Jackie Adshead

The joys of S & M

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:52:00 +0000

Well, I'm ready for it.

I've been a long time getting myself ready for this moment. I've almost forgotten my promise to do it, its been so long. But, a promise, is a promise.

And I so want to do it.

I've been keeping it close to me...............savouring it. This delicious moment. When I take this big step. Into the unknown.

Into S & M.

Or...............more to the point "S" and "M"........

And for those of you who know what I'm referring to - you know I'm talking about the watercolour painting I promised to do for the newly weds - the one of the French village landscape with the letters "S" and "M" hidden within it. Its been so long since I've done a watercolour, I've got to think how I'm going to tackle to style of the painting to get the effect I want. But, I shall love looking how I can hide the letters within the painting. So, they're not easily seen, but can be found by those who know where to look. I love hiding secrets in my work!! And this one is going to be fun!!!!

So, if it looks like its going to have me tied up for a bit........................................ :)

The art of voyeurism

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:05:00 +0000

I've had an interesting conversation recently with a friend regarding the joys of voyeurism - we agreed that watching someone else doing something erotic is very sexy. And that got me to thinking about how I would portray that in a drawing........ Its an interesting concept, and since we all like to look at things that are erotic, we ALL do it to an extent......

So I set my model up in a pose that I thought might portray that thought. I liked the shapes that were formed in the composition, I liked the way the light worked within it, and I liked the idea. And it flowed as I drew it so I knew it was working as a concept within the drawing. And as I drew it, I realised that there was one part of the drawing that TOLD the story, and it isn't the obvious bits. The obvious parts are the way she's looking at herself in the mirror, the nape of neck, the way the open blouse is just starting to fall off her shoulder, the way her hand is near her nipple, almost about to brush it. But all of those are a woman looking at herself in a mirror, women do it all the time, there's nothing particularly erotic about that. No....... its the thigh. The fact that when you look at the thigh, you realise she's sitting on the floor, with her leg agape. And that starts to make you think...................why is she sitting on the floor, why is her leg wide open.............where is the other leg.......................................

And then you learn that the drawing is called "Playing to the audience".

And that makes you think even more.................................

What audience? You wonder. Is it herself, is she about to play with herself infront of the mirror?

Or is there someone watching her? Who could that be? A man? A Woman? A group of men? Or women? Or a mixed group?

Or..........................are ..........you............................ the audience?

Is it...........you......................she's doing it for.....................................?

Mmm....... now that's got you thinking hasn't it...............................!

Don't you feel like a voyeur now.............................?

Have I achieved my aim???!!!!! LOL

The birth of siblings

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:03:00 +0000

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Eternal Quest for Eroticism of the Highest Order

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:07:00 +0000

During some of my interesting discussions with Xanthropy, I am struck by the thought that although I am an Erotic Artist, who paints, amongst other things, erotic art (I’m stating the bleeding obvious here, but bear with me) I am also on a quest to find out what IS the true definition of “Erotic”. Simple, you would think.............. and yet it isn’t. I am constantly on the search for erotic things. But do I become too desensitised from erotic images because I analyse them so much, as its “work” for me. I hope not, but maybe....

Because it is slightly different for each of us, there is no “definitive erotic”, there is only a “specific but mirage erotic”. What on earth do I mean by that? ............Well, as erotic is slightly different for all of us, someone might find one image erotic but someone else won’t, they may find it too tame, or too pornographic for their tastes.

When I talk about “specific but mirage” - erotic IS specific, I could state various specific things that I would find erotic, but it could waver off the erotic in a mirage will-o-the-wisp sort of way, if something else is involved that I don’t find erotic. And sometimes it's actually the background to it that makes it erotic.

For example, the other night in the pub I was standing chatting to Xanthropy and he nodded towards a girl he referred to as “a Paris Hilton lookalike”. I looked over at who he was referring to, and realised I knew her very very slightly although I don’t know her name, I know a little of her background. Xanthropy’s opinion of her was low, because of the outfit she was wearing, plus he thought her too thin, he prefers a more curvaceous woman. My opinion was higher as I knew she wasn’t the tart he took her for. I thought her outfit was stunning, although outrageous in an acceptable way for a nice pub. Certainly she got away with it as she was very slim and young. A fatter or older woman couldn’t have carried it off. You’re now wondering what she was wearing, so I’ll describe it for you. She was wearing a black sleeveless tee shirt, which covered her breasts and came just below her bottom. But over the top of it was a shocking pink very loose singlet that hung down as far as her mid thighs, but because of the low slung design of it she was showing about an inch of pale thigh at the outside of her body between the black top and the pink singlet. She wasn’t showing anything sexual at all. But that little bit of pale thigh was very visible, sometimes a little more depending on how she was moving, and I found it very erotic and thought she looked great. Xanthropy disagreed with me and thought it tacky. I went over to her, she’d had a lot to drink, was in a group of people, and had her boyfriend and mum with her. I told her how much I liked the outfit and she thanked me. Her boyfriend said I was the first to say that to her, and I felt they both appreciated my comment. I went back to stand with Xanthropy and told him that I thought she looked really good. But I think that it was partly because I knew she had her boyfriend with her, (who couldn’t keep his hands off her and the gap in her dress by the way!). She wasn’t on the pull. She was having a nice night out. And for me, that made the outfit acceptable. And sexy. And erotic.

