Queynte 21

Here it is, painted in acrylics, on board 20 x 16 inches, the latest Queynte to join the illustrious group of very feminine portraits that I have painted -otherwise known as the "Fantasy Fannies" . Its the twenty first one I've done, so it's called "Queynte 21" quite naturally. I love the mixture of strong colours against the strong shapes of this one. And as always find the more I look at it, the more I fall in love with it, which I know is often the case for the women who have had their queynte painted from the very positive feedback they've given me over the last few years since I started doing them. I know that most women find the process of having the painting done a deeply therapeutic experience, and that they feel empowered by them, and that it showcases the woman that they are, the private woman within, but here for the whole world to see. I love the fact that they are a celebration of womanhood, and are bright and vibrant and beautiful. And although they are an abstract the shapes are true to the feminine form, its just the colours that are more striking than the original colours. And like all the others it has the image of a woman within the picture as a reminder of what the image is about, and what it is there for.

 I don't need to say the name of the woman who has participated in having her portrait painted, or say where she lives or even what her nationality is. That is for her to say, if she so wishes. I will keep her anonymity otherwise.

I love doing these paintings, as a woman artist painting them for other women around the world. The majority of the women who have participated I haven't met face to face, I wouldn't know them if they turned up on my doorstep tomorrow, but I feel that we are part of a sisterhood, of women who want to be depicted in strong vibrant colours, and want this spiritual experience to mark that empowerment. So, who will be next I wonder.......

Abstracted by the abstract

I go to a lot of art workshops. I've been to many over the years. I have learnt a lot, hands on, and always come away with more knowledge and more experience, which adds to my expertise as an artist. I always say that I can paint anything for anybody, and a lot of that is because of the diverse subjects using diverse mediums I have learnt at these workshops.

So, you would think that maybe I've learnt all there is to know, by now.
And you would be wrong. Very wrong,  to think that, because art is such a vast subject, that I don't think any artist could learn everything in one lifetime.

And you would think that going to these workshops for so long I must have learnt everything I should need to know by now, and sometimes I think that must be the case........

.....and then we had a day like the one last Saturday, which turned everything on its head. Totally.

I knew it was going to be a good one. Even before I went. It was about "Abstract". And that's a difficult enough subject on its own. But I do abstracts already, and enjoy them, and have painted enough of them for other people, who also enjoy them. But, what I have done in the past is the first step into abstracts, and that is when I've taken an image, a photo, of a tangible, solid thing (well, not too solid, in the case of the fannies!!! tee hee!!!) and made the realistic image an abstract in that I've changed the shapes, or the colours, to hide the image, so that those in the know, know what it is, but those not in the know (children and the more innocent amongst us) only see innocence in the art. And I must admit I love that aspect of the work I've done. So, I went along to the workshop with experience under my belt. But I also knew we were going into areas of which I hadn't got any experience, since I've never painted pictures of this new and more exciting subject matter.

There were 11 or so other people attending, and all women, I noticed. Don't men paint abstracts I wonder?

And during the course of this workshop we only spent two hours painting out of the six, and normally I would be tearing at the bit at that point, because as far as I am concerned, the whole point of being there is to paint and be creative. But this time, I didn't mind, not at all, as I was learning. Learning about abstracts.

About painting an abstract idea in an abstract way.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Until you think about it, really think about it,  when someone asks you to paint "Happiness" and then put a colour to it. Just one single colour. And that was one of the easier emotions to do (for me, anyway!). The first picture here is depicting eight abstract notions - reading from left to right -happiness, sad, anger, misery, feminine, depression, elation, frustration. To start with we were asked to "make marks" with a pencil for each of the concepts. "Happiness" was easy for me, its a burst of wow followed by a large elongated circle rising up and reducing as it flows away. "Sad", "Misery" and "Depression" were more difficult as they're not emotions I dwell on if I can avoid it. And I found it interesting that I depicted "Anger" as a solid cube with bursts of high activity above it. But, of course, everyone else in the class had their own interpretations of each concept, and none was right, or wrong, just different in each of us. I liked the fact that femininity for me is bright, scarlet red, not pink and wishy washy. And that depression was muddy colours, and yet happiness was bright and cheerful yellow. How interesting, and revealing too! Psychologists would have a field day with this one!

