Into the S & M

I spent nearly all day yesterday sorting out paintings for an exhibiton at the end of August. It doesn't sound a lot, to sort out some paintings and fill out a form. But the problem is that I've not painted much new stuff for exhibitions this year as I've been working on commissions. I'd far rather work on commissions because then I'm painting exactly what someone wants. I always think of exhibiton work as "best guess" paintings. I "best guess" what subject matter, what style, what medium, what size, what frame, and hope that someone walking into the exhibition may like it enough, and may have a space to hang it, and may have some money to buy it, and may actually put all of those together and purchase it.

So, for this exhibition I've had to find ten paintings. Its no problem - I have ten, easily, but a lot of them have already been to this exhibitin in past years and its better if the artwork is fresh. So I had to search around for new paintings, and frame a couple, and that takes time. As well as that I had to write a 60 word "Artists Profile". Sounds easy enough, you'd think. But 60 words isn't a lot - when you've got a lot to say! I started with 240 words..............................and then started carving it up (or maybe it was down!) into 60. And that took about an hour!

Then I had to work out the sizes of the paintings as the hanging fees are dependant on the size of the paintings, and they're worked out on A4, A3, A2, A1 and above sizes. I know how big my paintings are, I just wasn't sure exactly how A2 relates to it!

Anyway, that was yesterdays job. Along with painting the "S and M" French village landscape. Which is going nicely.

When I first thought about how I was going to paint the landscape, I didn't have an idea at all about the way I was going to tackle it. Its not surprising in a way, since its a while since I've done a landscape in watercolours, as I've been concentrating on acrylic "tarses", "queyntes" and "living flame" type paintings for the last six months....................................!

But...........................I started drawing it out the other day, and then put the masking fluid on it to "block out" the white of the houses.................and as I drew, my mind was quietly working, and suddenly it all came to me very clearly how I was going to do it.............simple, really, when you think about it..............and know what you're doing...........................

Here's the photo that I'm working from, so you know what I'm talking about. It of Joyeuse in the Ardeche, in France and a lovely village.

I've been asked to take photos of the different stages as I do this painting, so I'm doing that, and so far its looking good!

What on earth do you look like?

Does it matter what I look like? Is it important? Does it matter what sort of person I am and how I appeal to people?

I'm beginning to think it might.......................

Last week I had quite a bit of correspondence going back and forth between me and the library where I am hoping to exhibit next year. I'd met the woman I'm corresponding with at Stuarts Writers group, as she is part of it, and she also works for the library and thinks my erotic art would be fabulous at her library. Great!!! Very exciting, and a delight that she was so enthusiastic and positive about my art, and about me too. BUT, she and I both knew that I do erotic art, and some people struggle with it, and they might struggle a lot with it in a public library, if they are of a sensitive nature - or, of course, children. Some of my art is not at all suitable for children to view. I understand that. So, for that reason, I was asked to send some erotic images to my new friend at the library for her to check with her colleagues that it was "acceptable". No problem. I sent 30 of my more "acceptable" ones, 29 of which only had a single woman in the picture, so there was nothing sexual going on between two people in any of the pictures. The answer came back that whilst all the work was considered good and accomplished, some of it was deemed to be a little risque for the library, but if I would like to get together a collection of my other art, and put in some of the tamer erotic stuff, then that was fine by them, and I could ring up to book a date for next year. So, I rang to make the arrangement, and had another positive and upbeat conversation with my contact there. She made me smile when she said that some of the little old ladies might complain about some of my art and yet they took out "Mills and Boon" books by the dozens, and those books in particular are FULL of erotic goings on on EVERY page!!! I'm imagining all these fevered old ladies now getting all hot and bothered by the muscular thighs, square shoulders, tight buttocks, chiselled jaws but sensitive hands of Peregrine or whatever the hero's are called as they rip the clothes off the heroines in a frenzied and heated passionate embrace!