Its frissons of electrifying interest that make things erotic, for me. The odd word, or group of words, a look, an elicit touch, or all of those things put together. There is certainly a deep sensuality about it. I always describe erotic as subtle, and for me it is. Its not quite everything you want, its the chase but its a little held back, its a tease, a waiting, something that increases the wanting, a promise of something delicious and desirable on its way soon..... That’s how erotic is. For me.

It sounds like a Burlesque performance, and maybe it is.

And that’s what I try to draw.

Erotic weekends are good fun

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:28:00 +0000

I've had a really good Erotic Artist weekend starting with interesting conversations in the pub on Friday, followed by a portraits in oils workshop on Saturday and the Guild of Erotic Artists Event day on Sunday. Phew!

The workshop went really well, the tutor who was running it certainly knows his stuff and is laid back in his approach, but full of useful tips for learning how to paint portraits. My painting wasn't finished in the time spent, but I was actually happy with it as an "unfinished" piece. The sitter was a fascinating mix of a woman, she was half Irish and half Pakistani, so had gorgeous bone structure and a delightful personality to go with it. She was very spiritual too, so full of life and vitality, looked many years younger than her true age and was a joy to be around and to paint. Plus an old friend I've not seen for a year or so was there too so it was great to catch up with her again.

Then on Sunday it was the Guild of Erotic Artists Event day, and I’ve not been to one for the last two months, due to various logistical reasons, so it was good to go and catch up with everyone there again.

Since it was a glorious sunny day a few people were sitting around outside chatting when I arrived, and I noted the car park was newly laid with hardcore (are you allowed to say that word in relation to the Erotic world?!) and packed with cars.

I was delighted to see one of the guys as I walked towards the Studios, who always greets me warmly with a hug and bright smile. We exchanged pleasantries, before both deciding we were going inside for a refreshing cup of tea.

And what a transformation, from my last visit! The kitchen area has been revamped and is a lot brighter and more welcoming, and still with the welcoming caterer in attendance to cater to our needs. Another hug with her as I placed my order for a cup of tea and bacon buttie!

The Guild Secretary by then had seen me from across the room and came for another hug and warm greeting, closely followed by his brother with a big bear-hug to outmatch even his brothers!

Then a face appeared that I hadn’t seen for a year, so more grins of greeting and as I said hello to my photographer friend. We always seem to find a lot to talk about so it was good to catch up with him and compare notes about promoting our artwork.

He and I were still chatting as another couple appeared – their happy and smiling faces are always very easy to be around, and we all stood together as the entertainments of the day started, but before that the Guild secretary followed by the other founder member had a few words for the assembled throng. It was the seventh anniversary of the Guild being formed, and as usual they had positive and uplifting words for the members, and was delighted to say that a beautiful cake had been donated by members which would be cut later on in the day, although with all the beautiful decorations on it, it was a shame to cut it! There were various photos in icing sugar of different events that were poignant for the Guild over the last few months, and they were featured on the cake.

Then it was time for the entertainment of the day. The first was by a woman who gave us a brief and informed history of Burlesque before showing us an alluring example of the way to remove stockings as two other girls also removed elbow length gloves. I had a chat with the women later and she was most passionate about her love of Burlesque and the way it seems to be very acceptable and appealing to women.

The next was a delightful surprise, as it was a belly dance by a girl who obviously knew what she was doing. Her outfit was black velvet with silver and diamante detail, and as she shook, shimmied and undulated, the light flashed off her beautiful outfit, adding to the lovely feminine movements of her rounded form as she danced to the beat of the Turkish music.

As if that wasn’t enough entertainment, we were also treated to a model starting almost nude, then being wrapped in black, red and pink pvc bondage tape, the opposite of a strip-tease but most interesting all the same and she certainly seemed to be enjoying it and all the attention she was getting!

Whilst all of this was going on, the body painting artist was intently painting a bra on a woman who wasn’t wearing one! She sat in the heat of the lamp, as he patiently painted every detail for her, and from where I was standing, I had a lovely viewpoint through a gap between one of the barn upright supports and the partition wall, which gave it a real erotic voyeuristic effect. When I mentioned it to him afterwards he said he wished he’d known as he’d have asked someone to photograph it. Its always a delight to talk to him, his lovely laid back style and delicious sense of humour always appeals to me.

I did had a long chat and interesting chat with the smiley couple about being comfortable with body image, and the differences between what women are happy with compared to what men like. We also discussed the different types of clothing that we felt happy with.

