Doubling the living flame with lust

At the beginning of this year I painted the "Living Flame" painting for a woman buyer in America. It was a style of painting I'd never done with this effect before and I loved the way it progressed. I'd used the "glazing" effect for landscapes and still life paintings but wasn't totally hooked on it until I used it to paint people. Far more interesting, I think! LOL

And then I was asked to do another commission for a buyer in England - Fitzy - who loved the effect too, and that was interesting for me to do it as a more masculine painting, darkening the tones and making it stronger and less feminine. And I loved that effect too...

But this then lead on to a collector of my work who lives in America to suggest I paint an erotic couple in this style. It was something I had considered as an excellent idea already so I was more than happy to explore the outcome. He was interested to see how a painting in this style would look. And so was I. I asked him for his ideas on poses and colours and he quietly commented that he wanted to see what I would on my own without much input from him. Ok, that's fair enough. I understand that he wanted to see what was in MY head rather than me replicate the images in his.

I've been thinking of the image since then, and have been considering various poses for the couple. When I first began I had considered they would be lying down and entwined with each other, but as I investigated into the viability of that, I soon realised that it wouldn't work well as a composition that I was happy with. Ok, then what would........................... and after a while I decided that a standing up pose would be better, hands exploring, but that almost made it less sensual and more sexual. I don't mind that, but it wasn't the effect I wanted. I wanted "erotic" rather than "blatant". I also wanted it as generic as I could make it, so didn't want facial features showing. Hhhmmm...... difficult.................

So, after a lot of images were considered and dismissed, I found one, one that showed the eroticism I was trying to convey, one that hid faces, one that was interesting as an image to look at. And I drew it out, and started painting it I was reasonably happy with it until I was nine tenths through the painting and realised that there were various aspects that I certainly WASN'T happy about. Ok. Sigh. And tear it up....................and ..........................sttttarrrrrrt again..................

Second version was a lot better. I was happier with the composition after I'd made a few small changes; I was happier with the rainbow of colours and how they interacted, and I was happier with the end result........... by a long way! So, here it is, in all its vibrant glory. An erotic couple, in love, their colours mingling, the fire from their lust igniting them, their love enveloping them, she pulls him close as he gently runs his finger up her thigh.

I think my favourite bit is that red curve on his bum......Mmm.... absolutely delicious !!!! :)

And the title?

There's only one that it can be...........

"Hot stuff"!!!!! :)


So..... would you consider yourself and your beloved painted as a portrait in this effect? Is it something you'd like me to paint............... for you?

And start again

I've been working on the erotic couple in the living flame style of painting all week, solidly. It took me ages to find a pose I was happy with, and then I drew it out, and checked that I was happy with the drawing. Started the painting................ was happy with the way it was going, worked long hours on it, and then when it was almost done, I took a break, stood back.............. and started seeing the things I wasn't happy with........... the woman's arm was too thick, the colours were too strong, her head wasn't right, the hair was too dark, his hand didn't look right, his bum didn't look right. There were some good bits, but too many bad bits for me to work around. Nothing else for it................I'd have to start again. Sigh.

So, again I started looking at other images, but there was nothing I liked as much as the image I'd got. Ok, then. Start again with the image and make it so that you DO like it, before starting the painting. And that's what I did. And made sure I was happy with it before starting the painting. And made sure the colours started off pale so that they could build up in the subtle way that they are supposed to. And you know what? It looks SOOOoooo much better than the original one, already! But that's the way it goes sometimes - that the first painting has the thought processes in it, but the second one is the better one, the one that has the problems dealt with, so all I need to think about is the painting. So much better!!!! its flowing..... and that's how it should be...........................F.............L......................O.....................................................................W

Friends and posing

I've been more aware this week than any other of the good friends I've made through being an Erotic Artist. In a strange way, they're all connected this week. Is the Universe pulling them all together for me for some reason? Well.... maybe MY universe is. I think that maybe the case anyway. Its making me look at each friend in turn and see the value I place in each one for their importance in my life. Huge value, each and every one, in their support of what I do, and how I do it. Its a validation that I'm on the right path to have such good friends helping me. And somehow I think its partly because I do the erotic art that I have these friends. If I painted flowers they wouldn't have made the connection with me. I know that for sure! :)

And, after a couple of days searching, I think I've found the image I've been looking for. I've been wanting to do an erotic couple in the "living flame" style of painting, and have been searching around for suitable poses. I didn't expect it to be difficult, but it turned out to be. Because I knew I wanted the couple to be upright for the painting, and that in itself can make the painting too symmetrical and boring. But, I think I've got it now..... a pose with some interest in it, sensual, erotic, and sexy..... yep, that'll do it everytime!!! LOL

The birth of siblings

Well, I'm happy.