But, there was something else she said, that made me think. She said that she had shown my website to her female colleagues for them to see what sort of work I do. And whereas the art was considered acceptable as most of these women in their 50's and 60's had "seen it all before" there was one burning question they were intrigued about...............

They wanted to know........................... what I looked like. Was I young or old? Was I a punk with spiky hair? What was I like as a person? It REALLY mattered to them.

And that's got me thinking. Because last week I went to the annual art festival at Patchings and had a lovely day there looking around the arts and crafts being sold there, buying a few art materials, and chatting with the artist friends I bumped into whilst I was there. But there was one artist whose work bowled me over, it was stupendous. It was stunning (I'm not chosing these words lightly, I truly was *stunned* by them to the point of losing my words to start with, then after having a long and very positive chat with the artist in question, I had a strong feeling of the other art there being of a far lesser quality, and therefore not so important for me to spend my time looking at it afterwards!). But when I told other people about her, I said "The artwork was stupendous, the technical ability was fabulous, the way it was painted really spoke to me, the choice of composition called me, and the artist was a really nice person, she was lovely to talk to, and look at, and I really liked her!"

So. Have I answered my own question. Should I put more about myself on my website? Should I put a photo of myself on it? Would it make a difference to the people who like my art? Could they relate to me better because of it?

I've always presumed that I don't need to put more personal details on my site, because "the art talks for itself". But does it say enough?

And as a post-script: One of the reasons I haven't put my photo on my website is because I do erotic art. And I'm a woman. So, if I put my photo on my website, am I going to get aggravation from it?

What do you think? And I know some of you know me in real life, and some of you don't have a clue what I look like.

Does it matter?

On and off the wall

Its always great to hear feedback regarding my artwork, especially when its hanging on another continent, and I've fondly waved it off to live elsewhere, never to be seen again. So I was absolutely delighted to see the final resting place of one of my queynte paintings this week. It's in Canada, and Sweatshopsissy has kindly sent me a link to their blog, which features the queynte painting I did earlier on this year, hanging in pride of place over the bed. Wow, how wonderful to see it again, and to see it properly framed and mounted and hanging on the wall. It looks beautiful there too, as the lovely frame really sets off the painting. So, thankyou, I really do appreciate you showing me the painting. I also love the tale about the young step-son who thought it looked like a sky diving picture! How wonderful is that!!!!!!! And that's the whole point of the queynte and tarse pictures, that innocent eyes don't know what it is they are looking at! :) But they can still see an imagined image within the shapes and colours.


I've also had an interesting conversation with a friend who loves my new fantasy willie (tarse) paintings, and also the fantasy fanny (queynte) ones and is contemplating having a joint tarse and queynte painting done in pale creams and pale siennas. I agree with her, that the image would be more hidden with such pale colours. I need a minimum of three tones to be able to to the paintings well, but they don't have to be strong tones like black and white, they can be gentle tones like pale cream, warm gold and dark gold. Or they could be the same tones but different colours, like pale pink, pale turquoise, and lemon yellow, or different tones of the same colour, like pale blue, royal blue, navy blue, or if you prefer hot colours rather than cold it could be scarlet, magenta and pale pink. or any permutation of colours at all really. I could make them all work as a painting, to fit a colour scheme for a room. My friend is going to talk to her fella and see what he thinks of the idea............................. I hope he wants it doing, I'd love to to it, to hide the fanny and the willie together in each others contours..... how exciting would that be!!!!!


And just to leave you with a painting before I go off to help set up the exhibition I'm part of this weekend, its this one.It will be at the exhibition and is called "Far far away". Its a watercolour of a planet, or our moon, with the distant universe behind......................... and I love the effect of it. The planet was painted with a brush but I wonder if you can guess the way the galaxy was painted, the way the stars lie in the sky. They weren't painted on, nor was masking fluid applied or splattered on, which is the usual way of creating light in a watercolour. I used .................... salt! But although I've seen salt effects before, its quite difficult to not let it look like salt was dumped on the wet paper. Its all in the wrist action you see !!!!! Either way, I love the painting, I love the effect of it, and hopefully someone else will too, and that too can go and hang on someone else's wall. But maybe not quite as far as Canada ........for this one! :)