The tutor went on to show us her ideas for painting more abstract ideas, like music, maths,  time, and motion. This got me thinking, and when we were able to start painting, with only two hours of the session left, I knew I wanted to paint "Time", but do it my way.

I stood and thought of the visual aspects of time - clocks, daylight, sun and moon, and then about clocks ticking, alarm clocks, the numbers on a clock face, but also the numbers that relate to months, years, weeks, and days. And started to come up with an idea for a painting, a working concept, that depicts time and all the things related to it. The picture here was conceived, drawn, created, and finished within two hours. It could be painted a lot better, and more subtly and perhaps with more ideas added to it. But as a working painting, its a good one. And it surprised me how involved I got in it. Because, whilst I was doing it, I let a cup of tea go cold. Now, that may not sound like much to you, but I love my tea, hot, sweet, fragrant tea. Nothing much stops me from drinking it, except being totally and utterly enthralled with a piece of painting. And that was the case with this picture. And not only that, but someone told me my shoe lace was undone, and I nodded in acknowledgement, but I was too busy to bend down to do it up, too busy to go to the loo, too busy to talk to anyone, or go and look to see what they were doing, too rapt in my art. Time was ticking, both literally, and in my painting.

We had to finish by four o'clock, a reminder of time and its importance. I stood with the others at the end and saw what they had painted, and felt a huge stirring within me. And when the tutor was thanked for the workshop she had given us, I added out loud to it, that I had been to many workshops there, but few had touched me as deeply as this one. And I meant it. Its deep. And its got me.

But then, its hardly surprising, when I come home, and I'm busy painting "Wind" in the oil painting I'm working on at the moment. Now, if that's not abstract, I don't know what is!!!!! 

Four hundred and blustery

Four hundred.

Four hundred with this one.

Blog posts that is, that I've written since I started in March 2007. Its almost the anniversary of that coming up soon too, and I still love it as much now as I did then. Perhaps more so, because more people comment on it in real life.

So, what am I going to talk about today?

Wind.

I was at an art meeting last night for one of the art groups I'm a member of. And we'd discussed various things to do with forthcoming exhibitions, finding new venues, new members wanting to join, the usual stuff of artist groups. And we'd got to the point towards the end of the meeting when other people were discussing subjects that didn't really relate to anything that I needed to put any input into, and my mind wandered off.......as it does to us all when we have free moments.....

The woman opposite me, who is someone who is used to me smiling at her and making funny comments, looked over at me, and commented on how serious I looked, and I said quietly "I'm thinking".......

I didn't have chance to tell her later on what I was thinking of, though.
And she'd have probably thought it very odd if I had!

It was wind.

Not wind as in the embarrassing trapped body sort of wind, wind as it weather.
And more to the point, how I was going to capture it within the painting I'm working on at the moment.

Because part of the brief for the landscape painting is that it is Autumn, and there are leaves blowing, and that there is wind.

Which is fine, because that's easy enough, to paint blowing leaves to emulate wind. But, it's far more than that, because this painting is abstract. So, that makes it more difficult to depict. Because I need to show the wind, within the paint. But, last night, whilst thinking, I think I may have found a way of doing it! A way that makes me happy that I've got it right, and that it will work as a concept.

And it involves black paint, and also silver paint.

And just to excite me even more, the art supplies that I ordered last weekend arrived this morning with a friendly van driver. He brought me a large canvas to work on, and some paint...various colours of oil paint....... some of it............ in silver!

Batch theory

I have a theory, well, I have many actually, but this is one that always seems to be true in my life. That things happen in batches, and also don't happen in batches as well. Let me explain........

