Striking a chord

I don't think you can be boring if you're an erotic artist. The two don't go together. And part of the joy of being one is that you have interesting conversations with interesting people.....

I went along to the Guild of Erotic Artists event day yesterday since I'm still guiding myself in there and getting to know names and faces, who the different photographers/artists/models/are and collating all the information together. I'd also taken along some of my business cards so that if anyone is interested they can contact me, and I'd taken a couple of erotic paintings (Naked desire and Venus of Timaru) to hang on the walls there, since its a gallery and a good place for me to sell my art. The guild secretary, asked me where I wanted them and at my request of "Somewhere prominent and well lit", did just that, much to my delight! So now people can relate to me and my work and when they say "And what do you do?" I can nod in the direction of my paintings and they know instantly. If a picture tells a thousand words, two pictures should do two thousand. Mmm.... I'm not sure if it works quite like that, but you get my drift......

And then onto socialising, except its far more than that, because its networking and listening to ideas and concepts and other peoples suggestions and experiences, and passing on your own tips and experiences and comments, its an exchange of ideas and support. And in any organisation some people are more helpful than others, its always the way, as much as you know yourself that you can help some people more than you can others. But when you meet someone who you just "click" with, its a delight, a pleasure, and it feels absolutely wonderful. When they seem to feel the same as you too, its even better. And that's the way it was yesterday. I got chatting to a woman photographer, we talked about our work, and interests, and had an in depth conversation about using models and what we expected of them. And also talked to some degree about the dominant/submissive scene and also how women depict erotic art in a more sensual and seductive way than men do. It always fascinates me this difference, and I love to explore this subject especially with other people who work in the same genre of erotic art. And it interests me greatly the difference and parallels and similarities a photographer will experience compared to me as an artist. And women also think differently to men on this subject too. It all adds to the vast and rich erotic art that we all produce in such different ways. You'd think erotic art is all the same, and it certainly isn't!

And I was really touched that whilst we chatted, my new friend told me about a vision she had for some erotic images. She discussed them in depth with me, and as she talked I could feel that chill on the back of my neck when you just KNOW you're hearing a good idea, a concept that is inspired and exciting and you want so much to see it come to fruition because its clever and part of someones life work. Its connected to their soul. I felt honoured that she told me about it, because we'd only just met that afternoon, but she trusted me with it. I'm not going to tell you here what it was, because I don't want anyone stealing her idea, its for her to do. And she said to me "But, its not the sort of erotic art that I normally do, what if it doesn't work out, what then?" and I said to her that she's got to try it, she's got to explore the idea she has, because even if it only works to 70% of what she's expecting, that's ok, but it might be 80 or 90% or it might even be 150% better than the idea in her head and at least she'd have tried it. I could see how important this idea was to her, this vision. And I told her that if she doesn't do it she'll regret it for the rest of her life - that my philosophy is that we don't regret the things we do, but the things we don't do. And even if we try them and afterwards think "Well, I wish I hadn't done that", we still learn from it, and it might lead on to other better ideas. Its gotta be explored for us to find out. I could see I'd helped her, and she said that she was going to go for it, and I was delighted to hear that I'd helped her to formulate the decision to at least try. And she jokingly said that if it didn't work for her, I could paint it instead! Now, that would be an interesting subject, and challenging to portray.

I liked her as a person, I liked the way she works, she seems similar to me in being forthright and focused, but friendly and fun loving. She's offered to help me with my art, not in producing it, but in the offer of props and helpfully suggesting any models should I need them. It looks like the start of a promising friendship. And I also liked the fact she made me laugh out loud a couple of times, especially with her facial expressions whilst describing her touching up a female model infront of a guy, knowing full well the impact she was having on him. I loved that playful touch..... !!! (And I'll leave that comment there as an inadvertent pun!!!!).

The afternoons entertainment was the erotic version of a beauty contest - except it wasn't faces being judged, or even legs - it was a boob. Just the one! The contestants stuck their chosen breast through a gap in the curtain, and the four male judges had to choose one from the five they viewed. Hard work getting the judges to decide (you decide if that's a pun or not!) and eventually they chose the winner. Her prize is to have the winning boob done as a body cast in plaster. The thing is its a 44G cup, so I think they're gonna need an awful lot of plaster............. !!!

When it was time to leave, I said goodbye and hugged my new female friend and kissed her on the cheek, and then I went to hug the Guild secretary as I always do, and he made the most of it, pulling me close to him and flirting with me as he does - always nice! - and did it a couple more times as we were both enjoying it so much. Then my friend said "My turn now" and I stood to one side so she could hug him, and she went for me instead! Another hug! Aw, that's nice! I feel like I belong there now, I'm part of the group.

I walked away with a big grin on my face, and one of the other guys there was walking towards me, he's been a member for many years and he asked me if I'd had a good time. I agreed with a big smile that I had, but said that everyone I've met through art has been nice. He said that the Guild of Erotic Artists are a good friendly group, and I agreed with him - they are! But then, you've got to make an effort to be part of it - you've got to get in there to get something out. And I'm getting a lot out of it already, and this is only my third visit!

When I got home there was an email for me from my new photographer friend, saying "I just wanted to drop you a quick line to say how much I enjoyed chatting with you today. It was a real pleasure to speak with someone so alive and focused with such a clear view of where they are going" - and then she went on with more information for me on subjects we'd discussed earlier. I was really touched, we'd struck a chord!