Beyond infinity

Not only have I got Fitzys two commissions to do at the moment, I also have a local art exhibition coming up next week - its with the Ashby Guild of Artists at the village hall in Ticknall, South Derbyshire, if anyone is interested, is in the area, and wants to come along. It runs over the Saturday, Sunday and Monday 23rd, 24th and 25th of May from 10 til 5pm and I shall be there on the Saturday afternoon, stewarding. I enjoy the local art exhibitions, although I don't put anything erotic in it, as it might upset some of the old ladies who come along for a bun, cup of tea, and to look at nice pretty watercolours of flowers, kittens, and rural landscapes. Some of MY art is likely to give em heart attacks!!!! :)


So, I've been busy painting for that as well as doing Fitzys working paintings for the two canvas's he wants me to paint for him. And this has given me an opportunity to explore painting a universe painting. I've been wanting to do one for a few years, and thought that now is the time. I thought it would be easy, but I was wrong. It isn't. There's a lot of effects to get into space, and the stars are a little tricky to paint too - to get them looking like they're stars, far away, rather than polka dots, or daisies! But I've enjoyed doing it, once I found what I wanted to create and worked out how to do it. It's got colour and depth to it, and depth certainly helps when you want to paint space!!!!!!!! LOL


So, here it is, and I've called it "To infinity and beyond" - because it is beyond, there's a whole load of depth in it creating the infinity (is that the collective term for depth - load? Either way, there's a LOT of it!). Its done in oils, as I think oils depicts depth like this far better than any other medium. And it's not erotic, I haven't even put a naked woman or couple in it, so it won't upset the old ladies................................


Over this coming weekend I've got an art workshop to attend - its going to be still life in watercolour. It'll probably be a little quiet and staid to what I'm used to. The still life might be a hat, vase, flowers, an ornament, some fruit, a book, and a scarf artistically draped. That's what still life set ups are usually.


But its dawned on me........................... that that doesn't have to be the case. I could do an erotic still life :)


I could take some handcuffs, a blindfold, nipple clamps and a bull whip, for MY still life!!!!!!! LMAO


THEN it'd be EROTIC, wouldn't it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Coming ready or not

Right then! What's happening this week.....? Oh yes, I remember! EROTICA!!!! :)

I haven't stopped since I decided five weeks ago that I was going to do it. I knew it would be a huge learning curve and it certainly as been!! There's been so much preparation to do - find and buy various items like a browser, all the hanging equipment, picture mounts, decide which images I'm going to sell as prints, write an explanation of the Queyntes, and what to do if you want your own painting commissioned. Design my flyers, design a banner, get all the information to the printer, print some of it myself to keep the costs down, and even so, the printers bill alone would feed an African village for a year. And then pick up all the stuff from the printer, and insert the prints in the mounts, bag them all up in protective sleeves, sort out what original artwork I'm going to sell, and bag and price that. My lunch over the weekend was all of two minutes, standing by the fridge eating leftovers from the day before, before returning to work again. Because I want it all to be right. I want to be the best I can be in the time I've had to prepare, to show the visitors what I have and what I am. I know I've got something in everyones price range, from small items to large, presuming they like the images, and some other different artwork images from the fannies. I don't know what the response is going to be to the Fantasy Fannies but so far its all been promising.

When I collected the flyers from the printer on Friday, I quickly ascertained he'd printed a quarter of the flyers I'd asked for. So it was a good job I hadn't left it all to the last minute! I waited an hour or so whilst he printed off the other three thousand. He's a nice lad, and we happily chatted whilst he fed the copier with reams of paper and guillotined them afterwards. He told me that other customers of his had been in this week and seen my brightly coloured flyers depicting Queynte 2 with my details printed over the top, and the words "Fantasy Fannies" being very prominent, and had noticed them with great interest. One couple had been in, and the guy had seen the flyers and started sniggering to himself. His wife couldn't see what was funny, as he sniggered and mumbled about "fantasy fannies". He pointed it out to her, and she caught on straight away what she was looking at and said "Oh, yes, I see!!!!" and her man looked non-plussed and said "What?". The printer tactfully pointed out that he was looking at what it said it was! And still, the guy didn't get it! His wife had done by then, and was laughing, but he'd totally missed it! And I think, that's part of the fun of these paintings - its the ones in the know, enjoying a joke against those who aren't!!!