This week is a busy week for me, I'm sorting out various things that need time and input from me, which is all fine, because I like to be busy. But I knew that I needed to pop into the library at Burton on Trent to discuss the talk I shall be doing there in three weeks time. I knew it would help me to see the venue, and suss out where I should be standing and hear what would be needed from me. I've half written my piece, so that's not a problem although I have noticed that the time slot fluctuates in various conversations, between ten-fifteen-twenty minutes that I need to talk for! So that needs to be finalised fully. The librarians are friendly and pleasant and the two I know best there were helpful in their advice and support as we discussed the event and the date for International Women's Day. I came away happy that I knew what was expected of me. And went in search of a suitable top to buy to wear for an Erotic Artist doing a talk to a group of people who might be vaguely interested. Perhaps they're expecting something sexy but paint splattered!!!!

And as well as that I have been asked to paint a commission. Which is great. I love commissions, unlike a lot of artists. I received an email the other day mentioning it and enquiring about prices, which I replied to and was delighted when it was accepted. And I loved the fact that it was inspired in a way from the erotic abstract that I showed you the other week of browns, purples, silver, red and creams, although the subject matter is totally different and not erotic at all, although it does depict love.........

....love in various forms......

The commission is quite specific, which is good for me, and means I know what is expected of me. It will be a landscape of a beautiful famous place in England. It will depict two people in the fore-ground with their pets. It will feature the parents of one of them, and their pet. It will also depict the dead brother of one of them, and the dead mother of the other, as spiritual beings looking down at them. And there will be eyes and happiness depicted in the painting possibly within the trees. And weather, Autumnal weather with wind. And a cloudy forbidding sky. And it will be vibrant and dramatic. And just to add to that it will be abstract. So a abstract/surreal/fantasy/spiritual painting of a famous landscape.

Which is very exciting for me to do.

But just to add to it, to make it incredibly poignant for me......the dead brother was actually one of my closest friends.............................

Does that make it easier or harder, I wonder.

And I think the answer is "Easier".

Because I loved him, as a friend. He was one of the nicest men I've ever known, and he was and is deeply loved by his brother who has commissioned this painting. And he is deeply loved by his parents who will be featured in this painting.

There will be a lot of love within it.

As well as weather!

I'm so going to enjoy doing this.


........

I was going to make this blog post about the erotic abstract I showed you last week and explain a bit more about it and how it was designed and how I created it, but I'll leave it for another time, soon....

And I was also going to tell you about my friend, the local historian writer, Stuart, who gave me a beautiful Camellia from his well established garden, this week, which I shall love having in my new garden. I have planted it in a large blue ceramic pot which is outside my front door, and when the yellow and cream blooms appear they will compliment the pot beautifully. I will enjoy having it very much and shall treasure it as a gift from my friend.


You see, I've got so much to tell you!

I bet next week nothing happens!

Its the batch theory, you see!!! LOL

Competition answers

Thankyou for the interest in this little competition - both here as comments and privately by email.

Right then, here they are the answers to the competition of the erotic abstract that looks like an abstract:


1. How many people are in the picture?     Three

2. How many men are in the picture?     One

3. How many women are in the picture?     Two

4. How many hands are in the picture?    Three

5. How many breasts are in the picture?    One

6. How many fannies are in the picture?   None, but there is just part of one visible
7. How many cocks are in the picture?     One

8. How many bums are in the picture?     Two

9. What is the red shape at the top left hand side?   the man's arm and wrist

10. What is the red shape directly in the middle of the picture?   The shadow under one woman's arm and the shadow of the other woman's knees.




So it looks like I get to keep my painting of "Kiss" then, since no one guessed correctly!

And I bet you're now looking at it again and thinking .................er....... how? what? where?

I'll explain all soon, but in the meantime it will help you to know that there aren't any full heads in the picture (although parts of two are visible) and no feet.

Does that help? Probably not!!!! LOL

Searching for secrets

After yet another forced delay, I've got back to the painting I've been working on for a couple of weeks now.

