Circus skills

I'm doing a lot of pedaling at the moment, and have a lot of balls of different shapes sizes and colours in the air, so much so that I feel like a circus performer (and you can never find one of those when you want one! ha ha). 

I'm in the process of updating my website, and the pre-questions always seem to take longer than the actual doing of it. Where do you want the webhosting, what do you want to pay for it, how much space will it give you, what language do you want it in, do you want the blog to be part of it, do you want it all singing and dancing, and do you want it with lots of shiny bells on it so you make loads of money from it (YEP!).

And I've just updated my SAA page - as a Gold member I get lots of benefits of being with this art society and have always found them to be helpful and supportive to me. They've recently updated their website which has meant extra work for me to do to update my details.

As well as that I'm trying to learn how to sell things on eBay, which is an interesting learning curve, and eventually I want to sell more of my original art and prints that way. I had a look at the erotic art for sale on eBay over the weekend and thought a lot of it was dire. So, I hope to rectify that soon and get some of my art out there which will raise my profile as well.

I also put my hand (and head!) to teaching art over the weekend and had a willing pupil to practice on as a first time lesson. During the session I found out how much knowledge I have (lots!) and how much knowledge he had (none!) and realised how much information I had to impart to get a reasonable result for him. The painting isn't finished yet, and I hope we can persevere with it as that will show me that if I can teach him, then I can teach anyone. That wasn't supposed to sound patronising, as although he would like to paint, he has never done so, so we were really starting from the very basics. Normally people who want to paint have had some basic lessons or ability.

And as well as all of this, I have put some advertising notices around my village promoting my art in the hope that I will get some work from it, not helped by the fact that five days after I did it, one of my adverts had been covered up by someone elses advert looking for a domestic cleaner for their house. Cheeky sod, find your own place on the board that doesn't cover up someone elses advert!!!!

And as well as all of this, I have been looking at possible venues for me to find for exhibiting. the right sort of venues, for my art. And that might sound simple, but believe me, its not......

So, its been a busy last few days.

Now, where did I put that unicyle.....

Well, who else was he going to ask?

In a way, its not a surprise at all - I should expect it really. Because if someone else is interested in art, has a bit of the creative spirit in them, and they have enough of an interest to try to have a go at it themselves, and want to improve on it, they're going to want some positive constructive feedback. From someone they like, respect and admire, who is friendly and approachable. Like any pupil of art, you want to learn and listen to the words of someone wiser than you on the subject. That's what teachers are for.
So, if its erotic art, what do you do? You ask someone who is knowledgeable in erotic art.

That would be......................ME !!!     :)

The new pupil in question has bought some prints of my "fantasy fannies" recently, and told me at the time how much he liked them and the subject matter, and that seeing them had encouraged him to draw some of his own. He asked beforehand if I'd be interested in seeing his artwork, and I agreed I would. He sent them to me for me to give my opinion on his sketches of the pussies (no, I DON'T mean the four-legged meowing variety!) asking for any criticism and my advice for any improvements he could make. I'll take a good  look at his budding artwork and give my considered opinion and hope that he can begin to make the improvements he seeks.

And I'll think about the possibility of teaching art .....................in particular..... sensual  art. And wonder how much of a market there is for it. I know there's a good market for painting flowers, wildlife, landscapes, still-life and portraits. But, how many people would be interested in workshops about sensual art? I don't mean pornography, I mean something tasteful. And that's where part of the problem is. Where does pornography end and erotic start? We all have our own interpretation of what erotic is, and what pornography is - and it isn't the same for us all. I've been to many life drawing classes, and in a way they're a little staid. The naked body is just a vessel, like a still-life jug or vase. And is certainly not a sexual or even an erotic thing. But I think its much more interesting when its a sensual creation - something that invokes eroticism! I just wonder how much other people think that too?

I was looking forward to having a discussion regarding that and other connected matters with the fragrant Lucy Felthouse last night, my friend the erotic writer, but  because of all the snow and ice we had to cancel it and will re-arrange another get-together for when the roads are more accessible. I was looking forward to seeing her again and having a good chat about all things erotic and creative. As far as business meetings go, its as good as any I know of !!!!

 And they call this work.............................. :)

Teaching teacher

The people who commissioned the portrait of the horse"Elliot" came to pick the painting up this week. I had met them before when I went to take the photos of Elliot, but that was at their house. And they wanted to come to my house to collect the painting, as it is a surprise and they didn't want the game to be given away by my going to their house with the surprise gift. So the meeting was arranged and they came to me with no prior knowledge other than a brief meeting and a knowledge that I am a local artist.................. who does horse portraits........

They arrived and I welcomed them in, and we stood chatting about animals, and art. I showed them a few paintings that I've done, as they passed them on the way to my studio, and we stopped and chatted about the art and the various techniques that I'd used to create the paintings. They liked them, and were interested, which is always gratifying :)

Eventually, I led them into my studio and showed them the portrait of Ellliot, which they loved, and said I'd just captured his look, which was great to hear. It's always a slight concern when revealing a portrait, that the painting looks like the subject matter. Infact I was reminded of that when chatting to my photographer friend over the seas, when he said that a photographer cuts out the excess of what he can see to make the image, whereas an artist puts in ALL they can see to make their image. Interesting contrasts. But I'd obviously caught all that makes Elliot, for his painting, which is always great to hear that I'd not missed anything!

We carried on chatting about other pieces of art I'd done, various paintings were scattered around the studio, including Fitzy's working painting of him done in the living flame style, and his "fantasy willie" half completed, that I was working on when they arrived. I ignored it as it was "just" an abstract as far as they were concerned, and didn't need to know the specifics of it. The chatting flowed, and as we talked I was aware of the guy looking at what was behind me, and when he was able he enquired about it - my certificate of membership to the Guild of Erotic Artists, he was intrigued (especially as he had NO idea at all that I did Erotic art!! LOL). So I explained that I was an erotic artist, and waxed lyrical over it, as I am apt to do! They both listened, and asked various questions, and I told them about the "fantasy fannies" project, and how that has lead to the "fantasy willies" project, and that I've had a huge response to it all already! I carried on with my chatting, and the woman fell quiet as I spoke, and then asked me why don't I teach? She said "You're passionate about your art, and are "fresh" in your approach". It turned out that she teaches teachers, and she thinks I'd make a good teacher. That made me think. Do I want to teach? Is it the way forward? She says she'll help me if I want any advice from her, and I've taken her up with her offer. I like her and her husband and will be happy to see them again.....

I'm thinking about it.

Oh, and it turns out that she lives in the same village that I did my WI talk for, 18 months ago. She's a busy woman and isn't a WI member but is aware of the talks, and was sorry that she had missed mine. Apparently she also missed the chance to hear a talk about the joys of hearing aids as well............................................. I'm not sure which one might have been the high light!! :)


Still, she's already learnt something from me.

If you want your horse painting, come and see an erotic artist! :)