In the pub on Friday night, I went to say hi to a friend of mine, he was chatting to a mate of his who I didn't know, and introduced us by saying "Jackie paints fannies!" which quite understandable was a good conversation starter!!!! I spent the next five minutes explaining how and why exactly I paint fannies - to the great interest of my new acquaintance. He asked if I did willies too - and I said I certainly would! He was certainly interested in the idea!!!

Another friend of mine in the pub, who is very interested in art in general and this latest project, asked why I did erotic art. I said it was the most difficult art I could think of, and that was part of the appeal. But I like people, and this is just part of what makes an adult, the erotic side to us.

Right, on with the last few things I need to do - and I'm looking forward to meeting the bloggers who are planning on coming to meet me - Wow, meeting them in real life!!! Very exciting :)

The pull of art is great, and its one of the things I love so much about it.........

Aftermath resounding bright and clear

Well, What a response!

It seems you all like my Fantasy Fannies then. :)

And I'm delighted that you do.

They're a big thing for me, and something I believe strongly in as an empowerment for women. I've had lots of positive feedback both through the comments and by email. Women telling me that they have had problems accepting that part of their body, but to see their "Queynte" in glorious techni-colour detail has made them realise it is a thing of beauty to be admired. One woman told me she is a blatant exhibitionist and this is the ultimate exhibitionism for her!

A guy I know has said how wonderful the colours are. That he is drawn to bright and well-defined colours and that the similar palette creates a kinship among the portrayals. The bright colours denote energy and emotion, ever moving, ever changing, and focusing on the opening itself. They radiate life, just as a woman does, even though her actual colours are more subdued.
He commented that vaginas are as individual as faces, and drawn in this multi-hued way the features take on added beauty. He particularly liked the detail of the interiors, the folds and the crevices, and the fact that for some women the opening is quite evident, while for others it's hidden, waiting to be discovered. He also really loved the nude woman hidden in the detail of each portrait.

One of the best comments I had was from a woman who referred to the images as "spirited and spiritual" and that I had touched her on a primal level. I really loved that!

Another woman commented that the paintings are absolutely beautiful and that they are a reminder of what makes women so special, being able to give life but also commented on the complex nature of our beings, exemplified in the folds, crevices, curves, texture and smoothness of this entrance to our depths.

I've had interesting dialogues with Having my cake too - since the idea sprung up between the two of us semi-joking with each other a year ago, and then when we discussed it a bit further, we both realised the other was serious! Its been an empowerment for the both of us too. I realised that a lot of women don’t know what they look like down there – infact, only one of the participants has recognized her own from the painting, bearing in mind that I was working from photos sent to me from the participants, so I had presumed they had looked at them first!
We also discussed the fact that some women consider their vaginas to be ugly and the terrible mutilations some religions inflict on young girls. If any of this has helped to empower women, or helped them come to terms with the subject of the beauty of their own bodies, then I’m delighted. I’ve certainly learnt a lot!


And now that other women have seen them, they want their fanny painted too, and I'm delighted to say that already I have another twelve participants who are in the process of sending me photos for the next batch of Queyntes. I hope others do too.

This last week I have had many conversations with many people on the subject and its interesting to note the differences between the sex bloggers and the men and women I have chatted to in "real life". The sex bloggers have accepted it with open arms, and love it. But I've had slightly unexpected responses from other people. A broad-minded, creative and feminist woman wasn't greatly interested in what I consider to be a wonderful celebration of womanhood. A flirtatious and vibrant woman who I would have expected to be greatly interested in the subject, wasn't particularly, and yet most men I've mentioned it to are intrigued with it and want to know more. Am I back to the experiences I've had before of vanilla women not showing their interest in erotic art?