The erotic abstract that looks just like an abstract, unless you know where to look.

I've taken the original full image and drawn it out as a simple line drawing and it's obvious what it is.

I've taken that drawing and hidden the lines of the form within the tones of light and dark, and its less obvious as it what it is.

I've taken that image and drawn it as a black and white image, colouring in the shapes with greys,and its far less obvious again, as it what it is.

I've taken that image and done a couple of small paintings with full colour in the design and I think the image is hidden enough.

Its so hidden that even I am having difficulty working out some of it! LOL

So, I think I might have a little wager with you, when its done. To see what you can see in it.............

Tarse 2 and Queynte 20

Well this is a meeting of international proportions..... :)

First we have an English fanny - Queynte 20 - depicted in subtle muted tones but still painted in acrylics. Its a fanny I've already painted, but it has such interesting shapes I thought I'd see what it looked like if I just tried a basic colour range but still incorporating all the tones from white to dark brown to give me the depth I wanted. You can see the full colour version on my website here to see the comparison. I love them both, but think these muted toned ones hide the image a bit more for the less exhibitionistic amongst us.

And secondly we have an American cock in full and very strong vibrant colour making Tarse 2. A lot different to Tarse 1 that I painted earlier in the year, but that was for Fitzy and had to match the delicate tones of the living flame painting it is to hang next to. So that gave me full opportunity to depict this tarse in more vivid bright colours. The photo I worked from had good strong lighting in it which gave deep shadows and I was delighed to use those in the painting to trick the eye a little. Because its very difficult to hide the shape of male genitals as they look so very clearly what they are! So as I started painting, I was aware of that and put as many tricks in as I could to hide that fact, and thought I'd done quite well until I'd virtually finished and realised that all looked fine except the left had side of the painting, which made it very clear as to what the painting was. I found that if I blanked off that first fifth of the painting, the rest of it was so abstract as to be anything. Hmmmm....... in that case I'll incorporate some other shapes to confuse the eye. And that's what I did. Abstract shapes. That meant nothing. Except now I've done them, every time I look at them they remind me of something very particular. Perhaps its the way my mind works. Perhaps you can't see it. But I shall be interested to see if you do! And instead of taking them out, I shall leave them, as it makes me smile every time I look at them...........

And I love that I can always see other shapes within these paintings - various letters of the alphabet, a bird, and shapes that remind me of elephants, fire, dogs, deep space, and witches.......

Behold - a Tarse!

I've been working diligently on the working painting for Fitzy's "Fantasy willie" painting, and last week I sent him the image for his feedback which I want to be favourable before I start the painting proper on canvas, as he has requested. But after I sent it I felt I wasn't totally happy with it. You see, a willie looks like, well, a willie! And its difficult to hide the shape of it. And the whole point of the "Fantasy fannies" was that the image was hidden. Of course, a fanny is an abstract shape to start with, that helps, but a willie isn't. Infact, its quite....................well..... specific! :)

And that was my problem, and the challenge was to make it look not like a willie, but the shape still there, within the painting....... So, I did the first painting, which is a working painting anyway, and sent it to Fitzy for his feedback. But whilst he was thinking about it, and before he had chance to respond fully with his thoughts regarding it, I decided that I could do better. So, I had another go, and am FAR happier with the result. The image is far better hidden within the colours of the paint. The shapes are still there, but there are more techniques employed to hide the image.

So, here they both are - the first "In yer face" picture, and the second "far more subtle, there, Jackie" pictures. Either are ok as images, either would work as an abstract painting, but I know which I prefer! The colours are softer in the second painting too, which I think is a nice comparison with the "Fitzy living flame" image that it's to hang with, but it could be argued that the colours are more masculine in the first painting. They are still the same palette of colours, and the same that I used for the "Fitzy living flame" image, so they would all hang nicely together, and not clash.