Then it was time to cut the cake, and we were all handed large wedges of it, to celebrate the occasion. And very delicious it was too! I was able to catch up with another couple then, who are very supportive of the Guild. He showed me a drawing that he was very enamoured with, and I admired it with him, as we talked about buying and selling art, and I told them about my latest commissions that I’ve been working on for some weeks but are almost complete now. Both of them were most interested to know about them as I described designing and painting my first “Fantasy Willie” acrylic painting on a large canvas, and the “living flame” style of painting that I love to use for painting bodies, with the glazing technique of laying one translucent colour over another letting the colour under it shine through the one on top. They said they’d have a look at my website and blog to see the effect I was talking about.

It’s always interesting to hear what other people are doing in their work, and a delight when others are interested in what we are doing in turn. Late in the afternoon, I had a nice easy chat with the videographer, as I had noted him quietly videoing the various entertainments of the day.

Almost time to go, and I’d taken one of my “Fantasy fanny” canvas’s to hang on the wall but wasn’t sure where it was going to fit with all the new hanging that the Guild secretary has done recently, but he said it would fit in easily and was very appreciative of the bright colours in it as he pointed out where it would probably hang.

Time to go, a quick chat smiles and hugs with everyone who was still there, and off into the late afternoon sunshine with a warm feeling of being with my friends again.

So, all in all, a busy but interesting weekend. I'll tell you about the conversation in the pub at a later date................. :)

Keep going

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:50:00 +0000

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................................ :)

The perfect orgy

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:41:00 +0000

He stood alone at the bar as I walked in. I saw him straight away. He may have been waiting for me, maybe.............

I went over to him, smiling, and said hello, then "Well, how did you get on at the orgy?
He grimaced and said "It was awful!"
"It was?" I wasn't expecting this response, "Why?"
"It was like being at the House of the Grotesques" he said.
"In what way?" I wanted to know, intrigued at his use of words.
"Grossly overweight people, all of them. Loads of tattoos. No teeth! Loads of swearing, Common, really......" He said in a sad sort of way.
I felt sorry for him "But you were so looking forward to it! There must have been SOME redeeming features?"
He didn't need to think about the reply "No", he said, "It was awful, I left early, and as I left, I thought to myself 'thank goodness she didn't come', it was horrible! " looking directly at me.
I looked back at him appraising and said "This is what happens in real life. We all imagine that orgies are going to be fun, full of slim, happy, appealing, co-operative, sexy people doing really erotic things to each other and to us, and the reality just doesn't live up to it". He agreed, looking a little sad.
I looked at him, and spontaneously said:
"I know, lets make up our own orgy! I don't know who you know, so think of a celebrity, who do you fancy inviting?"
He didn't need to think for more than a couple of seconds "Mmm..... not Nicole Kidman, she's too thin, er, I know, Sophia Loren! and Marilyn Monroe, Gina Lollobrigida...........
"And I bet you like Michelle Pfeiffer?" I asked
"Oh, yes!" he said, with a glint in his eye, "And............ Jane Mansfield......! He thought a bit longer as we discussed various names, adding them to the list as he found one he liked. There was a pause. "And ......who are you inviting? he said.
"Ooooh...................... Oh, Orlando Bloom, the guy who played Aragorn in 'Lord of the Rings' the young Paul Newman like he was in 'Cool hand Luke', Robbie Williams, Pierce Brosnan (sigh).............Antonio Banderas "
"I bet you like the young James Garner? And what about Hugh Grant?" he said
"No, not James Garner, but yes, Hugh Grant's ok.And I want to pick some women, too!" I said grinning "That gorgeous woman Rebecca Romijn in the film 'Femme Fatale' and Maria Bello the blonde woman who played the bar owner in the film 'Coyote Ugly' and Stephanie Beacham, and Amanda Burton............"
We warmed to our game, and thought up various celebrities as we talked, then I said "Now we need to pick a venue, where do you think?" He thought for just a moment and said "The large suite of a classy hotel" I nodded and said "Or, a flash hotel by a beach, no better than that, what about a large private country house in its own grounds?" He grinned, and obviously liked that idea! "But, who's going to pay for it all?" he wondered. " I smiled at him and said "A rich Arab sheik will pay for it all, he will sponsor the whole lot, so money is no object!"
"Ok, then" he liked that idea.
"And everyone can arrive in the afternoon before the party starts, and can relax and have a massage before it all starts, and then they can go and view all of my erotic art in a special gallery, just to get them in the mood for later on" I decided.
"And there's got to be a spa bath" he said, and I nodded and added "With a hunky well oiled guy in just a tiny black G-string pouch serving champagne just for everyone who is in the spa". He liked that idea again, and nodded.
"The staff should be scantily dressed" he said. I nodded in agreement and said "Yes, the maids in tiny French maids outfits, and the butler definitely in a smart tuxedo but...." He finished the sentence for me "With the back cut out showing off a tanned back, and taut buttocks!" I agreed, laughing, and picturing it!
"And the food should be served off a 'lady table" I said.
"What's that?" he looked intrigued.
"Its where the table IS a naked woman and the food is served on her, and you help yourself" I said to explain it to him.
"Ah, yes, and it should be served 'no hands' like they do at that restaurant in Singapore, where you sit down to eat and the food is put in your mouth by gorgeous Asian girls"
I'd never heard of that place but agreed that it was indeed the best way - "Soooooo sexy to eat like that, truly erotic! like in the film 'Nine and a half weeks' when Kim Basinger was fed that way whilst she was blind-folded.....MMMmmm................"