I attended a seminar at the weekend, to pick up more information about making a living as an artist, and found the session very useful. I was even able to ask specific questions relating to my own career and the projects I currently have on the go and how I am dealing with them. The tutor's answers were helpful and honest. Which is what I'd rather hear. But he doesn't think the Fantasy Fannies will work in real life, he thinks they will only work on the internet. I think he's wrong. I think there will be a lot of interest, in the right place. I just need to find the right place. I want these Fantasy Fannies to be exhibited somewhere together, so that people can see them. I know that some galleries will turn them down flat, and I also know that I have to find the right gallery for myself - because a gallery is for ME, not me for them. Maybe I'll have to do it privately then.

But one way or another, I want to do it.

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.......???

Whats new?

I'm still thinking about what I want to do regarding promoting myself and the offer the businessman made last week to invest a lot of money in advertising me as an artist (and also wanting a large share of the profits afterwards) but part of that decision will also be formed by the fact that after all the hard work, the build up and great expectations of the big exhibition last weekend - I didn't sell a single bloody thing! They hung eight of my ten paintings which was great considering they had well over a thousand paintings entered and were limited on hanging space. They did everything they could to sell paintings at the exhibition. My particular pictures were in a good prominent place just by the door, with good lighting and exposure, I was the first name in the catalogue of about a hundred artists and there were thousands of people visiting the place over the weekend. I had a good selection of paintings which elicited good positive reactions from people - I did everything RIGHT - and still NO SODDING sales! ........But.... it's the way it goes. Its annoying and aggravating and just part of being an artist and there's absolutely no point in getting depressed or losing sleep over it. BUT what it does underline is the fact that there's not much point in spending a small fortune on finding a good site, no matter how much is spent on promoting the exhibition to get the people to see the work, when the people might like the work very much but don't want to actually go so far as to BUY any of it. Loads of advertising does not equal many sales. So the lesson learnt this week is to find a better place that is good for me to exhibit in but which does not involve huge outpourings of hard earned cash which will be just good money down the drain. And I have a couple of ideas as to where is best for me to go next on that subject...... which I shall tell you about should I have any success with them......



Meantime I'm not quite on bread and water yet and have been busy drawing.......



And on to the erotic drawing of this week - another white on black drawing with just a hint of colour adding instant interest and awareness. The painting is called "Warm up" and is of a pair of female buttocks bent over, the rest of the body and legs just hinted at as they recede into the darkness, and above them, suspended in mid air is a single hand, clenched around a riding crop, angled ready to strike the buttocks again and again, just starting to mark them and warm them up to a full bloom of colouring.

Choosing the chosen few

I've taken the chosen few..... well ........ten.... paintings to the exhibition. The best of the years work. The ones I'm happiest with, most want to exhibit, the ones, in my opinion, most likely to sell. Wrapped lovingly in their protective covers, they're taken to the venue, a few questions as to where they should be left, unwrapped they're brought blinking into the sunlight, and left in the charge of complete strangers, who I entrust to look after my precious creations. These strangers will hang them, choose where they look best, and the next time I'll see them they'll be part of a large exhibition of 900 or so pieces of art. And maybe, just maybe, some of them will get the coveted red dots. The mark of a sale. The greatest prize of all - someone wants to own one of my paintings. Wants to buy it, and take it home, to cherish and adore it, as part of their home decor, to enhance and decorate their home....... But because the exhibition is so popular and attracts so many visitors from far and wide, there may be too many paintings for the hanging space. Its an extensive area, but the organisers have no idea what size paintings are going to arrive, and just how they will be hung. Its a mammoth and daunting task. So they ask each artist to pick four, just four, from their chosen ten which will be the first to be hung and after the first ones have been sold, they will be replaced with the next paintings, so that the exhibition will hang as many paintings as they can for this prestigious exhibition, the funds of which are for a charitable organisation. So, tell me this, HOW do I choose? How do I pick just four in a split second of time, do I choose the best, the most likely to sell, the largest, the ones that give a good example of what I do. How on earth do I chose?

