It was another lovely sunny Event day for the Guild of Erotic Artists, so when I arrived a few people were already sitting outside enjoying the warmth of the sunshine.
As I walked in the Guild Secretary was busy taking membership fees for the new year, so after sorting mine out, I decided to place my order for a bacon butty and a cup of tea before the rush. The bacon butty arrived very quickly and I had a chat with a guy who always greets me warmly and asked how I’d got on at Erotica, since that was when I last saw him.
Chris whose seminar I'd been on last September was enjoying his lunch too so I sat with him as we ate and I told him about the latest artwork I’ve done, selling paintings to Canada and USA recently. He was interested to hear about the paintings, and we talked about selling art and the all important artist/customer relationship. Another artist joined us - I always enjoy his quiet unassuming but dryly amusing sense of humour.
Not as many people were there as last time, but that might have been partly due to one of the founder members having an open house over the weekend to sell his body casts, so maybe a lot of clients were there instead!
I spied a photographer I know and went over to have a chat with him; he was carrying his latest set of beautiful photographs, and I was delighted to be offered a look at them. I liked them all, especially the black and white ones that are similar in style to the “white on black” drawings that I do too. He and I had a long chat about contacting galleries regarding selling art and the subject of creativity. We decided that its possibly better having a day job as well as being creative as a photographer or artist, because then you have the luxury of having money in your life for the things you want and also the joy of being creative without being desperate to sell art to makes ends meet. There's no doubt it's a big decision a lot of artists have to make!!
Because the person who was due to do the demo had dropped out there was a quieter atmosphere at the Event day, and instead a striking blonde model dressed prettily in a 1940s style pink and turquoise floral summer dress sat in a chair whilst a few people sat around drawing her. Prior to this, a pretty Asian model had sat for a photo shoot in the same place.
In the corner the artist with the lovely sense of humour was starting to paint a models boobs with a beautiful large blue butterfly – I understand she was talked into modelling for the day for the price of a cup of tea, which sounds like a good swap to me!
I went outside for a bit to enjoy the sunshine too and had a brief chat with the Guild secretary about his plans for the Guild gallery now that it will be open six days a week. This reminded him that he hadn’t yet done his speech to the group, and he decided to go inside and do it then, spending time with the microphone making sure it was working, as he walked towards the stage his brother took the microphone off him and started to croon whilst the assembled crowd listened good naturedly. The Guild secretary was *eventually* given the microphone back and he was able to do his speech. As always it was upbeat and positive, thanking various people for their help and assistance in various things, and helping to pull us all together as a group.
I then started chatting to a man and woman who I’d seen before but didn’t know, and another guy overhead our conversation and joined us. After a while, I thought I ought to ask names, the American chap shook my hand and said he was called “Bob”, I turned to the English guy and he smiled and said “Bob” – so I turned to the woman with him and said “You’re not called Bob as well are you?” much to her amusement. No, she wasn’t, she was Sandra. We had a long chat about buying art, about posing as a life model, about people in your life who don’t know that you have erotic art hanging on your walls at home, and amongst other things, posing naked with poisonous snakes and the problems THAT can cause! The American Bob had come over from San Francisco to see the Guild, as well as a chap from South Carolina, although I didn’t know about him until he had left. The American Bob was just leaving when he was told that there wasn’t anyone to do a full demo and said that he’d have been more than happy to pose naked for the group if he had known! Maybe the next time he’s in England.
My photographer friend was there for about the same time as I was, but neither of us found time to chat with each other as we were busy talking to various others. When she was going, she came for a hug with me and said “I’m BOOKING a chat with you for NEXT time!” “Ok!” I laughed, and will look forward to it!
Just before I left, I had a quick chat with a couple of the guys who were busy discussing the next Guild DVD, which I will be featured in along with the others, as I was filmed on my stand with my Fantasy Fannies at Erotica last November. I look forward to seeing the finished item when it’s been edited.
Time to go, last hugs and kisses and I came away looking at a gorgeous bright red sky filling the horizon. I thought that it bode well, as I drove off into the sunset!!!
Showing posts with label Guild of erotic artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guild of erotic artists. Show all posts
Monday, 16 March 2009
Monday, 19 January 2009
Guild Event day auction
Its a while since I’ve been to a Erotic Guild of Artists Event day, so I was pleasantly surprised to find there had been a tidy up since my last visit, and we had a much improved car park this time, with more spaces for everyone nearer to the studios.
I had arrived early to take my ten drawings for the contemporary/erotic art auction, and was pleased to see there was a lot of art there for people to have the chance to buy. But first a warming cup of tea and a bacon buttie was needed for sustenance, since it was such a cold winters day.
Various people were arriving then, with cheery greetings and hugs and kisses for their friends, as they chatted. I had a nice chat with a photographer who I had not seen since Erotica in November, and asked him what he thought of it, since both he and I had exhibited there for the first time, so we compared notes of our experiences . Then another artist and his girlfriend arrived and I was able to ask them the same question, as his stand and my stand had been close to each others on the gallery at Erotica, and I was able to ask his girlfriend what she thought of it. She and I had a lovely chat about various things as we huddled around one of the heaters for warmth on this bitterly cold day.
One of the body sculptors introduced me to his lovely wife , and I enjoyed having a chat with her as again, I’d met her briefly at Erotica but not really had time to talk much to her then, as we were all working so hard at the show.
By now, more people had arrived, and were taking the opportunity of getting a bite to eat and a hot drink, before the auction started at 2pm. The three founder members were busy sorting out the artwork for the auction, with various quips to the gathering crowd. One of them called over at one point that he’d start the auction early with anyone who wanted one of his paintings as he held it aloft for the price of a cup of tea – and someone answered very quickly that they’d have it – and so got the first bargain of the day!
Just before the auction started I had a nice chat with an attractive brunette and her chap who always are very smiley pleasant company, and again I’d not seen them since Erotica, so had another catch-up chat with them about what they had been up to recently.
Then it was 2pm and the Guild secretary started the auction, as everyone gathered around on the assembled chairs or stood at the back and the sides of the studio and he did a truly valiant effort, trying to get the best possible price for the items, so that each artist (and the Guild’s commission) could get the most they could for them. Anyone who wanted to bid had been issued with a number, so that they could register their bid. The secretary gave the details of the artwork as he was fed each piece, and then the artwork was moved to the “sold” pile or the “not sold” pile. There were certainly some wonderful bargains to be had, with some lovely artwork being sold at very reasonable prices, including a some gorgeous plaster casts of boobs and fannies, and some wonderful paintings although I know that some of the lower bids for some of the other artwork were for the frame and not necessarily the picture inside it. One thing that amused me as the auction progressed was the thumb of one of the artists who was helping to hold up the artwork for the buyers to see. He had cut it quite badly a few weeks ago, and since then the horror story of whatever is under the large white bandage has been graphically described by anyone who asks him the state of it (I know this, because I did!). He is able to manage quite well, and was perfectly able to lift up paintings for the bidders to see clearly. But I noticed that the thumb in its resplendent white bandage was gyrating everytime, even though his other digits were still, giving it a very active life of its own!
The auction went on all afternoon, for almost four hours with only a short 15 minute break in the middle. So much artwork to be gone through, including my own drawings, that unfortunately didn’t sell, but I think that was because mine, and some of the others had (very reasonable) reserve prices on them and people were looking for mostly cheap bargains. The artwork that didn’t have any reserve prices certainly sold well. Some of it at ridiculously low prices. I wasn't going to let my art go at such low prices, because I value it higher than that, and hope that others do too. But it was certainly exciting watching two or three people bid for some of the paintings, with a flurry of nods going on until the price was accepted.
Whilst all of this was progressing I had a chat with a couple of visitors who I've chatted with before, who liked quite a lot of the erotic art but didn’t have a place in their house to hang it, unfortunately. One particular couple did buy a lot of the art though, and I wondered if they had a particularly large house they were filling with all their purchases! Or more likely, an outlet to sell them, I wondered if they ran an art gallery somewhere and were going to sell them on at a greatly inflated price.