We looked at each other, the time had flown, and we'd designed the basics of our orgy, and hadn't even got to the sex part! And our *fantasy orgy* was FAR more sexy and erotic and appealing than the real life that he had experienced, and that's what erotica and erotic art is all about, I'm used to it, its what I do. He and I may have been creating an erotic fantasy, but it was a lot like the way I design a painting for someone. They tell me what they want, and I paint it for them. I take out the warts and unappealing parts, and make the image beautiful. That's my job........ creating beauty away from the mundane..................

So.............................what would you have in your fantasy orgy.......? :)

All together now

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:24:00 +0000

I'd like to thank the kind commentators on my last blog post, at least I have a better understanding of what you all think about me. Its been most interesting for me to find out. I know I know some of you in real life, some of you I don't know so well, but I may know some of your real names as well as your blog names, so I feel I know you as people even if I haven't seen you in real life. I might have only met you once or twice, but I feel that you are all friends, if not friends in the traditional sense of sitting down together with a cup of tea or glass and wine, and sitting chatting together. Communication doesn't need to be face to face to work, or to be understood. Or for a feeling of trust to be there. So, thankyou. I really appreciate it.

I've met some good friends through blogging and certainly through my art. I suppose that's because the people who want me to paint for them, or want to buy my art from me, are on the same wave-length and that's how we become friends. I like that! Very much.

And I suppose that's how I became to have lunch with Stuart and his wife yesterday. We had a really lovely time, he's lively company, full of clever wit and banter. He likes the fact that I drew him naked, and is often quoting things about his nudity and my having seen him like it. It amuses him and makes me smile.

I suppose its all quite normal for me.

And my friend in America and I have been discussing the sex industry in Las Vegas quite happily too this week, talking about the pretty escort girls being advertised but not necessarily the ones that appear at your hotel room when you ring for a prostitute, about nudity in some of the swimming pools, about exotic dancers and call girls.

It all makes for interesting conversation.

So last week I was chatting to a guy in the pub. Someone I've met a couple of times, and who I like chatting with. And he and I were talking about our week and what we've been doing, things and people, the normal stuff. I told him that I had finished painting my first "fantasy willie" and he was interested to hear about it. Then I asked him what he was doing over the weekend. He paused. And quietly said "I've been invited to an orgy". I don't think he was expecting the answer he got from me, it took him aback somewhat. I looked him in the eye and said "How interesting! How did you get involved with that then? Where is it held? How many people are going? Have you been to one before? Can anybody go? What are the rules? Is it gay or just straight? " And he smiled gently and quietly answered my questions. He said at one point " I can't believe I've told you this!" and I smiled and said "Ah, but I'm not giving you the reactions most people would, as I am GENUINELY interested to know all about it!"

And I think it was at that point that he quietly said "Why don't you come with me then?"...............

Post script: I think I must be the only person who, when invited to an orgy, thinks of it as a marvellous business opportunity! The ultimate life-drawing session (presuming I can draw fast enough! LOL ) and the absolutely ideal place for my "fantasy fannies" to hang on the wall!!!! :)

What on earth do you look like?

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:02:00 +0000

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?

One down, one to go!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:40:00 +0000

After all these weeks of working on it, I cay say the magic words - "Its finished!"

There's a good feeling of achievement, of a job well done, of reaching the goals I'd set myself. To produce a picture of Fitzy's "fantasy willie" so that it doesn't look immediately like what it actually is, to paint it as a fun and exciting picture, to put some clever technical details in it so that the eye is tricked into some deception over the subject. And this finished painting is tighter on the design than the working painting that I did, more finely tuned, I think. Plus, it's painted on a large block canvas, so I've painted the four sides as a continuation of the main painting, which means that where ever it hangs, the finished image will look more "padded" than just a flat 2-D image in a frame would.