Words that turn me on....

........."The Arts Festival thanks you for your submissions to the Open Art Competition and Exhibition and is delighted to exhibit your work"...... such sexy words - along with "Hi Jackie, we're interested in a painting of yours that we've seen recently and wondered if we could come and see it again?" - Oh yes!!! Course you can!!........

Now I know that just because the arts festival want to hang three of my paintings, and the fact that someone wants to come and see one of my tiger paintings again, doesn't necessitate a sale on either count, its a start, and I'm happy that there's interest!

Some years ago I met a woman who really liked one of my paintings - it was a weird surreal painting she'd seen at an exhibition, and she absolutely raved over it! I must have bumped into her five or six times over the course of the next eighteen months, and everytime I saw her she mentioned this particular painting and how much she liked it, and wanted to come and see me, and view it again. It got to the point when I was just about to blow my top at her, for wasting my time even bringing up the subject, since she obviously had no intention of ever doing what she was promising, but then, one day, she came to see me, looked at the picture and said "I've just got to buy it!" and I realised that it had sort of haunted her in someway - she had fallen in love with it, and just had to own it, to view it everyday, and that her life wouldn't ever be complete until she had purchased it. And that, for me, is why people should buy art - because they love it so much, they need to look at it because it fills something within them. I love it when that happens - particularly when its something I've painted and people make an emotional connection to it.

So, just because someone has seen one of my paintings, doesn't mean they're going to buy it, but it might set an idea growing, and they just might come back to me, and they might just buy it at some time in the future........ maybe...

Winning

I spent all morning yesterday sorting out three paintings to enter into a local art competition. The pictures were already painted and framed, I just had to sort out the details for the stipulations for entering them in the competition - on the back of the painting had to be the name of artist (I knew that bit!), media and price (I always do that anyway), and contact details (does that mean just a phone number, or address as well? - ok, I'll do both), and on the front there had to be all the details again, written on a label, attached with string, so that the label can hang down infront of the painting. Ok, I did that. Then I had to put cardboard protective corners on each painting, and as the bloody things wouldn't stay on, had to attach them with masking tape, wrap all three paintings in bubble wrap, put them in my carrying bag, and fill out the form. Name, address, names of paintings, media, price and size - what on earth do they want size for? And in inches or centimetres? I work in inches, but I bet they work in centimetres, and I presume they mean the outside size of the frame, and not the size of the actual painting inside the frame? Find a tape measure, measure them, and put the figures on the form. I still can't think why they want the measurements - they've got the paintings, what difference does having the measurements figures make? Pack the whole lot into the car and drive to the venue (a new one for me, although I've entered this competition before, it was at a different place last year). I found it easily enough, and handed my paintings in, paid the hanging fees, they didn't want the bloody cardboard protective corners I'd so carefully applied, so I had to remove them all again and got the bloody masking tape stuck to all the bubble wrap, had a brief chat and came away again. So now I've got to wait til the end of the week to see whether they've been accepted, or rejected, in which case I'll have to go and collect any rejects next weekend, and the ones that have been accepted will be hung and judged along with the others in due course. It'd be nice to win the top prize, or even any prize. Last year I didn't win anything. This year I've got different pictures, and I rate a couple of them, the third might be a bit weird for the judges, but we'll see. None of them are erotic. I was supremely pissed off last year when I saw one of the paintings that won a "distinction" prize. As it was an absolute and exact copy of another artists work. She runs local art workshops and paints in a particular style, and the subject matter is of a particular type, so very easily recognised, and the painting that got the award last year was a direct copy of her work, most probably done on one of the workshops. So was I angry? Yes, I bloody was!! That my artwork which was unique, individual and not plagiarised, didn't win against a direct copy of someone elses work. I almost said something at the time to the organisers, but thought it would look like "sour grapes" on my part, so didn't. Do I wish I had? Maybe.


