Building an erotic landscape

Whilst I'm starting one painting I am usually semi-consciously thinking of the next one. You may think that's a bit silly to be half thinking of one painting when I should be fully concentrating on the current one. But there is a reason for it. I find that when I haven't got a painting in the planning stage that its far harder to get going on the idea from scratch. Its actually a lot easier for me to have the idea half formed whilst I'm working on another, and then I can flow from one to the other far easier, almost seamlessly.

And that is the case at the moment, as I work on the living flame erotic couple (which is looking really good, so far). Because I plan the next painting to be an erotic landscape, possibly one featuring trees in a woodland setting, and maybe with water.

So, when I attended an art workshop today, on the subject of "landscape in pastel", I wondered what subject matter to take a long as my source material, and decided that the basic "landscape" for the "erotic landscape" would be ideal. Hmmmm........ I looked through piles of my photos looking for something to inspire me, and came across the ones I took in the Lake District last year. Ideal! Well, actually, not totally ideal (can you get "not totally ideal" ? No, I don't think so, but you know what I mean!). Anyway, the subject is ideal. Its the weather that wasn't. It was a dull day. Because it rains a lot in the Lake District (an awful lot in the Lake District!) and the day I was there it was overcast with the threat of rain. And that doesn't make for good photos. But, if you're only there in that place for an hour in your whole life, you've got to make the most of it, and take the photo, even if the lighting is all wrong. And that's what I did..................

And that's what I worked from today for my pastel. The picture I did was ok, not excellent, but ok, but then that's good for a workshop. I enjoyed doing it, I enjoyed the day, I enjoyed being with my artist friends. A couple of them asked me during the day if I was going to hide an erotic woman or couple within the painting, and I smiled. And at the end of the session, when the tutor took his final look at it, I casually said the sentence that usually has a "shock effect" on all the other tutors I've said it to.............. the one that is "I'm an Erotic Artist and I'm planning on hiding an erotic couple within the painting............" And then I wait. For the stunned expression, the look of shock and horror. And this time, it was me who was surprised. Because the tutor nodded in total understanding, and started pointing at various parts of the painting saying "Yes, you could put one here, or here, there, or over there.............."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still, it was nice to have that response, even if it was an unexpected one!!!!! LOL

Celebrity

I’ve been away for a few days this week up to the Lake district. Its beautiful there, even in the rain, and boy, does it rain!!! Lets just say the lakes were certainly a lot fuller when I left than they were when I arrived......

It was good to see all the well known places - Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grassmere, William Wordsworths cottage, Beatrix Potters farm, the tiny gingerbread shop, as well as some gorgeous old pubs, including one with old chamber pots hanging from the beamed ceiling (really, I'm not taking the piss!!!!) and I got a few ( very very very very wet!) walks in as well as a couple of dry ones. I had a fabulous (dry) walk around Tarn Hows which I thought was gorgeous and took loads of photos of with a view (joke!) to using them for paintings some day. I even saw a young red deer on one of my walks which was totally unconcerned at my presence, and eyed me with gentle interest as I took photos of it.

I also went into Kendal where I fell in love with a print of a photo and bought it cos I loved it so much (and I rarely buy artwork!). The photo is massive and framed (just under 4 x 3 feet). The image is in soft muted colours of beiges and pale purples and is of a deserted wet beach with a rivulet of water in the foreground leading on to an old partly submerged tree trunk, and then to some large black rocks in the middle ground, and a misty background. I love it for the interesting interplay of light and dark, the shapes and serene subject matter. I’ve walked on so many beaches that it looks like. And the really really lovely thing about it is that the rivulet of water in the foreground is almost a naked woman so its sort of an almost erotic landscape! Since it’s a photo and not a painting, its just the way the shapes look, but I love it. The photographer could obviously see it too, as the picture is called “She lies within the sand”.

And whilst I was with friends having lunch in an old pub half way up a hillside somewhere in the Lake district, we noticed Richard Wilson (the actor who is Victor Meldrew from "One foot in the grave") at the next table – it was only when he spoke that we all recognized his lovely resonant Scottish voice, but of course One foot in the grave would be about 20 years old now, so that’s why he wasn’t instantly recognized by us. He was with a film crew filming about Englands best drives, so they were all there too. He walked out of the pub whilst we were still eating, but as we were walking up to the car in the car park, and the others had gone on ahead of me, I found myself alone and walking towards him. In the past I wouldn’t have done anything, but because of what’s happened this last year (to me as an artist), I felt I wanted to speak to him. So I just said that I wanted to thank him for the pleasure he’d given us over the years and he charmingly thanked me, we had a little chat and he asked me if I wanted my photo taken with him – so I agreed and asked someone to take it for us, whilst we stood with his arm around my shoulder. I thought that was really sweet of him, and called him Mr. Wilson. I bet he gets loads of people calling him Victor and wanting him to say “I don’t believe it!” but there was no way I was going to ask him to say it. He stood and chatted for a bit and I shook his hand (and didn’t get chance to mention I was an erotic artist, but now I wish I had!). I just felt that since I get a lot of pleasure from hearing people saying how much they like my artwork and how it touches them, I wanted to tell him the same sort of thing for his acting. It surprised me that I did it, lots of people would have been straight in there, but not me normally! Infact thinking about it – HE asked to have the picture taken, not me, so perhaps he realized HE was with a celebrity!!!! LOL