And Fitzy's happy.


So, that's good then isn't it!?


The pictures are finished. The "Tarse" and "Fitzy Living flame". And they look good together, I'm happy to say, so that last week of me brightening tiny areas of colour, increasing tone, and keep putting the two paintings side by side to see how they looked as a pair has really paid off. I'm delighted. Its been three months of hard work, on and off, in the production, and I think Fitzy and I had a few weeks of discussion before that before I even started the painting. But he tells me he's thrilled with them, and that's what matters! That means I can relax, with a warm feeling and content smile, and know I've done a good job on them. And I also know that the finished painting is far better than the original working painting. There are more subtleties in it, and the flame is more fierce around the body. I think it adds more to it because of it, especially as its a man in the painting, it makes it more masculine and strong, I think. My favourite bit is the bum on it - the way the bright colours add form and interest.


I've shown the "Fitzy Living Flame" here on its own, and also along with the Tarse painting so you can see the comparison. They are bright and beautiful, vibrant and strong, and although the "living flame" style of painting is subtle it stands strong against the bright and vivid abstract of the Tarse painting. And it certainly didn't when I originally *thought* I'd finished it! Of course the canvas's also bring out the colours of the acrylic paint, which you can see when you look at them in real life but they look slightly muted in these photos. They are painted on box canvases, and I explained to Fitzy that the paintings go around each of the four sides of each painting which I think gives it more of a 3D effect when its hung on a wall. I also had to put an "optical illusion" in the "living flame" painting. As you can see the painting stops just below the knee, if I had carried on the natural tapering of the calf, the picture would have looked like his legs were "pins" and would have looked really silly. So, I had to carry on the calf at the same width when the image carried over the edge to give it more substance. No one would notice particularly when its hanging on the wall, but it would have screamed out as a glaring error, if I'd done the natural taper.


And just as a matter of interest, to me anyway, I have shown two women friends, on two different occasions this week, the two paintings, and asked what they thought, and both liked the "living flame" painting best, particularly the bum on it (!) and NEITHER could see that the abstract was a "willie". Not at all. Now, that interests me, and delights me. That was exactly the response I want - the shape IS hidden! YAY!!!! I've done it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep going

Well Fitzy's Living Flame painting is coming on nicely. I'm really pleased with the figure, and think I've added some more excitement to the painting than was in the original working painting that I did a few weeks ago. All to the good! But I also have to consider the "flame" part of the painting, as it is very much part of the image. Instead of painting the figure THEN painting the background, I've painted the two together, building them up slowly, so that the figure is IN the background of the painting and not sitting on top of it, which it sometimes looks like in other peoples paintings.

Earlier on this week I decided that I was close to finishing it. I just needed to do a few more little bits to the flame aspect and it would be done. After spending quite a few hours on it, I thought that when I looked at it fresh the next day, I would think it was finished............... But I didn't. I felt there was more I could add to it, so I kept on painting, only little bits of it here and there, tiny subtleties that slowly built up the background. Great. I must be finished now then. The next day I looked quizzically at it and decided that it needed more depth of colour in parts, more flames reaching up in other parts, and spent a long time standing back and looking at it to make sure. Because that's so important to do. The painting might be created horizontally or slightly raised up at an angle, in this case, but its going to be viewed vertically, so periodically I'll raise the particular painting I'm working on just to check, and usually find that there are a few areas that need extra attention due to doing that. And I always say that however much time I put into painting a picture, its only a tenth of the thinking that goes into it. So, its good to stand back and assess a painting and just "think" about it whilst I'm looking...... making decisions like "Am I happy with the way that the focal point is showing, should there be a stronger contrast in that area, is that area too dominant and needs toning down a bit, do I need to put more highlights in there, or darks against it, which bits are shouting at me that they're wrong? Which am I happy with? Where can I change something to enhance the painting.......?" And so it goes on until I look at the painting and think "If I did any more, I'd spoil it, there is nothing left that is needing to be changed" and that's when I say "Its done!". But................... with this style of acrylic glazing painting, you can go on and on and on, and not spoil it, but add more depth to it here and there. When I first thought at the end of the week that it was done, it was, in a way. But the next day I thought I could enhance it a bit more. The same the next day. None of it has done anything but add more depth to the painting, which I think gives it more personality.