I love the way that the more I look at it the more I see different shapes within the picture - I can see a bird, a fish, an elephant, an oak leaf, a whale tail, and various letters of the alphabet. I love the flowing lines, the changes of colour, the way the eye wanders over the image and finds interest in the different shapes and contours, the way some of the colours mutate into other colours, the flat colour a good contrast to the softer tones painted thinly on the canvas and letting the white of the canvas below it to shine through. Even though the glazing technique that I've used here is really a watercolour technique, it works well enough on the large canvas and makes the painting more delicate in a way, than just flat colour does. Having said that, this is the most masculine of images, so it needs some good deep colour in the painting too, so that it is strong and powerful, and the areas of black paint certainly help to anchor the lighter colours within the painting. So, I'm really pleased with it. Infact, absolutely delighted with it, and Fitzy is too, so he tells me, so that's two happy bunnies over this painting!!! LOL

And just to make the point, that the colours on the canvas are far stronger and yet more subtle than the image here shows. I think it's the sort of painting you can never tire of - partly for the subject matter, the vibrant colours and flowing shapes within it, and the hidden shapes that appear to each person who views it, in different ways. Fitzy said he could see a fire breathing dragon, and tigers stripes in his first viewing of this picture..... and more images will appear, I'm sure! That's what I love about my pictures, when other images appear to different people.......

So, it's done.

But I haven't finished. Not by a long way.

Because now I can start on the "living flame" picture that Fitzy also wants as a sibling to this one. They will hang together, so the colours need to match and enhance each other. I wanted to paint this one first, as the colour was applied flat in places, so by doing those first I got a good feel to how the canvas and paint react together. All surfaces react in different ways, and different paint does too - watercolours, gouache, acrylic and oils all have different feels to them on the brush, and how they are applied to the surface they sit on, and how absorbent that surface is - whether its watercolour papers, and all of those react in different ways too, board, gesso'd board, and canvas, all of those are different in their surfaces and absorbency, so it made sense to get the "feel" of the paint on the canvas before I started the tricky painting, and the living flame will be a bit tricky as it is created by "glazing" the paint.... in that a transparent colour is applied to the canvas (say pink) , then another translucent colour will be applied over the top (say yellow), allowing the lower colour to shine through the top colour (creating orange, in this example) - its a way of colour mixing on the surface, and is far more interesting to look at than just painting one colour.

So, that's it, one down, another to go! :)

Talking to the magic writers

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:41:00 +0000

I quite enjoyed it, in the end, talking to the writers at Stuarts Magic Attic group. But I'd spent all week writing, re-writing, editing and practising my talk. It was only ten minutes, and in a way it was harder doing ten minutes than a longer time, because there is so much I wanted to say, but had to keep it down to the bare facts. Of course, it helped enormously that Stuart did his talk before mine, as he was an excellent "warm up" guy - being both entertaining and amusing. And that's hard to do - to be funny. And in the right places! But he's clever with words, and that helps.

I hadn't met any of the writers before, and they knew nothing about me or the subject matter of Stuarts or my talk. And I wasn't sure what any of them wrote about until I got there, and had an introductory chat with the woman running the meeting. Most of them were local historians. Ok, then, no problem. And some had never been before. Ok, then, no problem. And the talk wasn't to go over ten minutes, as people start to get bored then. Ok, no problem. What about mentioning erotic art then I asked. Better not, she said. Ok, then, good job I'd decided on a two part talk, the basic promotional one, and the other about the more specific very erotic art. I'll cut the second part, don't want any of them walking out in disgust and being offended.

I went up to the meeting room with Stuart and his wife, and we decided where to sit - I opted for the far end of the room, with a wall behind me, as then I could put my art carrying bag down easier, and also could talk to the room, without having to swivel around to include the people behind me. It was all very informal, with tables laid out in the refectory style, with seats either side. There were about 25 people there, drinking tea and coffee and chatting, and I was told they meet every three months.

Stuart and I settled ourselves in, and I sat conversing with the woman next to me, who I hadn't ever met before but she knew all about my website and the artwork on it because Stuart had told her about it months ago after I'd done the drawings of him and he'd shown them to her. He's a walking advert for me!!

After a few minutes the meeting started, a few points that needed mentioning, then we were introduced as the speakers "Stuart and his friend Jackie". Stuart stood and did his talk. (The gist of it is featured here on my blog). And he entertained them beautifully, and they laughed in all the right places, and he got a rousing round of applause for his efforts. Then it was my turn, I stood, and explained that I was an unusual artist because of all the different types of art I do, so I call myself an erotic artist as it gets me noticed more! I explained what erotic art is, and how I started doing it, I told them I was in two art organisations - Ashby Guild of Artists, and the Guild of Erotic Artists, and that I had sold artwork locally and internationally to Canada, and the USA. I said I was a writer too, in that I write a blog, and told them about my website, and said that if any of them wanted any illustrations done for their books, or a dog portrait doing, for them to contact me, and said I had flyers and business cards to hand out to them all there. That was it - ten minutes! And I got a good round of applause too. Phew!

But that's just the fishing, I suppose. That's the bait thrown out and I never know what sort of interested things I'm going to catch with it...........................

A few people came over to view Stuarts drawings that he keeps in a large folder. He hadn't held them up incase any of them didn't want to view them, someone had joked earlier that he should have had them on the large projection screen behind him!