And as for the name - I've found a lovely old English word - "Tarse" - which means "Male genitals" - which is exactly what they are! LOL But, if it was hanging on the wall and someone asked you what it was and you replied "Its an abstract of a tarse", they'd go "Oh!" because they wouldn't have a clue what a tarse is, like the fantasy fannies are called "Queyntes" - another old English word! So, this is my first tarse, but hopefully not my last! :) and if you look up the word tarse you'll find it also means *falcon* which is a nice meaning too for the word, I think! Oh, and its got a man logo in it, like the Queyntes have a woman logo in them, to remind you what it't about.

So, what do you think?

Fantasy Willies

Well I thought the time would arrive at some point. There was no doubt there. It makes sense, doesn't it? If you're doing a project called "Fantasy Fannies" it makes sense to do the "Fantasy Willies" too! A whole new ball game, so to speak............! And Fitzy has decided he wants to be the first member (anther pun?) of this project. I'm delighted! But this has got me thinking.......... about the comparisons between the fantasy fannies and the fantasy willies. The shapes of fannies are abstract to start with - when I look at the photos I'm working from, I can see abstract shapes, so I'm beginning with an abstract before I even start to draw. But, a willie has a more recognisable shape to start with, and the point of these paintings is that the image is half recognisable, half hidden. That's the point of the "joke" hidden within the painting. So, I have to now think how I'm going to hide the willie image within the painting. Its possible. Of course its possible. But to what degree do I want to do it? I'll have to sit down and work it out on paper. It'll be fun to play with shapes and the composition to do that.

BUT

I have another problem.

A ......... more recognisable problem.

To consider.........

Do I do them in an erect state or a more comatose state?

What do you think?

To be or not to be............................THAT is the question!!!! LOL

This is the way it is

Someone who is a big fan of my art made the comment this week that he was very interested in the abstract style that I've used for the "Living flame" painting and was interested to see what else I might paint in this style. Great that he's so interested in my work, but it also underlined the problem that I've had all my painting career. And its this:

I paint a picture. It will be something I like or what I think someone else will like. And if its good enough, I’ll put it in a gallery, and on my website, and someone may come along and may find the gallery, and may find the website, and may find the picture in question. And they may like it. And they might go home and think about it, and they might talk to their spouse about it, and if there is enough money, they might buy it. Or they might go off the idea, and talk themselves out of the idea. Which happens an awful lot. Sometimes, people fall in love with one of my paintings, and they buy it, and they love it. And that’s great. BUT I can only paint “best guess” pictures, that I think they might want to buy. HOWEVER, if someone comes to me, and says – I like this subject matter, this style, these colours, this size, this medium, then they get EXACTLY the picture they want, and I paint EXACTLY what they are looking for. Instead of “best guess” that usually doesn’t work (because I have cupboards full of best guess work). So, if someone is interested in this abstract style, and interested in seeing other ideas – it would help greatly if they can be a bit more specific, because the idea that’s in my head may not be the idea that’s in theirs! Plus, I’m going to put it on one side if its only a best guess painting rather than a specific commission, because commissions always take priority, and I have another fanny commission on at the moment, and if I have a commission to do I’m more focused on the painting because I know I’m painting a “specific painting for a specific someone” rather than a “best guess painting for anyone, maybe at some point in the future”. Having said all that – the idea I have in my mind is quite clear, its this abstract style, these pastel colours, of an erotic couple entwined. And I’m pretty sure it will work well as a picture. If you want me to paint it, I will, but it will be my “best guess” painting of this subject matter, that I hope you will like, because you know me as a person, an artist, and you like my style, and character. Of course, there is no pressure at all on you to buy the painting. So, do you want me to go ahead with my “best guess” painting for you – and see what you think when I do it?

Well, that's basically the question! LOL

Big big stuff

Well, you're not going to believe this - but after almost a year of talking about it - I've finally done it! And its turned out exactly as I had hoped as well as being far more than I had hoped - if that makes sense......