So, yesterday I looked at it after spending a few hours on it, and thought "It really is done now".

But there is something else I need to consider. Something that normally doesn't come into this decision making.

It has a sibling. The Tarse.

And The Tarse is brighter than the "Living flame" painting. It is more vibrant. More colourful. Stronger. More potent.

Next to it, the Living Flame painting looks pale, washed out, weak and ineffectual. On its own, it doesn't.

And they are going to hang together on the wall. So I have to consider that they have to look good together too, to enhance each other as siblings.

So, it looks like I've got to paint some more after all. I want to get it right. I want them to look right together. I can't dim the Tarse -its finished - and its right that it is bright and beautiful with strong vibrant colour. So, the Living Flame picture will have to be darkened and brightened in places. But not all over, just enough to give it depth and credence. But without losing any of the glazed colours that are showing through the white of the canvas and giving the flame effect.

So, it looks like I've got to keep going for a while longer then................................ :)

It works!

After starting the working painting for Fitzy the other week, and not being entirely happy with it, I re-started the second "working painting" soon after and was able to finish it this week. So, since I was happy with it, I now hoped that he would be! So, I sent him the image and awaited the reply......................

And................. He loves it! YAY! So, now I can get on and paint it properly onto the large canvas he wants it on as the finished piece.

It is slightly different to the original "Living flame" painting in that I've added a few more darks to this masculine image. The main reason being that a mans body is more "square" than the rounded shape of a woman, and because there are less curves within a masculine body, I had to take away from the symmetry of the image by changing the balance between light and dark, shown mostly as the blue tones and the light yellow tones here. I love the bright colours within the image though, and the use of the bright red in certain areas adds a zizz to the more muted tones. It was also interesting to see how the hands developed, in the original, I did the hands as two different colours and that idea didn't work at all. This one does though, with the subtle variation in colour between the lights and darks on the hands. There's also a lot of other colour happening in and around the body, the subtle changes in colour add a lot of vibrant interest to this image. I love it!!

And I love this style of painting. Its difficult to do, but I love the effect of it. And shall love transferring this image onto canvas. It means re-drawing the whole thing on to a larger surface, and it means starting the whole thing again, but now I have the "working painting" to work from, the thought process has gone into the original, and in theory all I need to think about now is the technicality of getting the image to look good on a large canvas as the finished piece.

But, before I do all of that, I have to do a working painting of the first "Fantasy Willie" that Fitzy wants to accompany this "Living flame" image of him. Because the two are to be hung as a pair, together, so the colours have to be the same, or at least not to clash. So, that will have to be painted before I can start the canvas of this painting, just incase there are any changes I have to make to this one before I start painting them both properly. They are siblings, and have to created as such.

Brothers in paint! :)

Actually, no, that's not quite right, they are both studies of Fitzy, so perhaps they are "aspects" rather than "brothers"............................... either way, they are connected to each other.

Its all in the mind

Since Fitzy and I discussed the "living flame" style of picture I'm going to paint of him I've been itching to get started on it, and thought it would be easy enough since I've already done one, and done it only a few months ago, so the technique of it is still fresh in my head. I know I have to keep the colours fresh and alive and keep it all subtle. Easy enough, I would have thought, although there is always a lot to think about to produce a picture no matter what is involved in it. And this is the working painting, as the finished piece is going on a larger canvas, so I'm painting the working painting on board to make sure I'm happy with it, and then will transfer the finished piece onto the larger canvas. It means painting the picture twice, but I want to put the "thinking" into the first painting and the "doing" into the second, which means the finished piece will be better and not look overworked. It'll keep it fresh and alive.