Then they came to me - the first chap asked me how much it would cost to repaint a print he had of a dog picture, I replied that I'd have to see it to be able to give him a full answer, but yes, it was certainly possible for me to do it for him....

The second chap asked if I would do a talk to his local civic group of 50 or 60 people, maybe next year, and I said I would be interested in doing it.....

The third chap said that Stuarts and my talk were the best thing they'd ever had at the Magic Attic, and that he was a speaker who did two or three talks a week to local groups, on local history. He'd written a few books that he pointed out to me on the shelf at the side of the room, one of the books was about the history of the privy, and he said he knew within five minutes of talking to a group, about which stories he could tell, and which to avoid!!!!!!!! He asked if I was on the WI list of speakers, and I said no, it was only the second talk I'd ever done, but I'd bear it in mind.

And the fourth person was the most interesting for me - she was fascinated with the white on black erotic drawings that I do and asked me if I'd be interested in exhibiting at Burton on Trents library. Yes I would! She said that she would book me straight away, if she could, but because it was erotic, would have to check it out with her colleagues. Ok, that's fine. I can do tasteful and acceptable art for the visitors to the library, it doesn't have to be strongly erotic.

So, ALL good stuff!

And I found them a friendly bunch of people, who made me most welcome. So that was nice too.

And maybe someone is writing a book, and maybe they want some illustrations, and maybe they'll contact me. But at least they know who I am now, and they didn't the day before.......

What sign are you?

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:48:00 +0000

I’m having some roof repairs done at the moment, and there’s nothing like the sight of a fit muscular man wielding his large hammer to stir the blood....... unless its two of them!

It also struck me, whilst I was idling watching the men working on the roof (as you do!) that this is the ideal time to do something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time................... MMm.... Oh Yessssss.......... !!! :)

So whilst handing over steaming cups of builders tea I gently broached the question to them ..... smiling at the handsome one I asked “Can I ask a favour of you?” “Do you want to draw us then, Jackie? he smiled back. “No” I grinned, as I know he knows I’m an Erotic Artist. “Do you want to tie us up then? “ he asked somewhat hopefully. “No” I grinned even more, whilst considering the possibility........ “It’s something else. Do you think you can put this up for me?” I said nodding at the contraption in my hand. He took a step closer and it off me and looked intently at it, turning it over in his strong hands.... “Yes, I think so” he grinned. And I grinned back, looking him straight in the eye, and thanked him appreciatively. “Can I have it up there” I said, pointing. He followed my gaze slowly, and agreed with a knowing smile, and I thanked him again.

I looked at him, and smiling even more and said “You know that I’m an Erotic Artist?” and he nodded, grinning. “Well don’t you think it’s really appropriate, that you’ll find me under the sign of the Golden Cock?” And he roared with laughter as we walked off.......... in separate directions.

There's a pattern here

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Well, as expected, I sold no paintings at the exhibition at the weekend. And don't think I'm being depressingly negative, and I'm certainly not defeatist, and never a pessimist..... You see, the majority of the paintings sold were at the lower end of the market, price wise, since it was a "village hall" exhibition. And I know my paintings aren't cheap, but they are quality, and I rarely sell at that exhibition. Its the way it is! I've had endless conversations over the years as to the whys and wherefores of why people don't buy a lot at little exhibitions, and there is no set reason for it. But there is a pattern, in a way. People who go to those sort of exhibitions are looking for "cheap art" - something pink and floral for the hall, something with a boat in it for the living room, some watercolour of a garden, or of cute children, or a still life, they aren't looking for anything "specific" and they aren't looking for a specific artist, they're looking for a nice day out, a walk in the countryside, a quick look at the art exhibition, a cup of tea and a piece of cake, and to be entertained on a bank holiday weekend. They are not serious art buyers, they are just..................people. Nothing wrong with any of that, nothing at all. But I never seem to fill that category, somehow. I never have. I do fill part of that criteria, I can paint pretty pictures of still lifes (the shell painting I did last weekend, being a case in point!). But my prices are too expensive for village hall buyers, I think. I know if I put a price of below £60 on my art, I'd probably sell it, easily.

But I don't want to.

I value my art too much for that.

And listening to other people, who comment on my art, they do too.

Because cheap art, in a way, demeans the other art that that artist does. And I don't do cheap art. I don't do very expensive art, either! :) I think my prices are right for the place I am in, as an artist. For the commissions I do. And I would far rather paint a commission. And that is what makes me unusual for a lot of artists, as I LIKE painting commissions. I like people to ask me to paint a favourite subject in a certain way. Because they get just what they want, and I don't paint "best guess" paintings for little exhibitions, put a lot of hours in in creating the work, setting up the exhibition, spend time stewarding it, and helping taking it down afterwards, for no sales.