I've painted something so very close to my heart - something that may well be the "big thing" in my artistic life - maybe even the ultimate "thing" - I wonder, unless it moves me on to other even more important things. Maybe.

I need to explain more for you to understand what I'm talking about.......

I've been painting all my life - all of it - and the majority of what I've painted has been representational - in that it looks like whatever it is, and I've put my artistic talents into painting a good version of it in my own style. And anyone looking at the painting would know what it is and recognise it as such.

But my big dream of last year was to paint something so totally different, it was just a "feeling" - a strong one, but not at all my normal way of painting, and this is why I'm so totally excited about what I've done recently - because its pulled something out of me that I didn't fully recognise was there - its big stuff, this!!!

What I've painted, if you haven't already gathered, as the "Fantasy Fannies" that I've been wanting to paint for the last year since it was first mooted - and now that I've done them, I'm stunned by their beauty, their vibrancy, their life and soul, the very embodiment of them!

And the reason I'm so taken with them, is because of the way I've painted them - although they are drawn from the gynealogical photos I have, and are representational in their basic shapes - the way I have painted them is by "feeling" the abstract colour of each area. Normally, to paint an area in painting, I will look at the colour and think "Well, that's a bit of burnt sienna, with a touch of cobalt blue and maybe a little raw sienna to tone it down" - and that is the colour I'm seeing, so that is the colour I paint. But not with these fanny paintings - I will look at the area of colour I'm about to paint and I might think "Well, it looks pinky with a touch of purple going into yellow, but theres a bit of blue there too" - BUT what I will paint is the colour it feels like compared to the colours around it - and that may well be bright orange or lime green! And since the whole painting is painted that way - it makes for a very interesting and dynamic painting! But now that I've done quite a few of the paintings, when they are all viewed together, they have a HUGE WOW factor!!!!!! Fucking hell, YYEEEESSSSSSS !!!!!!!!

They're beautiful........... Really beautiful.

I've reached down into my soul to paint them - and it shows. Its like nothing else I've ever done before. Ever.

But you're going to have to wait a bit before I show them to you.....................

What do you call a collection of pussies?

The fantasy fanny collection seems to have got properly off the ground now - which I am delighted about! Todate, I have ...........wait for it...............ten ........participants! Yay!! Which makes a good set of paintings, and bodes well for the start of an interesting collection. My plan is for them to be exhibited somewhere - hopefully a gallery will be interested in them, as I would love to see them all shown together. Since this is a celebration of womanhood and the desirability of women, it should be big, bright and beautiful. And I have to make the paintings slightly abstract with a surreal twist otherwise the collection will look something like a gynaecologists convention!


But..... what to call the paintings - I've been thinking about it ever since the idea was first discussed. I've been referring to it as "Pussy portraits" or "Fanny fantasies" but I knew that wouldn't be the finished title as I didn't want the local cat lovers group arriving and being shocked that it wasn't a set of paintings featuring fluffy kittens playing with balls of string. And since the word fanny means something totally different to the English than to Americans, neither did I want an Americans thinking it was of bums! Plus I didn't want the title to particularly have the normal swear words in it, as that would make it seem derogatory - and that is CERTAINLY not my intention. So........ on to other words....... but then there were words that have differing meanings - slits, snatches etc. and I wasn't happy with them either. So - a bit of further investigation has come up with much better words, and included in them is what I consider to be the perfect word - one that is suitably apt for what I am doing........ I love the old words for pussy like coint, coynte, quaint, qwaynt but my favourite of them all is queynte. Queynte is an old English word that is apparently a pun on the word "cunt" and its also from where the word "quim" is derived, and it means "many layered in-folded mystery". How perfect is that????!!!! So the paintings will be anonymous as to the identity of the owner and will be very simply called:"Queynte 1", "Queynte 2", "Queynte 3" etc.