During all of this the resident videoer was capturing the proceedings for the next Guild DVD, and the stills photographer was taking photos as he always does, although I think he was outside photographing the gorgeous red-head in her rather splendid outfit that seemed to be mostly a pale pink pair of PVC thigh length boots, whilst she balanced high up a ladder placed against the outside wall, when the secretary inadvertently made a wonderful gaff that caused a titter amongst the audience. He was holding each painting up, and then reading the details out of the subject – but he hadn’t realised, until he looked after realising the gentle laughter was aimed his way, that one painting was of life size naked male torso so as he held it infront of him, he'd got the hunky body he’s always wanted! LOL
The auction went on until almost 6pm, as there was so much to show everyone. The guys worked really hard to get as much money that they could for the items – even including the green boiler suits that they were wearing, that had been signed on the back by Trinny and Susannah from the “Great British Body” TV show of last year. But unfortunately, no takers! At the end of the session, there were a lot of people queuing up to pay for and collect their bargains – so a good day for the Guild and for everyone who bought and sold on the day. I’m sure there will be another one at some later date, as it certainly seemed very popular.
Time to go – as people drifted out into the night, and time for everyone to say goodbye with hugs and kisses. I always enjoy my time there, as everyone is friendly, and happy to chat.
I had arrived early to take my ten drawings for the contemporary/erotic art auction, and was pleased to see there was a lot of art there for people to have the chance to buy. But first a warming cup of tea and a bacon buttie was needed for sustenance, since it was such a cold winters day.
Various people were arriving then, with cheery greetings and hugs and kisses for their friends, as they chatted. I had a nice chat with a photographer who I had not seen since Erotica in November, and asked him what he thought of it, since both he and I had exhibited there for the first time, so we compared notes of our experiences . Then another artist and his girlfriend arrived and I was able to ask them the same question, as his stand and my stand had been close to each others on the gallery at Erotica, and I was able to ask his girlfriend what she thought of it. She and I had a lovely chat about various things as we huddled around one of the heaters for warmth on this bitterly cold day.
One of the body sculptors introduced me to his lovely wife , and I enjoyed having a chat with her as again, I’d met her briefly at Erotica but not really had time to talk much to her then, as we were all working so hard at the show.
By now, more people had arrived, and were taking the opportunity of getting a bite to eat and a hot drink, before the auction started at 2pm. The three founder members were busy sorting out the artwork for the auction, with various quips to the gathering crowd. One of them called over at one point that he’d start the auction early with anyone who wanted one of his paintings as he held it aloft for the price of a cup of tea – and someone answered very quickly that they’d have it – and so got the first bargain of the day!
Just before the auction started I had a nice chat with an attractive brunette and her chap who always are very smiley pleasant company, and again I’d not seen them since Erotica, so had another catch-up chat with them about what they had been up to recently.
Then it was 2pm and the Guild secretary started the auction, as everyone gathered around on the assembled chairs or stood at the back and the sides of the studio and he did a truly valiant effort, trying to get the best possible price for the items, so that each artist (and the Guild’s commission) could get the most they could for them. Anyone who wanted to bid had been issued with a number, so that they could register their bid. The secretary gave the details of the artwork as he was fed each piece, and then the artwork was moved to the “sold” pile or the “not sold” pile. There were certainly some wonderful bargains to be had, with some lovely artwork being sold at very reasonable prices, including a some gorgeous plaster casts of boobs and fannies, and some wonderful paintings although I know that some of the lower bids for some of the other artwork were for the frame and not necessarily the picture inside it. One thing that amused me as the auction progressed was the thumb of one of the artists who was helping to hold up the artwork for the buyers to see. He had cut it quite badly a few weeks ago, and since then the horror story of whatever is under the large white bandage has been graphically described by anyone who asks him the state of it (I know this, because I did!). He is able to manage quite well, and was perfectly able to lift up paintings for the bidders to see clearly. But I noticed that the thumb in its resplendent white bandage was gyrating everytime, even though his other digits were still, giving it a very active life of its own!
The auction went on all afternoon, for almost four hours with only a short 15 minute break in the middle. So much artwork to be gone through, including my own drawings, that unfortunately didn’t sell, but I think that was because mine, and some of the others had (very reasonable) reserve prices on them and people were looking for mostly cheap bargains. The artwork that didn’t have any reserve prices certainly sold well. Some of it at ridiculously low prices. I wasn't going to let my art go at such low prices, because I value it higher than that, and hope that others do too. But it was certainly exciting watching two or three people bid for some of the paintings, with a flurry of nods going on until the price was accepted.
Whilst all of this was progressing I had a chat with a couple of visitors who I've chatted with before, who liked quite a lot of the erotic art but didn’t have a place in their house to hang it, unfortunately. One particular couple did buy a lot of the art though, and I wondered if they had a particularly large house they were filling with all their purchases! Or more likely, an outlet to sell them, I wondered if they ran an art gallery somewhere and were going to sell them on at a greatly inflated price.
During all of this the resident videoer was capturing the proceedings for the next Guild DVD, and the stills photographer was taking photos as he always does, although I think he was outside photographing the gorgeous red-head in her rather splendid outfit that seemed to be mostly a pale pink pair of PVC thigh length boots, whilst she balanced high up a ladder placed against the outside wall, when the secretary inadvertently made a wonderful gaff that caused a titter amongst the audience. He was holding each painting up, and then reading the details out of the subject – but he hadn’t realised, until he looked after realising the gentle laughter was aimed his way, that one painting was of life size naked male torso so as he held it infront of him, he'd got the hunky body he’s always wanted! LOL
The auction went on until almost 6pm, as there was so much to show everyone. The guys worked really hard to get as much money that they could for the items – even including the green boiler suits that they were wearing, that had been signed on the back by Trinny and Susannah from the “Great British Body” TV show of last year. But unfortunately, no takers! At the end of the session, there were a lot of people queuing up to pay for and collect their bargains – so a good day for the Guild and for everyone who bought and sold on the day. I’m sure there will be another one at some later date, as it certainly seemed very popular.
Time to go – as people drifted out into the night, and time for everyone to say goodbye with hugs and kisses. I always enjoy my time there, as everyone is friendly, and happy to chat.
Friday, 16 January 2009
You call THIS work?
I had a business meeting the other night, but because it was with erotic writer Lucy Felthouse, it wasn't your normal boring business meeting... Oh No!!!!
We discussed all manner of things naughty and erotic - from her visit to see me at the Erotica show in November, and the way she was treated like a minor celebrity there on a couple of the stands, she admired my latest pastel coloured painting that I'm currently working on in my studio, we talked about the latest erotic book that's caused a furore because well-known writers have written smut, and the literary world is upset by it (heaven knows why, I can paint a landscape or a vase of flowers or an erotic picture, and will make a good job of it regardless of the subject matter, because I can paint! so surely these women who write can write about anything, including erotica? Where's the problem?!!!). We talked about my Fantasy Fannies, and my plans for finding the right place to exhibit them, Lucys writings, the Erotic Guild of Artists, and their latest book that I'm in, we talked about men in dresses, bi-sexual men and lesbians, bi-sexual women and lesbians, gay men and gay sex, gay bars, sex toys, sex writing, men, sex, ideas for stories, blogging, websites and promoting versus advertising. Oh, and sex. And then some more sex.