So, to start work, I've drawn it out, and am happy that I've got a good likeness, so all I have to do now is colour it in. Ok. Easy enough you would think.............. and yet it isn't! I need to think where the light is coming from, I need to look at the tone, and I need to portray the form within the painting. And I've got the original "Living flame" image to look at to replicate the effect in Fitzys painting. Right, music on, and start..................................

............................... and I worked on it all day......... but, for some reason, it didn't flow................. that lovely time when the whole aspect of painting it F...L...O....O.....O....W......W........S. It just didn't happen. It might be due to the fact that it rained all day and the world looked grey and wet and miserable, maybe the ions weren't right in the air, maybe it was the fact that I had a few interruptions and couldn't fully concentrate on it, maybe I wasn't happy with the music I was playing, maybe I was out of kilter with my energies, or maybe I just needed to start with a working painting for the working painting! LOL

This has happened to me before, though. Not often, but enough for me to know how to deal with it.

I don't get uptight, depressed or annoyed over it. There's no point. I don't think that I've wasted all that time and not got a good picture at the end of it. I know it for what it is. It is the thought process at work. And I did the best I could with those thoughts and made a painting. Its an "ok" painting. But............. I know I CAN do better. A lot better. I can change the colours slightly, tighten up the tones and form, and move the colours to create better effect. So I'll do it again. And the next one will be better, because I've already had the initial thoughts for the painting, and the next time these will be extra thoughts, and they will be more positive, upbeat and forthright, and they will be more dynamic. And the choice of music will lift me, and then the painting ........................ should.............. Flooooooooooooooooooowwwww........................

Hello, come in, take your clothes off.....

It was good to finally meet Fitzy this week after many emails back and forth and a few phone calls inbetween. I'd got a clearish few of him as a person, and a clear idea of what artwork he wanted from me, and a feeling about his thoughts regarding it. And I knew he was a little nervous at the thought of sitting for me. Its understandable!!! LOL But I try not to be too scary......... and I do know what I'm doing...........and I have had lots of experience of these matters.............. so ... I wasn't nervous, and I knew I had to allay his fears as much as I could.


Its like any new experience, the many thoughts in your head usually outweigh the reality!


So, we finally met, face to face. It was far easier for him to come to me, since I've got all my "tools of the trade" here. First tool ...... a hot drink! Tea for me!!! :) Coffee for him. And a chat, about anything really, because that communication is important for two people to get to know each other, you look at the body language, read the face, listen to the connotation in the voice, look at the eyes, and get to know about the person better. It makes for a good working relationship, for me, certainly. Because if I'm going to paint someone I like to know abit about them, it helps to be able to put that image of the person into the pose for the artwork. I'm not just creating an image, I'm looking for the essence, or soul of the person, to put that in too.....


So, on to work. Fitzy wanted three pieces of artwork doing - he loves the "Living flame" painting and wants a painting of himself done in that style. So, I needed to take photos of him to work from for the painting. It takes a long time to do that style of glazing painting, so its totally impractical to work from life for that painting. So, you would think taking photos would be easy, and it wasn't! Because I had to get the light right, and make sure I picked up the nuances of muscle tone, make sure I'd got all the detail in that I wanted.


Then on to the second piece of artwork that he wants - a Fantasy Willie painting. Infact he will be my first fantasy willie, which I'm very excited about! But because of that, I wasn't fully sure what I was looking for in the photos. With the fantasy fannies, they are abstract in shape to start with, so its easy enough to hide the image in the abstraction. But, a willie is more obvious! So, it took a few photos until I was happy with the image I'd got, and how I was going to create a painting from it! Success!!!