And it's particularly apt regarding the many layered mystery as the point of the paintings is an affirmation of the desirability of women, especially the part that a lot of women may not be wholly comfortable with, and which is normally hidden from the world. I like the idea of calling the whole collection "Shameless" as they will be without shame about their beauty and their power. They know they are desirable, that their lovers want to be there, it's where they accept lovers, and where life starts. And in particular to this, I want the identities of the women to be a secret, so that whilst they are happy to have their pussies on show, the normal recognition of their identities and faces will be the part that's hidden. Regarding the participants, each persons identity will remain a secret unless they wish to tell other people that they have participated, and which one is theirs.

I want to do them as a set of largish paintings of close-ups of fannies. I want them to appear to be abstract paintings, that could hang on a wall and anyone looking at them would think that it’s a nice contemporary painting but then they might think it looks just like a fanny before they get a jolt when they realize that actually it IS close-up of a fanny! I want the images to be brightly coloured, with bold shapes and lines, and they will probably be slightly abstract, and each one will have the surreal twist of the hint of a naked woman drawn amongst the folds. The hidden woman is the reference to everyone having secrets, deep within them, and a reminder of the essence of what I am actually depicting within the painting, even if it does looks abstract.

The finished paintings will be 20 inches by 16 inches, so I’ll need as much detail as possible from the photographs that I will be working from, so that I can fill the painting. And since I have more to paint than I first considered, I will also have to paint them in different colours, or else it'll look too uniform and boring when they are all exhibited together.

Oh, and I have been asked a question today - well , THE QUESTION, actually, the one that I have been expecting form someone at some point. The "Are you going to participate in this, too, Jackie?" question. And my answer? It has to be "Yes". I have to be part of this if its going to be a celebration of women - because how can I not be part of it? But, mine, like the others, will be a secret as to which it is.



So......... now I need to find someone to take some photos for me............... Now, who shall I ask.......???

Capturing stray pussies

Further to my posting "Dare to bare - pussy wanted" on 17th August I'm delighted at the response that (so far) six ladies have volunteered to keep their faces (and to an extent, their identities) hidden but their fannies on show - well, technically, its six but the last one has been volunteered by someone else and they have suggested I send her an email to ask for her details. Now that was an interesting email to send as she isn't a blogger I know as well as the others, only as someone on the peripheries of other people's blogs....... so the wording had to be........er...........tactful! Something along the lines of "Hello, you don't know me, but your mate has volunteered you to pose intimately for me, so if you're willing, can you send me some close-up photos of your fanny?" ...... and since I've sent the email I've not heard anything, so she's either cowering in a dark corner petrified at the thought, or laughing her head off and trying to work out HOW to take the photos. Cos it's not easy, at all. I've already had some photos sent to me, and had to direct the angle/lighting/focus and composition by email and words. It would be far easier to take the photos myself since I know exactly what I want, to be able to work from, to produce some detailed paintings, but of course that's not possible to do. The one thing that all the ladies concerned have expressed is the difficultly in getting the photos taken. And I'm sure all the guys out there would jump at the chance to take the photos for them.........!

But............ when I get my collection of photos together I will be able to start painting, and since this little.............er................exhibition.... was mooted, I've had chance to talk to the volunteers and think about what they want and what I want to express in my painting. I did a practice drawing the other week and wasn't at all happy with the outcome. I ended up with something that could be taken as a gynecological technical drawing, or in certain lights, maybe a botanical drawing of a rare and exotic orchid. And that isn't what this is about, not for me. Its a celebration of womanhood, an affirmation of the beauty and desirability of females. And because of that, the images should be bright, with strong shapes, and very colourful, probably slightly abstract or maybe a touch surreal, as I fancy introducing the hint of a naked woman amongst the folds, and think that that as an idea will work well. I want to use bright pinks, reds, oranges and golds, and maybe purples, blues and blacks for the hidden depths. I want the paintings to be hung on a wall for people to see, and think they're looking at some abstract design until they realise with gut-wrenching shock that they're actually looking at close-ups of womanhood - open, and on view, for all the world to see, and admire, like some erotic flower.