Sigh. So all in all, a normal night then. For us!!!!!!!! LOL
We discussed all manner of things naughty and erotic - from her visit to see me at the Erotica show in November, and the way she was treated like a minor celebrity there on a couple of the stands, she admired my latest pastel coloured painting that I'm currently working on in my studio, we talked about the latest erotic book that's caused a furore because well-known writers have written smut, and the literary world is upset by it (heaven knows why, I can paint a landscape or a vase of flowers or an erotic picture, and will make a good job of it regardless of the subject matter, because I can paint! so surely these women who write can write about anything, including erotica? Where's the problem?!!!). We talked about my Fantasy Fannies, and my plans for finding the right place to exhibit them, Lucys writings, the Erotic Guild of Artists, and their latest book that I'm in, we talked about men in dresses, bi-sexual men and lesbians, bi-sexual women and lesbians, gay men and gay sex, gay bars, sex toys, sex writing, men, sex, ideas for stories, blogging, websites and promoting versus advertising. Oh, and sex. And then some more sex.
Sigh. So all in all, a normal night then. For us!!!!!!!! LOL
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Reviewing the year
Well another year gone, and lots happening in it...
I feel now that I am more established as an artist, proved by my ability this year to take three of my old paintings and re-vamp them to make them far more interesting than they were before, which brought my spiritual healer friend to label me the "Alchemist Artist" - a title I adore!
I've painted dogs, and captured their essence and spirit so much that I was asked why I didn't paint dogs full time and apply to Crufts to be their official painter. Mmm.... nice idea, but not *quite* as exciting as doing erotic art.... LOL
I've also painted people and houses, conjuring happy emotions with their depictions for the people that they are aimed at.
As the year has progressed, I've got more involved with being a member of the Guild of Erotic Artists, being their report writer for the times I've been at the event days, and more importantly being featured in the latest Guild book, which is a great step forward for me, both to be in it, as well as being featured along side such other great artists, photographers and sculptors. That's a great accolade. The book has had great reviews and the Guild intends to go on from strength to strength.
I've sold more artwork to the USA this year, which is great that my work is going a bit further around the world.
But, best of all, is the "Queyntes" series - the fantasy fanny project that started as a wonderful idea, and has proved itself as such by the vast positive response to it that I felt that I needed to exhibit them somewhere quickly. The best place being the "Erotica" show at Olympia, London. I've never worked so hard as I did to get that show in place in such a short space of time - but it was worth it for the chance to do an exhibition, a chance to show the fantasy fannies. And that in turn meant that I met quite a few bloggers - some of whom had their "Queynte" on show. So that was a wonderful experience too. As was seeing and hearing the wonderfully positive and upbeat responses to the "Queyntes" at Erotica from people who knew nothing about them and had never seen them before. Fabulous experience!!!
And since then, I've been experimenting with the the same bright and vivid abstract way of painting, and that has carried me on with new ideas and I think it will continue to do so......
So..... on to the new year. And what will that bring with it? Well my spiritual healer friend has finally finished writing her book on unicorns, so I shall now have the chance to illustrate it for her - something that I am looking forward to immensely. Plus I still have more "Queyntes" to paint - I count that as an on-going project, and hope to promote them in other places, and maybe even find another suitable venue for a bigger exhibition of them. Plus this abstract way of painting has also picked up other people who are interested in that way of painting, so I think I may be using that elsewhere for less, er, intimate artwork! And I've put my name down for a watercolour workshop painting .... er.... flowers.... in the new year!!! Tee hee! Ya never know - maybe I'll become a "flower painter" full time....... LMAO ........Nah, I don't think so!!!!!!!!!
But also, the really lovely thing is that I've met some wonderful people through my art - people who have open minds, wh.jpg)
o feed my inspiration with their positive and helpful comments - people who I consider to be good friends. And that's a wonderful thing to have.
So for the new year - I wish you peace and happiness, good health, and joy being with the ones you love. And for me I hope I continue to paint and bring happiness through my art. So I'll leave you with this image at the end of the year - the same subject as last year, but a different image - of a unicorn, the same one I used as my Christmas card, to bring light and love to you in the year ahead.
I feel now that I am more established as an artist, proved by my ability this year to take three of my old paintings and re-vamp them to make them far more interesting than they were before, which brought my spiritual healer friend to label me the "Alchemist Artist" - a title I adore!
I've painted dogs, and captured their essence and spirit so much that I was asked why I didn't paint dogs full time and apply to Crufts to be their official painter. Mmm.... nice idea, but not *quite* as exciting as doing erotic art.... LOL
I've also painted people and houses, conjuring happy emotions with their depictions for the people that they are aimed at.
As the year has progressed, I've got more involved with being a member of the Guild of Erotic Artists, being their report writer for the times I've been at the event days, and more importantly being featured in the latest Guild book, which is a great step forward for me, both to be in it, as well as being featured along side such other great artists, photographers and sculptors. That's a great accolade. The book has had great reviews and the Guild intends to go on from strength to strength.
I've sold more artwork to the USA this year, which is great that my work is going a bit further around the world.
But, best of all, is the "Queyntes" series - the fantasy fanny project that started as a wonderful idea, and has proved itself as such by the vast positive response to it that I felt that I needed to exhibit them somewhere quickly. The best place being the "Erotica" show at Olympia, London. I've never worked so hard as I did to get that show in place in such a short space of time - but it was worth it for the chance to do an exhibition, a chance to show the fantasy fannies. And that in turn meant that I met quite a few bloggers - some of whom had their "Queynte" on show. So that was a wonderful experience too. As was seeing and hearing the wonderfully positive and upbeat responses to the "Queyntes" at Erotica from people who knew nothing about them and had never seen them before. Fabulous experience!!!
And since then, I've been experimenting with the the same bright and vivid abstract way of painting, and that has carried me on with new ideas and I think it will continue to do so......
So..... on to the new year. And what will that bring with it? Well my spiritual healer friend has finally finished writing her book on unicorns, so I shall now have the chance to illustrate it for her - something that I am looking forward to immensely. Plus I still have more "Queyntes" to paint - I count that as an on-going project, and hope to promote them in other places, and maybe even find another suitable venue for a bigger exhibition of them. Plus this abstract way of painting has also picked up other people who are interested in that way of painting, so I think I may be using that elsewhere for less, er, intimate artwork! And I've put my name down for a watercolour workshop painting .... er.... flowers.... in the new year!!! Tee hee! Ya never know - maybe I'll become a "flower painter" full time....... LMAO ........Nah, I don't think so!!!!!!!!!
But also, the really lovely thing is that I've met some wonderful people through my art - people who have open minds, wh
.jpg)
o feed my inspiration with their positive and helpful comments - people who I consider to be good friends. And that's a wonderful thing to have.So for the new year - I wish you peace and happiness, good health, and joy being with the ones you love. And for me I hope I continue to paint and bring happiness through my art. So I'll leave you with this image at the end of the year - the same subject as last year, but a different image - of a unicorn, the same one I used as my Christmas card, to bring light and love to you in the year ahead.
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Feedback and feed forward
I've had some really lovely feedback regarding the Fantasy Fannies, since I did the Erotica exhibition last week ....... "Wow! A celebration of women and sexuality done in such style. Well done!" .... "The single most amazing and unique thing I've seen - what a gift! Best of luck" ....."Fantastic and a lot of fun. Never seen something so weird look so beautiful!!" ...."Superb, subtle, sexy!" ..."These paintings are amazing!"....."Beautiful flowers!".......
.......its always good to get feedback, to know that others appreciate the work too... So thank you to those who told me that my stand was the best thing at Erotica, its ve
ry much appreciated!!!
And whilst we're hurtling along towards Christmas, I'll mention that I still have the ideal Christmas gift for erotic art lovers - the newly published Guild of Erotic Artists Book Volume 2 at £22.99 plus packaging and transport costs. And as well as that I have the Guild of Erotic Artists Book Volume 1 at £10 plus packaging and transport costs. Or £30 for the two - what a bargain! - (plus packaging and transport costs). I featured Volume 2 the other week and the details are here. Volume 1 is pictured here and is equally as lovely and has 160 full colour pages of 25 featured artists/photographers/sculptors (but not of me, it was printed before I joined the Guild). It measures 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Both books are soft back and are ideal Christmas gifts, individually or together......... email me if you're interested.......