But, I also know that that isn't the main reason for exhibiting. It is, to state the bleeding obvious, an "exhibition" of paintings. It is a place to show other people what I can do. What I'm capable of. And that's why, it looks like I might be getting a commission from it, for a dog portrait. If the chap contacts me, as per the received message from a third party. It sounded quite hopeful though! LOL

So, the exhibition wasn't a waste of time. And it follows the pattern, as much as I've found, from previous exhibitions! :)

On and off the wall

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 22 May 2009 14:29:00 +0000

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! :)

Please don't touch that

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:50:00 +0000

I wasn't *greatly* looking forward to the still life in watercolour workshop last weekend, as I always think still life is a little uninteresting, no matter how well its painted, but I still went along, and was happy to attend......

It was mostly women there on the day, which is understandable, as I think still life does tend to be quite a feminine thing on the whole, pictures of flowers, or fruit, or jugs and bottles, are very peaceful objects to paint and enjoy looking at. The tutor had chosen a cut glass bowl filled with licorice allsorts to paint, on a white linen tablecloth, a difficult task to capture on both the cut glass aspect and the white linen cloth. She didn't finish the picture, but at least we were able to start to see how the beginning of her painting began. Then it was our turn to put paint to paper. We'd all been given the chance to take our own still life objects to paint, which I thought was a good idea and meant we could paint the objects that interested us most. A few had taken flowers, one woman had taken balls of wool and some knitting (to paint, I hasten to add, not to knit with!), and the majority had bottles and vases to paint. But I'd chosen something a little different, I'd taken some sea shells, picked up on various beaches in Devon and Cornwall on long distant half remembered holidays. I like shells. I like the intricate shapes, the pretty colours, the rough outer shell as opposed to the translucent inner parts where the sea creature lived, the gorgeous beauty and sense of natural history attached to them. So shells it was, for me.

I started by picking the shells that interested me for colour or shape and laid them out in a composition that pleased me, noting the negative shapes next to the positive shapes of the shells, and liking the formation of the design I was making..................... then I started drawing it out, and made sure I was happy with my design on the paper before I did any painting. We stopped for lunch then, and I sat and ate my ham sandwiches, chatting with my friends as we ate. It was as I returned to my table, that I found the woman at the next table peering over my shells and bending down for a closer look. "What sort of shells are those?" she asked "I don't know" I replied and she bent even closer and asked me if the flat shell was the same as the rounded one next to it, I wasn't sure if this was a trick question, since shells are always the same symmetrical shape................ and then, she did an astounding thing..................she lent forward........ and I could tell my her body language what she was about to do "PLEASE DON'T touch them!" I said urgently, and she drew her hand back, at my words. I couldn't believe she was just about to touch my STILL life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The whole point of it, is that it DOESN'T move!!!!!! Especially after I'd drawn it all out and was just about to start painting, it doesn't bloody move!!!! Rule one, of doing a still life workshop, don't touch anyone else's still life, and be careful as you walk past the tables, incase you barge into the table and knock it, inadvertently rearranging all the oranges and apples, flowers and feathers onto the floor!

So, on to the painting, and I decided to do a wet wash to start, to get some background in, and pull the image together before I started on the tiny details in the shells, and as I did the wet wash, I had that lovely piece of serendipity, as the paint wove its magic on the paper, it created the lovely wet beach effect before me - sand and water, light and shadows appeared, so it was easy enough to paint the shells afterwards, to pick up the contours of the shells, their shapes, and patterning, the way they sat together, the depth and form of them, and how they related to the shells around them, and the beach they were sitting on, and as I painted, and the afternoon wore on, I got more and more positive and admiring comments from the people around me, for the effect I'd created in my still life. Its got a life. It may be still, but it told a bit of a story, of the way the shells had been collected together on the beach, for their interest and natural beauty. I had to do a bit more work on it when I got home, but it all came together nicely. I've called the painting "Beach treasures" as that's what I think they are................. and I really love my still life, after all!!! LOL

Beyond infinity

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:16:00 +0000

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Behold - a Tarse!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:56:00 +0000

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

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

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

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

So, what do you think?

Teaching teacher

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:25:00 +0000

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! :)

What makes a price a price?

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:52:00 +0000

I've updated my website with a few new images recently and decided I ought to put the prices on the paintings that are for sale on it. Because no one is going to buy them without a price on them are they? LOL Even though a lot of the artwork there is in private collections, some in distant lands across the seas, I want to display them as an example of the sort of artwork I do and am capable of. People often see something they like there and say "Can you paint me like that one there" (but not the dog pictures, I hasten to add, before I get into trouble! LOL ) If I only put the "for sale" art up, it wouldn't be half as interesting (I think, but then I'm biased!) as it currently is........but the thing that struck me as I looked at the prices on my website is the difference in some of them. How can I have some artwork at less than a £100 next to art in the high hundreds? And I wondered if others would think the same and think that the balance of prices is uneven. But it isn't. Its very fair. The low prices are due to the artwork being either a lot easier (by comparison) or older artwork that was completed some years ago, and hasn't sold yet. Newer artwork WILL be more expensive. The more famous an artist gets, the higher the prices go. Its the way of art. So I'm not planning on my art prices going down. Infact I'm working hard on them going UP.

