has meant me working late into the night, and missing weekend fun, to continue working on. The confidence in knowing that the art is the best I can take, that there is something for every price range, that there is a good diverse selection on offer. The joy of looking fowards to seeing my artist friends again. Knowing that I'm going to have some interesting chats with different people I've not met yet. Meeting new viewers. Some will look quietly at my work and walk quietly away. Some will look with lots more interest, poke around for ages in the browser and then will walk off (whilst I've been holding my breath thinking they are DEFINITELY going to buy SOMETHING!). Some will look with more interest, find something they like, and buy it. And some will RAVE over what I do, will tell me that its fabulous art, that I'm a clever girl, and will be REALLY excited about all of it and place large orders for commissions from me.

 But there will also be conversations that I am not expecting. There will be offers for things that I hadn't considered before. Some will take me my surprise. And you can never really be ready for those, because you never know what they're going to be....

Last year I was offered cheap advertising that turned out not to be what it first appeared, and caused me a lot of aggro having to sort it out afterwards. I was offered the chance to hang my fantasy fanny paintings in a selection of international night clubs, and that didn't take off either. I was told I would be painting a picture for a sheik, and that didn't happen either (well, not yet, anyway!). But also I had a long and most interesting conversation about erotic art with a lovely man in a dress. And the best bit was when I met the bloggers who had come along. The ones who had their "fantasy fanny" on the wall. The ones who quietly said "I'm -------" and looked with great interest at the bright and beautiful artwork that was their fanny. They knew. And I knew. That it was theirs. But no one else did. Whether there will be any others who come along this year, I don't know yet. But if you do..............come along and say hi..............

Almost ready and counting

I've spent the last six weeks working towards it. It's so close, I can almost smell it.

The aroma of................................... sex, money, and good fun! :)

Otherwise known as.......................... EROTICA !!! 

YAY!!!

So I'm just sorting out last minute jobs - printing out price lists, sorting out order forms, framing pictures, and the usual job of chasing up the printers. Do they all work to the "last minute" ? When I want to know well beforehand that I've got everything together, and am trying to be well organised. So when I rang them on Thursday to see how my print  printing was going, the guy on the other end of the phone asked me when I wanted it by? "Last Monday!" was my reply, which took him aback. He printed them off last night for me to collect today, only for me to find that some of the stuff hadn't been printed off at the size I'd specifically asked for - to fit into mounts that I've got, so the appature sets the size I need. fortunately, I checked them whilst I was there and the new sizes were done whilst I .........waited.....................

So, that just leaves the last thing. The new thing. The thing that I've not done before, but have wanted to do for many years.

The calendars.

They may only be small, they may only be my first ones, but they're all mine.

But, that leads me to wonder how many I need printing off. Am I going to sell all of them at Erotica? Should I leave some for afterwards? Will I sell them all in the first day and wish I'd ordered five times as many? Although they're NEXT years calendar I'll really need to get rid of them all by February because everyone has a calendar by then................ MMMmmm...................... How.............many?

From the heart

I've just been asked by my sister "Do you know ANYBODY  normal? ".  I laughed, and agreed that most people in my life are not. By that I don't mean that they are abnormal. Just more ................ interesting.......... than most.................................... perhaps.

But perhaps thats because in a way I go looking for it. I like the company of bi-sexual women and gay men. Of people who are interested in spiritual things, of clever witty humour and sexual openness. And in a way that determines my decision to be an Erotic Artist. And by the word "erotic" I actually mean "sensual" - of the senses. But of course there is more depth to it than that. There is the mind. A wonderful place full of fabulous things. Its where we start ideas, formulate concepts, and build on those ideas to form our lives in the way we choose.

And the mind has many depths too. Some things go a lot deeper than others. Some things are such a part of us that we cannot imagine ever not having them in our lives. Like my art. I was born an artist, and I have spent my life building up that talent and skill.

And sometimes it brings people to me who want me to portray something for them that is as vastly important to them, as my art is to me. And it fires me up to hear it when I am asked to do it. Because, I KNOW I can paint  landscapes, I KNOW I can paint pet portraits, and any usual subject matter for a painting. And will always happily do it for anyone who wants it. But, sometimes I am asked to paint more interesting things.

And recently, such a request came my way.

By a witch.

A male witch.

He asked me "Can you paint from the heart?" and I nodded............. "Yes, I can".

