Not infront of the children

Discussing the subject matter of the painting with the person who has to live with it is always hugely important. I always ask questions to make sure that I am in total understanding of what they want, and why they want it. This conversation started with various questions from me - and one of them was whether she wanted the painting to be erotic? The answer came back that she would really LOVVVVVE it to be erotic, but because she had youngish children living in the house with her, she couldn't possibly consider it as an idea. I thought about that, and realised that the basis of an idea was forming. I suggested that it may be possible to make it erotic, but keeping it innocent too. She replied "That'd be a challenge!" "Yep," I happily replied, "And I lurve a challenge!" - let me have a think about it, and I'll come back to you with some ideas.

I spent the night ruminating (as you do!) :)

And the next day rang her to discuss my idea.

She had already provided me with some photos for me to work from. I spent some time going through them searching for the ones that would let me put my idea into practice. And I had found a couple that were ideal for my purposes.......

I explained what I had in mind. She listened at the other end of the phone, and agreed that it should work, and would achieve exactly what I described to her. And she happily gave me the go ahead to do it! YAY!
The idea of it excites me. And better still, it excites her. I'm totally fired up with it, and can't wait to get started on it!!!! I just had to ask her if there were any colours she particularly wanted in it - and she said her bedroom colours of cream and brown. Because this is definitely a bedroom picture! And I think it will look great in her bedroom, and asked if she wanted to add any more colours to it - suggesting red may be good? She agreed, caught up in the idea "Yes, red would be good, it's the right colour for it!" And then went on to suggest two other colours she likes - purple, and silver. "Was silver going to be a problem?" She wondered, and I said "No, I've got some silver acrylic paint, it'll work well with it!". And said that I might incorporate some black in it too, to balance it with depth of colour, which she said was quite acceptable. And we agreed that adding the extra colours to the cream and brown meant that if she changes her colour scheme at some point in the future that it would still go with various other decors.

So, as far as her children are concerned, it will be an abstract painting. There will be lines, and blocks of colour, shapes, and tones. It won't look like anything but an abstract.

But, to those who know what it is, it will be far more than that. It will be lines, and blocks of colour, shapes, and tones. But they will definitely mean something. Something very special.

Because it will be personal. Because she will be be in the picture. But, more than that............

There are actually three people in the picture. And they are all naked. And they certainly aren't being innocent.

Truly erotic. And yet, at the same time, not.

The sort of picture I love to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as an example of what it will look a little similar to - here is my "Tarse and Queynte in gold" painting - a simple abstract in creams and gold...................

Are ALL galleries like this?

I've been searching around again recently for decent galleries to enable me to show my art to a wider audience. But they seem to be sadly lacking............ somehow. I've been in two privately owned ones recently, in different but affluent parts of the country (Somerset and Cheshire) where there was a definite pattern to the way the visit went...............

I walked into the large and expensive looking gallery with a companion. Two people, who had made the effort of walking through the door. In both cases the person in the gallery was male, and on his own and not at all busy. Very little eye contact was made by the gallery man, even though I made a point on both occasions of trying to make it. We walked around, looking at the pictures, made comments about some and passed over others very quickly. We had opinions, and made them in an informed way. We were in the gallery for more than ten minutes. And at no point did the gallery man come out from behind his desk, at no point did he walk around with us asking what we were interested in, at no point did he try to start any conversation of any kind with us, at no point did he try to sell anything to us. As we left, and thanked him, he quietly acknowledged us. I walked out, feeling that I hadn't been given any "service" from him.

Am I missing something here?

Isn't the gallery there to "sell"? Or at least promote, or to interest people in some way in art?

Why didn't they make any effort? Are all the people who go into a gallery considered "time wasters"? Was it because I didn't look like a *buyer*? Do they work on the thought that if anyone wants to buy a painting, they'll ask?

Was I impressed with each gallery? No. Will I be trying to get my artwork into their gallery? No. Has this increased my faith in galleries? No. Will I still carry on looking at other galleries? Yes. Do I hold out much hope of any success with them? No.

But the day wasn't wasted - not at all. I finally met one of my all time favourite musicians. Busking! in Chester! The minute I turned the corner, and heard the haunting electric violin, I thought "That sounds like Ed Alleyne-Johnson" and sure enough, on closer inspection, it WAS him! WOWWWWWW! WOW! WOWWWW! We joined the crowd of interested onlookers, a silly grin on my face, to actually hear this violinist in real life. I've listened to his music often enough, infact one piece always raises the hairs on the back of my neck - its eerie, and haunting, soaring but with an underlying depth of beat to it - one of my favourite tunes. We stood, and listened and when there was a chance I went up to him and told him I'd been a fan of his for years, he shook my hand and smiled in acknowledgment but had other people clamouring for his attention, so I turned away with a rueful grin, and started back along the street........................until he started playing again.......................the piece that I love so much, the haunting melody of Oxford Suite 1. That stopped me dead in my tracks, and as a person pulled by the magic of his music, I returned to hear it in its entirety. Beautiful!!!!! I had a chance then, to go up to him, smile, and gave him my business card and say"Thankyou for that. I'm an Erotic Artist, and if you're in need of any art, let me know!". He took the card, and I left it at that. There wasn't much else to say, but I knew I wanted to make contact with him, I knew as a creative person how much I like it when someone makes the effort to speak to me and say they like my work. So I wanted to do it for someone I admired too.


And, on a final note for the day, here's the receipt for a meal we had in Chester. It makes me smile everytime I look at it............can you see why......................................:)