.......its always good to get feedback, to know that others appreciate the work too... So thank you to those who told me that my stand was the best thing at Erotica, its ve
ry much appreciated!!!And whilst we're hurtling along towards Christmas, I'll mention that I still have the ideal Christmas gift for erotic art lovers - the newly published Guild of Erotic Artists Book Volume 2 at £22.99 plus packaging and transport costs. And as well as that I have the Guild of Erotic Artists Book Volume 1 at £10 plus packaging and transport costs. Or £30 for the two - what a bargain! - (plus packaging and transport costs). I featured Volume 2 the other week and the details are here. Volume 1 is pictured here and is equally as lovely and has 160 full colour pages of 25 featured artists/photographers/sculptors (but not of me, it was printed before I joined the Guild). It measures 11 x 8 1/2 inches. Both books are soft back and are ideal Christmas gifts, individually or together......... email me if you're interested.......
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Like a swan
I'm like a swan at the moment as far as blogging is concerned - it all looks very serene at the moment on the surface but there is terrific and frantic paddling .jpg)
underneath!!!
I have many many things on the go at the moment - sorting out the new venue for the erotic artwork, which I will tell you about very soon, I promise! Frantically painting Fantasy Fanny/Queynte paintings, updating my website, and being involved with the Guild of Erotic Artists and everything they are doing at the moment!
One of the things they are "doing" is their latest book - of which I am featured in!!!! A whole chapter! YAYYYYY!!!! I wrote my chapter for it back in April, and sent the artwork to be edited, and the other contributors have been doing their chapters over the last few months, but now its published and it looks really good! I picked my copies up on Sunday at the Guild Event day, and have some to sell if anyone is interested? It's a beautiful high quality soft-back "coffee table" book featuring the work of 32 artists/photographers/sculptors and would make an ideal Christmas or birthday present for anyone who likes erotic art. Each person.jpg)
featured has six pages about them, with lots of their artwork. It's approximately 11 x 8 inches, has 200 pages in full colour (although some of the erotic photos are black and white, if that makes sense!) It is for sale at £22.99 plus postage and packing. If anyone is interested in buying any copies from me, please contact me for more details. I've featured the photos of it here, although they aren't good photos as the pages are shiny and the flash has shown up on some of them - but it gives a good idea of my pages, so you can see what I'm talking about. The white blob on the torso on the front cover is the flash and not actually part of the image on the cover. All my images featured in my chapter of the .jpg)
book are on my website and a couple of them were done for bloggers......... if you recognise t.jpg)
hem! :) .jpg)
.jpg)
underneath!!!I have many many things on the go at the moment - sorting out the new venue for the erotic artwork, which I will tell you about very soon, I promise! Frantically painting Fantasy Fanny/Queynte paintings, updating my website, and being involved with the Guild of Erotic Artists and everything they are doing at the moment!
One of the things they are "doing" is their latest book - of which I am featured in!!!! A whole chapter! YAYYYYY!!!! I wrote my chapter for it back in April, and sent the artwork to be edited, and the other contributors have been doing their chapters over the last few months, but now its published and it looks really good! I picked my copies up on Sunday at the Guild Event day, and have some to sell if anyone is interested? It's a beautiful high quality soft-back "coffee table" book featuring the work of 32 artists/photographers/sculptors and would make an ideal Christmas or birthday present for anyone who likes erotic art. Each person
.jpg)
featured has six pages about them, with lots of their artwork. It's approximately 11 x 8 inches, has 200 pages in full colour (although some of the erotic photos are black and white, if that makes sense!) It is for sale at £22.99 plus postage and packing. If anyone is interested in buying any copies from me, please contact me for more details. I've featured the photos of it here, although they aren't good photos as the pages are shiny and the flash has shown up on some of them - but it gives a good idea of my pages, so you can see what I'm talking about. The white blob on the torso on the front cover is the flash and not actually part of the image on the cover. All my images featured in my chapter of the .jpg)
book are on my website and a couple of them were done for bloggers......... if you recognise t.jpg)
hem! :) .jpg)
Monday, 22 September 2008
Huge positive effect
At least it was sunny and warm this time at the Guild of Erotic Artists Event day - so when I arrived, most people were already standing or sitting outside the building, chatting in the late summer sunshine. As I walked past I was aware of my photographer friend talking to a group of people, so I just patted her on the shoulder in greeting, she turned to see me and her face lit up and we hugged in greeting - then and she grabbed my hand and said "Come with me, I've got something I want to show you" - I happily followed her lead and she took me inside to a quiet corner and showed me the photos she'd taken recently - of the subject matter we'd spoken off two months ago, lovely submissive photos taken with an understanding and knowledge of the subject matter and full of sensuality. I thought they were gorgeous and told her so!
Very soon after that the entertainment started - the first part being the body caster who'd taken the body cast of the large breast last month, which he now presented to the delighted owner. And what a beautiful memento for her to hang on the wall! Afterwards she and I stood chatting about the attraction of large breasts, and how some women can use it to their advantage (!). She also told me that its nice to have a pseudonym (as all models seem to do) because that persona can do things that your normal everyday one can't. You can use more attitude, definitely! I told her that when I'd seen her have her makeup done last month, and stride off the stage in such a powerful way, I really loved the effect the makeup had on her in her outfit! And that in turn had led me on to painting a picture of a kiss - which I had incidental taken with me that day to hang on the gallery wall, when the guild secretary has time to rearrange the current artwork. She said she'd be interested to see it, since she had inspired the thought that had helped to create it so I'll show it to her when I get the chance. And maybe my painting in turn will lead someone else on to create something else....
Then she left the stage and five models came on it - the black haired dominatrix dressed powerfully in maroon basque and long matching skirt, the four submissives, all with black hair and pale faces, in black basques, corsets, stockings, holdups and high heels, they gathered around her feet, as she looked down into the face of each one, taking their chins in her hand, as they looked adoringly at her, loving her, appealing to her, pleading with their eyes for her attention and ministrations. Handing out rope, a cane, or a paddle to her, she took each in turn from them and interacted with them. It was so sensual, so erotic, so beautiful to see. At the end anyone else could take photos if they wanted, then the models disappeared. My photographer friend had a lot of people chatting to her, but when there was chance, I went up to her and with a flat expression I said "I didn't like that". Her face dropped and I quickly said " I didn't like it, I LOVVVVVVED it!!!!!!!!!!!" and she said with great force "YOU BITCH!!!!!!!!!!" Followed by a big grin, and a hug, and went on to explain that she had SSOOOOO much wanted me to like it, how important it was for her, how nervous she had been to present it, and I hugged her as she shed a couple of tears and I realised the enormity of what she had done. I hugged her close and said "It was FUCKING AWESOME, what you've done!!!" And I meant it - she had captured something so very subtle, so fleeting, so beautiful, so truly EROTIC.
Later on I was stopped by her husband who thanked me for helping her so much. That she'd not been taken seriously as an erotic photographer before, but now she had proved to everyone that she WAS. And I agreed wholeheartedly that she was! He said I'd been so enthusiastic about her big idea and I explained to him that I as a creative person like to be around other people who are creative and positive, because that in turn feeds my creativity. I don't think partners of creative people always know what to say to help the creative person, so I was delighted to help - and even more so when I saw the results!!! Big Wow!!!!
Later on again when she'd quietened down from her euphoria, I told my photographer friend about MY "Big idea" about the fantasy fannies and what I hoped to do with them - she was intrigued with my description of them, and wanted to see more. Whilst she and I were chatting quietly, the body caster came up to me to say how much he liked my writing for the Event day reports - and I was touched that he'd taken the time to come over to tell me especially. But the Guild is about support and help and the exchange of advice and experiences.