After a short lunch-break, it was time for the main reason for the visit - the sitting, whilst I drew him. I know he's had health problems and the very pose itself was probably going to be difficult for him. We discussed a standing pose as opposed to a sitting pose, and decided on the latter. But when I asked his thoughts on a pose, and he showed it to me, I knew from past experience that he would be in agony within five minutes from it. We discussed ideas and quickly settled on a simple seated pose, that would be comfortable for him, and would show to good effect his long legs. He also wanted a white on black drawing done, and to set up the lighting for those is a bit challenging, as I had to make sure that the light was creating interesting shapes on his skin, without lighting all of his body. This usually entails a low light off to one side, and although I have proper lights on proper stands, it turned out that the light itself had to be on a book, on a larger book, on a low stool, to create the correct lighting to satisfy me!!!! It might look very odd, but it worked!!!! LOL

On to the drawing............... I started with a blank piece of black card, and with a conte pencil in one hand, and a rubber in the other, I started. I know I'm a quick worker, but afterwards when I explained to Fitzy the thought process that had occurred through the drawing, I was surprised myself how much "thinking" I do. I first look at the pose, and work out the angles within it, I look at the blank paper and envisage those angles on it, I measure with my pencil, to make sure that the body that I'm drawing will fit on the paper (I sounds silly, but I've seen enough amateur artists miss out the feet at the bottom of the paper because they've not done this simple exercise!). Then I start to draw, to get the basic overall shape in, check the measurements again, and if need be adjust anything. Then I start to build up the body shape, gently drawing in all of it, slowly, bit by bit, until its all there, and then use the rubber to remove the parts I don't want. These are the bits that cause the interest. The pencil and the rubber working in conjunction with each other, to create the effect I want. And all this is done whilst the model sits still. And it helps enormously if the model CAN sit still. And Fitzy could, beautifully! He's a natural! So that helped greatly, that I could see the tiny details that I needed to put in the drawing to make it interesting.

Whilst all this is going on, I played my "art music" - thumping rock, bouncy pop, throbbing dance music, it all helps me to work quickly and easily and for the creative energies to flow. No music, and I'd be a lot slower!!! Fortunately Fitzy liked listening to it too, and said afterwards that it had helped him to get through the sitting, whilst he played a musical quiz in his head, as to which band was singing which song! He only needed one short break, but was able to sit long enough for me to produce this drawing. Its called "The thinker". I had originally thought that Rodins "The thinker" might be a good pose, but Fitzy thought it might be too reminiscent of Bruce Forsyth! MMM...I know what he means!!! LOL Anyway, here is the image I did of him.......

We sat chatting afterwards, about all sorts of things, and that was good to do. I know exactly how I'm going to do the paintings now and can't wait to get started on them......


Since then, Fitzy has emailed me to say a lot about his experience of being drawn by me, and is happy for me to quote some of them here:


"I was drawn to the title of one of your recent blog entries “Empowered” and it certainly was an empowering experience, but really it was so much more than that, I felt a great sense of achievement in becoming part of something that will last, well longer than me really.


I also found it a rather liberating experience as well.


.....your mention of a friend that works as a therapist, and they thought your Fantasy Fanny paintings could work well in a treatment room as a means of improving body image and perception about an intimate area of the body..... Anyway, that struck a chord with me as I have always had a very negative view of myself for all manner of reasons .... but I do feel so very positive about what I was able to achieve on Thursday and this is thanks in no small part to you. Now whether there will be any lasting benefits of course remains to be seen, but for the moment at least I really do feel very pleased and proud about what I have achieved and your drawing of me really is so much better than I could of ever hoped for, so thank you so very much for that and it was worth it at any price.

That reminds me of something I said to you a while ago when I joked about paying you thousands of pounds and do you know what, it really would have been worth it.

The day really did have such a profound effect on me and for that I will always be grateful, so thank you very much".

So, it looks like I didn't scare him, too much, and he, like my previous sitters, have found it a very positive and uplifting experience! That's good then!!!! That makes me happy.

Gone

She's gone.

Out of my life.

I'll probably never see her again. So, that's it - its final. Finished!! And I'm missing her already. She's been such a large part of me, and my life, even for the short time I knew her. But, she was mine, then. And I suppose, still is. And always will be, even though she's gone to live with another woman, in another country, on another continent. Gone. And I miss her. I loved her sooooooo much. I know I'll always love her. She's touched my soul and heart so deeply, with her ageless beauty, so I know I won't forget her. How could I? But, she belongs elsewhere. With someone else. I cannot keep her by my side. And I hope she'll be loved there as much as she was here. Loved and cherished. That's what she deserves. Because she was meant to be there, with the other woman. I understand that, and I accept that.

But.........

I still have the other one.