He told me his fabulous idea for a spiritual painting, and explained his reasons for wanting a woman artist to paint it - to put the "feminine" in the artwork. I have painted something similar already, and it is featured on my website. But it hasn't got the same mystical qualities that he will want in this new painting. I can see what he wants. And will really love painting it for him. And even though you may not be spiritual I think you will like it ..................too..........

Rose tinted view

Some days are really nice arty days, and yesterday was one of them.

It started when I attended an art workshop. On the subject of ................flowers! :)

Not very erotic, I know, but I still enjoy them regardless of the subject matter. I don't do many flower paintings. Infact there's only ever been one that I've done that I've been really happy with (so, it'll be THAT painting that will be worth a million when I'm a famous artist - and not the erotic stuff at all!!! LOL ). But still, flowers it was, and flowers I did. I had to take my own "subject matter" to paint, and since my mind is full of the  "Erotica" event that I'm exhibiting at in a fortnights time, I just took the first book I could find with a selection of flowers in it. Roses. I like roses. Most people like roses. But I didn't know what I was letting myself in for.......

The tutor started the day by explaining that she covers her canvas in plaster filler to start. I've come across this technique before and was intrigued to use it again. It makes a nice texture on the canvas, and the acrylic paint instantly adheres to it as its like blotting paper, and makes some nice effects as it soaks up the paint. And then you build up the shapes and the colours, and can use a dry brush effect over the paint to make interesting texture as the colours underneath shine through. Lovely! I like it!

But.

(You knew there was a but, didn't you !!)  :)

The problem was my choice of "flowers". The roses. They're difficult to do at the best of times. And I was told AFTER I'd started and was half way through it that I'd chosen the most difficult subject in the class. Ok, I don't mind that, I like a challenge. And a botanical painter friend who was there told me that its always easier to paint flowers "when you can count the petals". Ok, I'll bear that in mind next time. And avoid roses.

So after that I carried on and decided to make the image more abstract, and play with the colours and shapes that were the interest for me in the first place. And I enjoyed the day. But the painting was crap at the end of it. It sometimes happens like that. But, at the end of the day, I'd learnt a lot (avoid roses like the plague!) and had had a fun day with my artist friends. So that was good then!

But later on....... I went to a house party. To a place I'd not been before but I had met the hostess a few times in the past through a mutual friend, and was delighted to be asked to her house for the evening. I wasn't sure how many people were going to be there or what exactly would be the nature of the gathering.

It turned out to be drinks, and delicious food, and lots of chat with a small select group of nice and friendly multi-national people, some of  whom I hadn't seen for a few years, and others I didn't know at all. So, the usual initial conversation of "Who are you and what do you do?". And I answer "Hi, I'm Jackie, and I'm an Erotic Artist" - which seems to be enough to continue the conversation in an interesting way! :) Particularly when they all seemed to be genuinely interested in the subject matter. And vowed to look at my website as soon as they were able.

But..... I think the most amusing part of the evening for me was when the host passed me at one point, as I stood with a glass in my hand, and with no warning beforehand, said out of the corner of his mouth "You're going to have to tell me what a "prince albert" is!". I burst out laughing, as I realised he must have read my blog in the last couple of days. Because there was certainly no other reason he'd have said that to me!!!!

So, to give you a picture to look at. It will be my favourite flower painting of a few years ago. And guess what the subject matter is..........yep, that's right! ROSES !!!

Hit the print button

I saw a newish acquaintance last night, and during the course of our conversation asked if she had been able to look at my website since we last met. Yes she had! And was most impressed with it! Hey, thats great to hear! She loved the tigers particularly. I know, a lot of people do...... but she liked the erotic stuff too and mentioned one painting in particular that she liked - the Tree of Life picture, and  I was pleased to hear it as it was one of my favourites too. And funnily enough, I'd been putting prints of it in mounts earlier that afternoon, ready for Erotica, and mentioned to her that I had a print of it if she was interested? Her face lit up, at the idea, and she nodded, so I'll take it to her next time I see her.

And thats got me thinking about prints....... because there are a number of ways of doing them, and some of them are quite costly. But not all of them. And I'm always happy to do prints of my artwork for anyone who wants them, so just ask me if there's something you're interested in and we can discuss it.

I know, though, that to some people, its the original that matters. Its the original that holds the creative spirit of a painting, showing each brushstroke, each mark of the pencil, the soul of the work. Which is why it always has a higher price tag on it........