Very soon after that the entertainment started - the first part being the body caster who'd taken the body cast of the large breast last month, which he now presented to the delighted owner. And what a beautiful memento for her to hang on the wall! Afterwards she and I stood chatting about the attraction of large breasts, and how some women can use it to their advantage (!). She also told me that its nice to have a pseudonym (as all models seem to do) because that persona can do things that your normal everyday one can't. You can use more attitude, definitely! I told her that when I'd seen her have her makeup done last month, and stride off the stage in such a powerful way, I really loved the effect the makeup had on her in her outfit! And that in turn had led me on to painting a picture of a kiss - which I had incidental taken with me that day to hang on the gallery wall, when the guild secretary has time to rearrange the current artwork. She said she'd be interested to see it, since she had inspired the thought that had helped to create it so I'll show it to her when I get the chance. And maybe my painting in turn will lead someone else on to create something else....
The body caster was selling various casts during the day - it was interesting perusing his wares and seeing various nipples, fannies, breasts, and bums in pure white plaster or bronze. He also had small sculptures of women in various positions, although they obviously weren't casts unless he's visited Lilliput recently!
Then we were on to the first proper entertainment of the day - a burlesque performance by an attractive Eurasian girl who came on the stage in a bright red satin Chinese robe, her hair beautifully arranged with complementary black and red feathers, her mouth matching vibrant scarlet too. The music started with its rhythmic beat and she danced provocatively and sexily whilst she slowly stripped off first the robe, to reveal a red basque, then a red strapless bra under and finally after the large red feathered fans had been twirled to good erotic effect, she removed the bra to reveal two shiny red nipple discs! Rapturous applause from the audience - I don't know why, but the men really enjoyed the show!!
At this point I got chatting to the couple next to me - he's an erotic artist, and she is also an artist but of the more vanilla variety, although she knew a lot about erotic art and was a delight to talk to. We discussed what makes art "erotic" and the importance of a title. He talked about dealing with galleries and how artists and gallery owners quite often have a different view of the world!
Then it was on to the second demonstration of the day which was shrouded in mystery. No one seemed to know what it was about - so it came as some surprise to see my photographer friend get on the stage to introduce herself. She was so nervous, she needed notes, and this was a suprise in itself because she's confident, gregarious and extrovert normally. She explained that what she normally does is lightweight and frothy, images with a bit of fun about them. But she had had this "big idea" recently and wanted to explore it, and was going to show us now, she wanted to thank her husband for his support and "Jackie" she said, pointing a finger directly at me standing in the audience, for believing in her and encouraging her to do it!!!!! WOW!!!!!! I stood there with a huge grin on my face! Now I knew instantly what she was going to do!!
Then she left the stage and five models came on it - the black haired dominatrix dressed powerfully in maroon basque and long matching skirt, the four submissives, all with black hair and pale faces, in black basques, corsets, stockings, holdups and high heels, they gathered around her feet, as she looked down into the face of each one, taking their chins in her hand, as they looked adoringly at her, loving her, appealing to her, pleading with their eyes for her attention and ministrations. Handing out rope, a cane, or a paddle to her, she took each in turn from them and interacted with them. It was so sensual, so erotic, so beautiful to see. At the end anyone else could take photos if they wanted, then the models disappeared. My photographer friend had a lot of people chatting to her, but when there was chance, I went up to her and with a flat expression I said "I didn't like that". Her face dropped and I quickly said " I didn't like it, I LOVVVVVVED it!!!!!!!!!!!" and she said with great force "YOU BITCH!!!!!!!!!!" Followed by a big grin, and a hug, and went on to explain that she had SSOOOOO much wanted me to like it, how important it was for her, how nervous she had been to present it, and I hugged her as she shed a couple of tears and I realised the enormity of what she had done. I hugged her close and said "It was FUCKING AWESOME, what you've done!!!" And I meant it - she had captured something so very subtle, so fleeting, so beautiful, so truly EROTIC.
Later on I was stopped by her husband who thanked me for helping her so much. That she'd not been taken seriously as an erotic photographer before, but now she had proved to everyone that she WAS. And I agreed wholeheartedly that she was! He said I'd been so enthusiastic about her big idea and I explained to him that I as a creative person like to be around other people who are creative and positive, because that in turn feeds my creativity. I don't think partners of creative people always know what to say to help the creative person, so I was delighted to help - and even more so when I saw the results!!! Big Wow!!!!
Later on again when she'd quietened down from her euphoria, I told my photographer friend about MY "Big idea" about the fantasy fannies and what I hoped to do with them - she was intrigued with my description of them, and wanted to see more. Whilst she and I were chatting quietly, the body caster came up to me to say how much he liked my writing for the Event day reports - and I was touched that he'd taken the time to come over to tell me especially. But the Guild is about support and help and the exchange of advice and experiences.
In and around all of this happening, I also had a chat with another artist who had taken some of his artwork to be hung, as I had taken four more of mine to be hung, but until the Guild Secretary has chance to re-arrange the other artwork, they had to be stored to one side. I was interested in seeing his drawings as he, like me, does erotic landscapes. Although his are totally different to mine - his were simple pencil drawings depicting all sorts of weird and wonderful simple shapes, whereas I do coloured paintings hiding the erotic images more.
Whilst I was ferrying my paintings from the car I passed the guy who'd had his sexy low slung sports car cleaned last month by the topless car wash girls, I made a funny comment about him bringing it again for the same treatment, and he asked if I was offering! Ha ha - no I wasn't I grinned! Later on he said he wanted to look at my work, and it unfortunately wasn't until the end of the day that we were able to meet up again - I showed him the two paintings I currently have on the wall and he gave me his very forthright opinions about them, the style, the pricing, the colours used. Whereas he wasn't terribly enthusiastic over them, he didn't criticise them either, but his opinion was useful because he's made me think about who I need target regarding selling my work. He's running a seminar soon on the subject and I think I may well attend it......
One of the things I love about the guild is that the Event days have scantily dressed models standing around in basques and stockings, maybe chatting to someone in jeans and a tee shirt whilst conversations are going on about dominants and submissives, S and M, gay sex, nudity, as well as erotic art and all relating to it! As the Guild secretary commented - where else can you get such good entertainment over the year from your subscriptions!
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Decluttering the dust
Its been an extremely productive day, art wise, extremely! And yet...... I haven't once picked up a paintbrush to paint or drawn anything or produced any artwork at all today. The nearest I've come to any artwork was a pastel drawing of a topless woman that I framed for the Erotic Guild of Artists gallery, the next time I go there.
No, the reason I say I've had a productive art day is because I've had a tidy up in my studio - how exciting you yawn, and yet it has been! I've thrown virtually nothing away except odd scraps of paper with scrawled notes long since written (and acted upon) but what I have done is put all my reference art books together on book shelves, I've loads of them on subjects as diverse as figure drawing, fantasy art, big cats, sex, erotic art, favourite artists, women in art, more sex, photography, sex positions, Australia, New Zealand, how to capture light in paintings, and more sex positions (well, it IS art, honest!!!!). As well as those I have a whole load of art magazines, gallery catalogues, and photo albums for reference subjects. I have files for various useful papers, and more notes on scraps of paper to be acted upon. And that's all before I get to the paints (watercolours, acrylics, oils, gouache), water pots, brushes (for watercolour and also oils/acrylics), palettes, and other collected accoutrement's of the active artist. And at the end of moving most of the things to slightly new positions, I have a whole load of something wonderful ........ Sigh! Yes, I have S P A C E !!!!! Loads and loads of it, to spread out in, to work in, to have freedom to fill with art and NOT CLUTTER! And I expect that when I get to use that space I'll produce better artwork because I'm not having to work around piles of papers and pots and brushes that I'm not currently using! So, yeh, its been a productive time!!