The twin. The twin that is as close to the other as makes no difference. And she is here with me still. She belongs to me. And that is where she will stay. In my life. Loved my me, daily. Looked at, admired, cherished, adored.

And hung on my wall.

Whilst the other goes to America, to be hung on another wall.

"Living Flame" - I really love her!!!!!! :)

Seeing Double

Well the snow's been useful - it means I can stay in and paint! I've been working on the second, proper painting, of "Living Flame". My spiritual healer friend thought it a big task, and asked me if I'd have problems painting it a second time, and I replied that I doubted it. If I've done it once, I can do it again! So, instead of showing you the painting, I'll show you the two together, so you can see what I'm talking about, and compare them. The "proper" version is as close as I can make it to the original "working painting". They are both in acrylics - used in the style of thin watercolours - but the original is on acrylic board whereas the proper version is on watercolour paper, as it was decided that to frame it, some of the image would be lost under the mount, and if I painted a larger border of background around it, then that could be "lost" under the mount without detracting from the image. Its a good idea to do that, anyway, as its a large image (20 x 16 inches) and since its on watercolour paper, the framer will want as much paper as possible to be able to hide behind the mount and stop the paper buckling.

Its not often I paint a picture twice - I usually get bored - but this painting has been a pleasure to paint a second time, to capture the light, the colour, the line, and tone. And I think she's beautiful, this living flame........

Living Flame

Ok, so no one was interested in the art auction! :) Well it was still worth running it to see if anyone was.


Never mind, I've been busy with other work this week....


I was asked a few weeks ago by a woman, to do a painting in the abstract style of the Fantasy Fannies, but of a virtually whole woman taken from a black and white photo that I was sent, and also the colours were to be in pastel colours, plus she wanted a hidden woman within the image like the Queyntes have.. MMmm.... it took me a while to get into the idea of how to do it. Because the Fantasy Fannies are created from close up photos so the shapes look abstract to start with, whereas this image was most definitely a woman, a gorgeous sexy woman, and the image of her wasn't to be hidden, it was to be kept. So I drew it out as it was from the photo, and then started playing with the colours. Normally I paint bright and dramatic paintings, but I had been asked specifically for pastel colours. So I had to tone down my natural exuberance, and paint subtle colours in a subtle way. The elbow length gloves, hair and panties were all very dark in the photo and I would have normally have painted them black, but decided to make my darkest darks "royal purple" and then that being only the colour of the hair, gloves and the dark shadow between the luscious buttocks. There was a gorgeous white light down the side of the body, coming from a side light in the photo, and for me that was incredibly important to keep, as it accentuated the shape, and added interest to the otherwise symmetrical shape. So, bit by bit, I built up the colours, and shades, using "glazing" as the technique for building up the subtle colours, the colour underneath shining through the colour on top, and adding to the description of the small nuances of muscle tone and body shape. And the strength of colour in the background that made the image look like she was standing separate from the background. I also decided that if I made the woman logo within her any smaller it would have looked like a tattoo which would have spoilt the effect. When I got to the point that this picture is at, I stopped, and thought that I could go on, and do more, but to do so would detract from the pastel colours and the way the white of the paper shines through the paint. So I contacted the woman who had commissioned me, showed her this image and asked her what she thought - and she loved it! She thought the image looked powerful, feminine and sensuous all at once. She loved it as much as I do, fortunately! For me, I love the 3-D shape of the body, and the way the background seems to flow around her like a flame - and this prompted me to call the painting "Living Flame" because it shows the woman as a vibrant, vivid, vital and sensuous woman, with the almost chameleon like effect of being able to cope with her life and the challenges it brings within it.


My spiritual healer friend saw this finished painting the other day and commented that the photo I was working from was excellent quality, infact a beautiful piece of art on its own, BUT that I had taken that image and made something even more beautiful with my colours and depiction of the woman within the painting. I agree with her. This woman is gorgeous.


But all of this is actually the "working painting" - so now I have to re-paint it in the same way but on watercolour paper, with a slightly larger background to it that will give the framer chance to frame it without losing any of these beautiful colours under the mount. At least the second painting will be a lot quicker to do than the first one - because I'm just copying it, whereas the first painting had a lot of "thinking time" in its creation.