But, as far as winning is concerned - I won the top prize in a local art exhibition a few years ago, and that was a brilliant experience. There were three categories, and an overall top prize, which the judge judged on "If there was a fire, and I had to run out of the building with just one painting, which one would it be?" - and that was the prize I won, with one of my tiger portraits "Burning bright". Infact the judge liked it so much, he bought it from me afterwards, which doubly made my day - I sang at the top of my voice all the way home!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!

Promotion promotion promotion

Discussing with a local pub landlord last night about my being part of a forth-coming art exhibition he wants to hold in his pub one day in August I realised that I'll actually be part of six exhibitions held locally during August. That's fine, I can fit them all in, and as they're spread over the month, I'm confident I can work out the logistics of shunting pictures around to each venue. But will it be worth it? Will it bring in any sales for me? Will it promote my artwork? Conjour up future commissions? I live in hope that it will. I have to. Its a lot of hard work though, setting up an exhibition. Hanging around to talk to people, to promote what I do. Or else I just drop off my pictures at a gallery, and someone else does the setting up, and I go home, and fervently wait, in hope, with fingers crossed. And when I return somebody might say - oh someone was in asking after you earlier, they hoped you'd be here. And you think, bugger, I've missed a sale through that. But if I went and sat, and sat..... and sat..... at a gallery (and I've done that, on many occasions!) no-one comes in, no-one is interested, until perhaps five minutes before the end of the exhibition, when someone will come in and for the next half hour they'll tell you ALL about their brothers neighbours cousin who is a brilliant artist - have you heard of them? (I never have, but I smile sweetly at them). And then you go home, without a sale. And then you'll talk to someone who's interested in art, and visits art galleries regularly, and they ask where you exhibit, and why haven't they seen your work before? And you wonder why they haven't either, when you do your best to push your art, and exhibit where and when you can, and they've never even heard of you! So what do I do wrong I ask myself? And the answer is probably - nothing. Its just the way it is, trying to sell art. You live in hope that you can paint a picture that someone will like, and want, and want to pay for, and have room on their wall to hang it on. That's why I'd rather do commissions, because then I know I'm painting something that someone actually wants. Exhibitions are basically just advertising the fact that I paint, and what I paint, and how I paint. If I make a sale, its a bonus. Its also good to see what other artists are doing, and meet them, have a chat and compare notes.

So I'm not expecting to sell many pictures in August....... but I live in hope!

Three of a kind

I thought it might be a nice idea to do a series of drawings based on the colours emanating from a woman before, during and after an orgasm. So here they are, in the order they should be viewed. The first is called "Allure" and the woman lies provocatively, her left hand idly fingering her nipple, as her right hand wanders down to her crutch and starts to play with herself. She's giving off a scarlet glow, as the lust and passions rise, her mouth slightly open, as her eyes stare into the distance as her fantasies start to take form....

The second image is called "Orgasm" as the woman gives off a white hot glow, as she pleasures herself, and loses herself in the moment, her fingers busy and her head thrown back in ecstasy.

And the last image is entitled "Afterglow" as she lies satiated, her hands behind her head, her left leg pulled in tightly to her body, to enjoy the final throbbing warmth from her orgasm. She's at peace, and giving off a warm afterglow of contentment, her mind wandering, on to the next fantasy, she'll soon be ready to go again....

And on a separate note, I was in the pub last night when a hand tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to find two women waiting to speak to me. They were apologetic for interrupting my evening, but they wanted to thank me for a painting I'd completed recently. The first woman had commissioned it, as a leaving present for the other, as she was returning to America after living in England for a few years. The American woman then went on to say how much she liked the painting, and what a lovely memento of her time here it was, as it was a landscape of the village she'd been living in, and she would treasure it always, and was delighted to meet the artist. I was delighted to hear it, I said, and delighted to do it for her! It was lovely to meet her, as its always nice to know where my paintings are going to and meet the people they are intended for. They departed then, again with an apology for interrupting me, but they had made my evening and I spent the rest of it in a happy afterglow.