Yesterday the woman who commissioned the freebee Christmas card design back in June came to collect it. It was the first time she'd been to my house and we'd not met before. We got on well enough and as we chatted I showed her the Three kings design I'd done for her, which she was delighted with. So I was happy too! I had a few paintings stacked up in my studio, ready to go for exhibitions, and showed her a few of them so she could see what else I did, she knew I did pen and ink drawings but didn't know what else I do - and she said what most people say when they see my work - she commented on how diverse I was , and I agreed, I am! I only showed her the sexy large lips kissing I've just finished, a French village landscape, a Venetian night scape, a dramatic English Gothic landscape, some tigers in a snowstorm, a family of swans back lit under a tree, an old Cornish fishermans hut, a pair of fantasy unicorns in a woodland glade and an oil painting of an old country cottage with faces hidden within the flower garden (and that's only a SMALL amount of what I do, because I kept off the erotic stuff!). She was impressed with me and my artwork, and asked me how much I'd charge to paint her two children' s portraits. She said she'd discuss it with her husband and come back to me. So that was a good productive visit too! Yay!
Now.. where did I put my favourite paintbrush... and should I categorise all the art books alphabetically into fantasy/cats and SEX - nah, I haven't got one complete shelf long enough for the sex stuff!!! :)
No, the reason I say I've had a productive art day is because I've had a tidy up in my studio - how exciting you yawn, and yet it has been! I've thrown virtually nothing away except odd scraps of paper with scrawled notes long since written (and acted upon) but what I have done is put all my reference art books together on book shelves, I've loads of them on subjects as diverse as figure drawing, fantasy art, big cats, sex, erotic art, favourite artists, women in art, more sex, photography, sex positions, Australia, New Zealand, how to capture light in paintings, and more sex positions (well, it IS art, honest!!!!). As well as those I have a whole load of art magazines, gallery catalogues, and photo albums for reference subjects. I have files for various useful papers, and more notes on scraps of paper to be acted upon. And that's all before I get to the paints (watercolours, acrylics, oils, gouache), water pots, brushes (for watercolour and also oils/acrylics), palettes, and other collected accoutrement's of the active artist. And at the end of moving most of the things to slightly new positions, I have a whole load of something wonderful ........ Sigh! Yes, I have S P A C E !!!!! Loads and loads of it, to spread out in, to work in, to have freedom to fill with art and NOT CLUTTER! And I expect that when I get to use that space I'll produce better artwork because I'm not having to work around piles of papers and pots and brushes that I'm not currently using! So, yeh, its been a productive time!!
Yesterday the woman who commissioned the freebee Christmas card design back in June came to collect it. It was the first time she'd been to my house and we'd not met before. We got on well enough and as we chatted I showed her the Three kings design I'd done for her, which she was delighted with. So I was happy too! I had a few paintings stacked up in my studio, ready to go for exhibitions, and showed her a few of them so she could see what else I did, she knew I did pen and ink drawings but didn't know what else I do - and she said what most people say when they see my work - she commented on how diverse I was , and I agreed, I am! I only showed her the sexy large lips kissing I've just finished, a French village landscape, a Venetian night scape, a dramatic English Gothic landscape, some tigers in a snowstorm, a family of swans back lit under a tree, an old Cornish fishermans hut, a pair of fantasy unicorns in a woodland glade and an oil painting of an old country cottage with faces hidden within the flower garden (and that's only a SMALL amount of what I do, because I kept off the erotic stuff!). She was impressed with me and my artwork, and asked me how much I'd charge to paint her two children' s portraits. She said she'd discuss it with her husband and come back to me. So that was a good productive visit too! Yay!
Now.. where did I put my favourite paintbrush... and should I categorise all the art books alphabetically into fantasy/cats and SEX - nah, I haven't got one complete shelf long enough for the sex stuff!!! :)
Monday, 28 July 2008
Tickled pink
I'm fully aware of the reason why the last picture I put on my blog wasn't brilliant. It was because my mind was elsewhere........ lost in visions of naked women doing feminine things. I wasn't fully focused on the guy I drew last week because I've spent so much time recently thinking about the artwork of women I want to produce for the gallery I visited three weeks ago. Then whilst I was on holiday in the Lake District I was thinking about it, and in days after I got back I was thinking about it even more, and last week I was collating the information and just about ready to start drawing them. Then I received an email from the gallery owner asking how I was getting on and wanting me to email the first image to him. I was going to reply by email and then thought, no, I'll ring him. I needed to explain it to him and an email wasn't the mode of doing it........
.......These images are going to be part of a "set" so that when they are viewed together they can be seen as a collective. But any of the images can be a picture on its own. Of course if someone wants to buy one of the pictures they will have a nice image all on its own but ideally they will have the chance to "pick and mix" the images so they can buy two, three, four, more and all the images will interconnect. That's.jpg)
the plan. And that's what I've been thinking of the last three weeks. Nothing else, well .......artwise, anyway!!! And that is what I needed to explain to the gallery owner. That although I had done one of the images, I didn't want to show him just the first one. I wanted to show him the finished set. Because although I'd completed one, and was delighted with it, by the time I'd finished the whole set, the first one may not fit in it so well (although I doubt that that will be the case). He understood when I explained it, and said there was no pressure, and I was happy to hear that, because pressure whilst a bit of is a good thing, a LOT of it can take away from the creative process if a dead-line is looming!!!
So, here's the first one and I'm delighted with it. Its simple but effective, has colour and enough feminine charms to be interesting. Her breasts are framed by the boa and she's in a contemplative mood. The look on the girls face is good, with the hint of a smile and the pose is interesting with enough lights and darks and angles. The feathers are soft and have enough depth of colour and form. And I'm even delighted with the title too! Its called "Tickled pink" which fits in with the boa image as well as the colours used.
So, now on to the next one.................MMmm......... Oh, yes, I know what I'm going to do!!! :)
And as a post script, I was delighted last week to be asked to write up the Guild of Erotic Artists Event day report for July, and the Guild secretary only asked me because I'd mentioned that I write a blog and he was featured in it! I enjoy writing, and find as much satisfaction in it as painting almost. I suppose its all part of the creative spirit.
.......These images are going to be part of a "set" so that when they are viewed together they can be seen as a collective. But any of the images can be a picture on its own. Of course if someone wants to buy one of the pictures they will have a nice image all on its own but ideally they will have the chance to "pick and mix" the images so they can buy two, three, four, more and all the images will interconnect. That's
.jpg)
the plan. And that's what I've been thinking of the last three weeks. Nothing else, well .......artwise, anyway!!! And that is what I needed to explain to the gallery owner. That although I had done one of the images, I didn't want to show him just the first one. I wanted to show him the finished set. Because although I'd completed one, and was delighted with it, by the time I'd finished the whole set, the first one may not fit in it so well (although I doubt that that will be the case). He understood when I explained it, and said there was no pressure, and I was happy to hear that, because pressure whilst a bit of is a good thing, a LOT of it can take away from the creative process if a dead-line is looming!!!So, here's the first one and I'm delighted with it. Its simple but effective, has colour and enough feminine charms to be interesting. Her breasts are framed by the boa and she's in a contemplative mood. The look on the girls face is good, with the hint of a smile and the pose is interesting with enough lights and darks and angles. The feathers are soft and have enough depth of colour and form. And I'm even delighted with the title too! Its called "Tickled pink" which fits in with the boa image as well as the colours used.
So, now on to the next one.................MMmm......... Oh, yes, I know what I'm going to do!!! :)
And as a post script, I was delighted last week to be asked to write up the Guild of Erotic Artists Event day report for July, and the Guild secretary only asked me because I'd mentioned that I write a blog and he was featured in it! I enjoy writing, and find as much satisfaction in it as painting almost. I suppose its all part of the creative spirit.
Monday, 21 July 2008
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!
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!
Monday, 19 May 2008
Painting a woman
Well I learnt a bit over the weekend! Most of it of an arty erotic nature, so that kept me a happy bunny......
Yesterday I went to the Guild of Erotic Artists "Event day" to mingle with my fellow artists and get to know the people there, and for them to get to know me. They all seem a pleasant and friendly bunch, it just takes time and some effort on my part to go and say hello to them, promoting myself as much as my art. My new mate the erotic photographer was there again, and we chatted like old friends, which was really lovely. I also want to get some pictures on the wall at the gallery there, and asked costs of doing that and what was involved etc etc, so that's on my list of things to do for the next time I go. So, lots of chatting, lots of tea drunk, some laughter, a lot of hugs (nice!) and some new friends made and I count that as a productive day... BUT as well as THAT, there was entertainment! OOOhhhh yes! ......... :)
.......... the entertainment was a photo shoot with a glamour model, very pretty in her cream camisole and knickers, cream holdups and pretty embroidered gold high heels. She sat in a large chair and did the poses whilst a couple of photographers took endless photos of her and I found it fascinating, as the model just turned, posed, moved, crossed and uncrossed legs, looked pretty, kept brilliant eye contact and worked the camera! Wow. Really interesting. For me, as an artist, I'd be telling her what pose I wanted, and explaining it to her and getting her to hold it for the next two hours! But she was obviously very talented at what she did and did it very competently. Very interesting for me to see the difference between how a photographer works compared to an artist. And also to see how a professional glamour model works.
But............................
..................that wasn't the whole of the entertainment for the day. Oh no. We had some more........
I could tell it was going to be good when she walked through the door.
She was one of those people who is just MADE for looking AT. She had presence. Bearing in mind, that I'm used to looking at people, and noticing them, and I'm used to looking at erotic models and noticing them too. This woman, was mesmerising. And this was BEFORE she changed her clothes and did her show.........
I also knew it was going to be good when my erotic photographer friend went to get his camera. He'd seen her before and knew what was coming............
Ok. So now I'm verrrrrrrry interested........ but I had to wait whilst her props were set up, and she prepared herself.
She started he.jpg)
r show fully clothed, in black pvc coat, felt top hat, long boots and a tutu skirt and then the Burlesque show started, and she took them off, bit by bit, to the sound of throbbing loud music, the background beat a suitable sound to accompany her. The room was dark except for the spotlight on her and the handful of people comprising the audience within feet of her show, so it was very intimate. She happily posed for the photographers gathered around her, and carried on with her show, taking items of clothing off, adding others, and then, the really interesting part started.... she had all the lights switched off except for a violet uv filter which picked up only the light colours of the thin netting she had suspended infront of her, which she writhed around and draped over herself. Then she started adorning her body with body paints, which the uv light picked up, so the rest of her body was moving shadows, dark against dark, but the lights *shone* and glowed in the darkness. And the more she painted herself, the more she shone. And then she invited the audience to go up and draw on her, to sign their names, and add to the feminine art. And all the time, she danced, and twirled, posed and had her photographs taken. The artwork grew, in size and colour. And then, for her finale, she gathered up two .jpg)
batons, with various coloured netting attached to them, and twirled them around and around, the netting whisking around her, the colours mingling, and moving to her rhythm. She dropped the batons, made a bee line for me, standing in the shadows, and hugged me, and I hugged her back, grinning, and laughing with her! Wow! What a wonderful performance, what a show, what a wonderful piece of erotic art!! A celebration of womanhood. She told me afterwards she feels quite spiritual during her show, and I can totally understand that! It was almost Shamanic, in the way people were gathered around her, daubing her body in paint. It was awesome! And has left me totally inspired.
Yesterday I went to the Guild of Erotic Artists "Event day" to mingle with my fellow artists and get to know the people there, and for them to get to know me. They all seem a pleasant and friendly bunch, it just takes time and some effort on my part to go and say hello to them, promoting myself as much as my art. My new mate the erotic photographer was there again, and we chatted like old friends, which was really lovely. I also want to get some pictures on the wall at the gallery there, and asked costs of doing that and what was involved etc etc, so that's on my list of things to do for the next time I go. So, lots of chatting, lots of tea drunk, some laughter, a lot of hugs (nice!) and some new friends made and I count that as a productive day... BUT as well as THAT, there was entertainment! OOOhhhh yes! ......... :)
.......... the entertainment was a photo shoot with a glamour model, very pretty in her cream camisole and knickers, cream holdups and pretty embroidered gold high heels. She sat in a large chair and did the poses whilst a couple of photographers took endless photos of her and I found it fascinating, as the model just turned, posed, moved, crossed and uncrossed legs, looked pretty, kept brilliant eye contact and worked the camera! Wow. Really interesting. For me, as an artist, I'd be telling her what pose I wanted, and explaining it to her and getting her to hold it for the next two hours! But she was obviously very talented at what she did and did it very competently. Very interesting for me to see the difference between how a photographer works compared to an artist. And also to see how a professional glamour model works.
But............................
..................that wasn't the whole of the entertainment for the day. Oh no. We had some more........
I could tell it was going to be good when she walked through the door.
She was one of those people who is just MADE for looking AT. She had presence. Bearing in mind, that I'm used to looking at people, and noticing them, and I'm used to looking at erotic models and noticing them too. This woman, was mesmerising. And this was BEFORE she changed her clothes and did her show.........
I also knew it was going to be good when my erotic photographer friend went to get his camera. He'd seen her before and knew what was coming............
Ok. So now I'm verrrrrrrry interested........ but I had to wait whilst her props were set up, and she prepared herself.
She started he
.jpg)
r show fully clothed, in black pvc coat, felt top hat, long boots and a tutu skirt and then the Burlesque show started, and she took them off, bit by bit, to the sound of throbbing loud music, the background beat a suitable sound to accompany her. The room was dark except for the spotlight on her and the handful of people comprising the audience within feet of her show, so it was very intimate. She happily posed for the photographers gathered around her, and carried on with her show, taking items of clothing off, adding others, and then, the really interesting part started.... she had all the lights switched off except for a violet uv filter which picked up only the light colours of the thin netting she had suspended infront of her, which she writhed around and draped over herself. Then she started adorning her body with body paints, which the uv light picked up, so the rest of her body was moving shadows, dark against dark, but the lights *shone* and glowed in the darkness. And the more she painted herself, the more she shone. And then she invited the audience to go up and draw on her, to sign their names, and add to the feminine art. And all the time, she danced, and twirled, posed and had her photographs taken. The artwork grew, in size and colour. And then, for her finale, she gathered up two .jpg)
batons, with various coloured netting attached to them, and twirled them around and around, the netting whisking around her, the colours mingling, and moving to her rhythm. She dropped the batons, made a bee line for me, standing in the shadows, and hugged me, and I hugged her back, grinning, and laughing with her! Wow! What a wonderful performance, what a show, what a wonderful piece of erotic art!! A celebration of womanhood. She told me afterwards she feels quite spiritual during her show, and I can totally understand that! It was almost Shamanic, in the way people were gathered around her, daubing her body in paint. It was awesome! And has left me totally inspired.
Monday, 21 April 2008
A gathering of eroticness
Since I joined the Guild of Erotic Artists in October last year I've not had chance to go to any of their "Event" days but yesterday I was able to change that state of affairs! I've only met a very few of the members briefly at the Erotica show at Olympia in London last November so it was good to go to the Beaumont Hall Studios in Hertfordshire and meet some more of them and compare notes on erotic art and life in general! I know it can be daunting walking through the door of somewhere when you don't know anyone, and have never been there before, but everyone I spoke to had a ready smile, made good eye-contact and made me very welcome. I felt quite at home, helped of course by the fact that there were tasty sausage sandwiches and endless hot cups of tea! I was able to spend time chatting and getting to know people and put faces and names together. I know when I've joined art organisations before, part of the "getting to know you" aspect is also learning who does what sort of art and learning their particular styles and techniques. In some cases I can instantly recognise a painting I've never seen before, just because I recognise the style of the artwork of the artist, as individual as someones handwriting!
Everyone I spoke to was down to earth, helpful and full of good advice on selling, promotion, producing art and techniques for creating art. There were models there as well as artists and photographers and sculptors. A couple of the guys there had some of their artwork in portfolios and I must admit I had a smile to myself when one of them asked me "Would you like to see my etchings?" - normally that's a euphemism for a man trying to seduce a woman, but in this case, he just wanted to show me his erotic etchings and talk about the art! How refreshing!