Earlier that evening, a new acquainttance had rung me to thank me for my help in participating in a local exhibition last weekend. "My pleasure", I said. And it is. I love art, and everything to do with it. Even setting up an exhibition, and all the hard work that goes with it, even if there isn't a sale at the end of it, at least its promotion, and I always get good feed-back, and meet interesting and charming people through it. Its even better when I sell a painting though - its the best feeling in the world, that someone wants to own one of my paintings, hang it on their wall, and view it for ever more because in someway it connects with an idea, or thought, a feeling or emotion they have, that my painting evokes in them.

Its a life long quest, Art, searching for more ideas, more things to portray, the way that life and art and art and life are inter-connected: the people I meet, and the things they say to me, that makes me realise that I am fulfilling a desire in others, as much as in myself. Its quite a heady responsibility! But I love it!

Ever so slightly pissed off!

I always am, after an exhibition, when I've not sold a painting. You'd have thought I'd have stopped it by now. I've had enough experience of them, for goodness sake. But I don't. I still experience that low, that dip in my good spirits. I can't help it. I know its only a small local exhibition along with other artists, and not a big important one, and that I'm a good artist, with talent (because I'm told often enough, by various people), and that its just such a small percentage of people who walk through the door to view the exhibition, who actually want to buy, and have some wall space they want to fill, and money in their pocket to pay for it. I know all that. And still I get a slight depression over it, because of all the hard work I put into a painting, a hanging of paintings, an exhibition, the expectation and feeling of excited anticipation, and then it comes to nothing ...........
.........But ............when I sell a painting............. that's a totally different feeling altogether! That feeling of euphoria is the best feeling in the world! I'm on a natural high for days, its like winning the lottery and all birthdays rolled into one! That someone likes my painting enough to want to buy it, and wants to hang it on their wall so they can own it, and view it for ever more, and don't want to spend the rest of their lives not having it around them. I love it! They're buying part of my energy - part of me, the energy I put into painting an image, the talent I have, the expertise, the effort and ability - all of that rolled up into a picture to hang on their wall.

How spicy is cinnamon?

I had an intriguing email from a newish acquaintance this week, who I know reads my blog, and who surprised (and delighted!!!) me by telling me that he is "living vanilla and hiding spice" - (which I think is a gorgeous phrase) - and that the spices he is hiding are not much more exciting than say cinnamon. So now, I'm wondering ...... how spicy cinnamon is? If I was to consider cinnamon I would say that its a very sensuous spice, full of deep exotic flavours, with rich undertones and a longing desire for more of its subtle tastes. A spice that adds a lot of pleasure to a forbidden fruit........

I've finished the commission of the house painting that I was asked to do a couple of weeks ago, and need to get some more paintings done for a small exhibition I've got at the end of this month. Not many ideas yet for what I'm going to do - but since its not an erotic exhibition, I suppose it'll be mostly landscapes. I need to get a couple of paintings done this weekend, and have a basic idea for one I want to do of the Charles Bridge in Prague. I've got a lovely photo, from when I was there, taken in low afternoon sunlight, pointing the camera directly into the sun, which leaves the buildings, and people and their long shadows, almost black with subtle greys and the rest of the colours are washed out creams and rich golden yellows. The photo inspires me, so it should motivate me to paint a decent picture of it - possibly in mixed media? I don't know.... maybe I'll start it in watercolours and see how it goes, but I don't think I'll get the depth of greys and black deep enough just in watercolours, so perhaps inks might be the answer, as they are still translucent, and won't deaden the blacks leaving the painting lifeless. Or perhaps I'll start with a totally black background and paint the "light" onto it instead... a sort of negatively painted painting, using acrylics as they will achieve the depth of colour I'm after.