Most of the time I was there I spent the time chatting to a photographer and found him delightful company! He's been in the guild for a bit longer than me and was more than happy to discuss his photographic art and there were some interesting comparisons to my work, even though he's a photographer and I'm an artist. We had a similar outlook on catching the light in our art and determining what we considered to be "erotic" within art. I know there is no definitive definition of what makes "erotic" but he and I seemed to be in agreement of what we basically agreed it to be...... that frisson of subtle interest that makes you wonder what's going to happen next....MMMmmmmm!! And we also compared notes on who had the easier technique for capturing the "moment" - as far as I'm concerned I think that photographers have a more difficult time as they only have a split second to capture the "instant" of the erotic image, whereas an artist can change whatever they want to make the image more "interesting" by changing the composition, the lighting, the colours, and the focal point. But, interestingly he thought artists had the worse time of it, because then they had to spend hours creating that one image that he could capture in as many "split seconds" as he wanted. Mmm.... an interesting and thought provoking comparison! We also discussed which sex had the easier time of it as a producer of erotic art. I think it must be easier for men than women to work in the business, because as a woman I think it's more difficult and you might be opening yourself up to undesirable attentions from men who might perhaps think that you're offering more than just art. Whereas my photographer friend thought it was a lot easier for women painting erotic art as they wouldn't be viewed as "perverts" whereas maybe an older man photographing younger women would be! Ok, that's got me thinking too! Maybe he's got a point!
Later on I had the opportunity to talk to one of the models there. She's more mature than some of the other models, and it was refreshing to hear her down to earth views on body shape and being comfortable within your own skin rather than worrying over your body shape because it's less than perfect (than the photos that appear in glossy magazines when all the blemishes have been airbrushed out if it anyway!). I think a lot of men prefer women who are comfortable with their bodies and happy within themselves. Although I equally know that doesn't stop women searching for the perfect shape and wanting to improve on what nature has given them!
So, all in all a good, positive and productive day. I'm looking forward to my next visit!
Everyone I spoke to was down to earth, helpful and full of good advice on selling, promotion, producing art and techniques for creating art. There were models there as well as artists and photographers and sculptors. A couple of the guys there had some of their artwork in portfolios and I must admit I had a smile to myself when one of them asked me "Would you like to see my etchings?" - normally that's a euphemism for a man trying to seduce a woman, but in this case, he just wanted to show me his erotic etchings and talk about the art! How refreshing!
Most of the time I was there I spent the time chatting to a photographer and found him delightful company! He's been in the guild for a bit longer than me and was more than happy to discuss his photographic art and there were some interesting comparisons to my work, even though he's a photographer and I'm an artist. We had a similar outlook on catching the light in our art and determining what we considered to be "erotic" within art. I know there is no definitive definition of what makes "erotic" but he and I seemed to be in agreement of what we basically agreed it to be...... that frisson of subtle interest that makes you wonder what's going to happen next....MMMmmmmm!! And we also compared notes on who had the easier technique for capturing the "moment" - as far as I'm concerned I think that photographers have a more difficult time as they only have a split second to capture the "instant" of the erotic image, whereas an artist can change whatever they want to make the image more "interesting" by changing the composition, the lighting, the colours, and the focal point. But, interestingly he thought artists had the worse time of it, because then they had to spend hours creating that one image that he could capture in as many "split seconds" as he wanted. Mmm.... an interesting and thought provoking comparison! We also discussed which sex had the easier time of it as a producer of erotic art. I think it must be easier for men than women to work in the business, because as a woman I think it's more difficult and you might be opening yourself up to undesirable attentions from men who might perhaps think that you're offering more than just art. Whereas my photographer friend thought it was a lot easier for women painting erotic art as they wouldn't be viewed as "perverts" whereas maybe an older man photographing younger women would be! Ok, that's got me thinking too! Maybe he's got a point!
Later on I had the opportunity to talk to one of the models there. She's more mature than some of the other models, and it was refreshing to hear her down to earth views on body shape and being comfortable within your own skin rather than worrying over your body shape because it's less than perfect (than the photos that appear in glossy magazines when all the blemishes have been airbrushed out if it anyway!). I think a lot of men prefer women who are comfortable with their bodies and happy within themselves. Although I equally know that doesn't stop women searching for the perfect shape and wanting to improve on what nature has given them!
So, all in all a good, positive and productive day. I'm looking forward to my next visit!
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
Yep, I'm EROTIC!!
Incase you're wondering why I've been quiet in blog land this last week (and maybe the thought hadn't even crossed your mind, and you haven't missed me in the slightest!), I've been very busy and involved with many other things, a lot of them relating to art and my future in art........
Oh, and I've got some MEGA news.....................!!!!!
I wrote a few weeks ago about the businessman who offered to go into partnership with me for a large share of my profits. His offer came totally out of the blue and really made me consider my position and future and the way I want to focus on my art. I knew very quickly after hearing his offer that I wasn't going to go into partnership with him. Or give him half of my hard earned money. But what his offer made me realise, was that I'm a viable proposition, someone who is worth investing a lot of money in, someone who can turn a profit. And I listened to his advice - that I needed a gallery in a big city to showcase my work, for the people who like the sort of thing I do, to come and see my work, and hopefully like it enough to buy it. This made me think deeply. And consider my options, and the costs of finding such a place to showcase my work. My concern was that large amounts of money would be involved, as it would be a massive investment. And the worry is whether the large overheads would reap the sort of return I was looking for??? Mmmmmmmm. Big thoughts.........
So, after a shortish time, it came to me what I needed to do, and also how I should do it. I should look for a group of artists who do what I do, erotic art, and have their own established gallery with a strong client base, their own website, who promote themselves well and have a good following and are respected in the world of erotica. So, the very OBVIOUS place to start looking was....... the Guild of Erotic Artists. So, I looked into it and I applied.............
And last week I had a reply.
I've been accepted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, I'm now a member of the Guild of Erotic Artists! How wonderful is that??!! It means more people will see my art, better promotion of my work, that I will be able to work with other erotic artists, have a higher profile and that others will value my artwork more in future.
And today my details have been added to their list of artists...... here they are if you wanna take a peek................
And let me know what you think. Is this a good thing for me........ or....... should I just go back to doing the dog portraits!!!!!!!!!?????
Oh, and I've got some MEGA news.....................!!!!!
I wrote a few weeks ago about the businessman who offered to go into partnership with me for a large share of my profits. His offer came totally out of the blue and really made me consider my position and future and the way I want to focus on my art. I knew very quickly after hearing his offer that I wasn't going to go into partnership with him. Or give him half of my hard earned money. But what his offer made me realise, was that I'm a viable proposition, someone who is worth investing a lot of money in, someone who can turn a profit. And I listened to his advice - that I needed a gallery in a big city to showcase my work, for the people who like the sort of thing I do, to come and see my work, and hopefully like it enough to buy it. This made me think deeply. And consider my options, and the costs of finding such a place to showcase my work. My concern was that large amounts of money would be involved, as it would be a massive investment. And the worry is whether the large overheads would reap the sort of return I was looking for??? Mmmmmmmm. Big thoughts.........
So, after a shortish time, it came to me what I needed to do, and also how I should do it. I should look for a group of artists who do what I do, erotic art, and have their own established gallery with a strong client base, their own website, who promote themselves well and have a good following and are respected in the world of erotica. So, the very OBVIOUS place to start looking was....... the Guild of Erotic Artists. So, I looked into it and I applied.............
And last week I had a reply.
I've been accepted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, I'm now a member of the Guild of Erotic Artists! How wonderful is that??!! It means more people will see my art, better promotion of my work, that I will be able to work with other erotic artists, have a higher profile and that others will value my artwork more in future.
And today my details have been added to their list of artists...... here they are if you wanna take a peek................
And let me know what you think. Is this a good thing for me........ or....... should I just go back to doing the dog portraits!!!!!!!!!?????
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