As well as the regular art on my website, I now have a "special offers" page. Its the page where the art is *currently* under £100. Now, that's got to be affordable, hasn't it? The artwork there may be working drawings, or practice pieces, but its still art. And some of it may appeal to you.... go and take a look and see what you think......................

I've also got the Guild of Erotic Artists volume 2 book for sale there too... for anyone who wants to buy one.... its a beautiful book, in which I am featured alongside 31 of The Guild's artists, photographers and sculptors. Each person has six pages detailing their work and the background behind their skills. Approximately A4 size, this beautiful 200 page limited edition paperback has been written, produced and published by The Guild of Erotic Artists. Whether you are interested in erotica, photography, or figurative art, this book has great appeal. With a run of just 5,000 copies, the book is a Limited Edition - a collector's item and an ideal present. Copies bought from me can be signed on request.Price £22.99 plus postage and packing.

So, I think what I'm saying here is, if you see some art you like on my website, that has a price on it that you like, contact me, before it goes..........

Horsing around

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Fitzy knew when we agreed the two paintings that I'm currently doing for him that if I had other deadline commissions, that they would take precedence over the timing for his artwork, and was happy with that possibility. The only reason I said it was because I knew the artwork that I'm doing for Fitzy is going to take a while to paint, as I'm having to do two working paintings before I start the two canvas's proper. And, sure enough, soon after I started work, I was asked to paint a picture for a birthday in May, so I've got a deadline, just as I predicted! LOL

The painting in question is totally different to the ones I'm doing for Fitzy, as it's Elliot. And Elliot is a bit different to Fitzy. He has lovely long black hair, he has brown eyes, a bit of a beard, long nose, big ears, and four feet. Well, hooves really. Because Elliot is............ a horse. I met him a couple of weeks ago when I was asked to go and see him and take photos for the portrait I'm doing of him. I duly went along at the arranged time, feeding time infact, as that was deemed the part of the day when he was more likely to be amenable to a stranger taking photos of his best side. Of course, he was curious to start with, but soon got bored of the tiresome task of having to lift his head AND look intelligent AND look the right way AND have his ears forward AND not be eating whilst he was doing it. So he kept wandering off. The back end of a horse is not that photogenic, so I had to get to the right end, rather than the wrong end, and try to photograph him in the the right light, with all the aforementioned posing involved too!

I've NEVER taken so many photos of one thing before. Photo. Photo. Photo. Photo...........Photo. Photo...............

After taking endless shots I thought at least a few of them would be right, but on getting home I found that only one fit the criteria of him looking around, with ears forward, looking curious and friendly, not eating, not side on, and not full on. Phew. Do all super models have this problem, I wonder? LOL

Well, no matter, one photo was all I needed. And that is what I've been working from, and this is the painting I've done, in acrylic on line and wash board. Acrylics are the best thing to use for animal portraits, as you can build up the light hairs on dark background, dark hairs on light background that is the animal. And that is how you get the character of the animal too. I think I've got a good likeness to Elliot, I just hope the person who is receiving this as a birthday present thinks so too.................... She's not seen it yet. The bit I like best, is the bit of flicked paint around his mane, that makes him look like he's moving a bit, and the white blow of air below his mouth, that makes him look alive. Well, the intelligent eyes, the right shape for a horses head, the colours, the nuances of tone of his hair all help too of course!!!!! LOL

It works!

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 09:57:00 +0000

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.

Playing with abstraction

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:20:00 +0000

These abstracts are paintings I did at the end of last year but I thought you'd like to see them, since I'm in the process of putting them on my website. They are all an exploration onto shape and colour and all have something interesting going on within the painting I think.

The first one is called "Distraught" and is a study in the primary colours – blue, red and yellow as they show a prone woman, her head buried in her arms, as she hides her face and her body merges into the shadows around her which then become part of the pure whiteness surrounding her. There is hope for her though, as the colour in her skin depicts life and vibrancy in yellow and orange, and the underlying red of passion.

The second one is called "Camouflage" and is an interesting interplay of elongated shapes as the long female form merges into the background. Although the tones are all of the same mid-tone, the female form is still distinct against the background, and the rounded lines add to her shape rather than detracting from it. Strong colour makes this a visual feast.

The third one is called "Black jacket" and is an abstract showing a woman naked except for a black jacket, the bright colours of her body making a jig-saw of colour and tone, creating interest for the eye as it picks out the body shape against the background shapes.

The fourth one is called "Interplay" and is an abstract of a naked woman sitting upright, the tones depicted by bright colour and strongly defined shape. The white spots of paint showing the line of light along the body.

Painting sensual sound

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:29:00 +0000

Can you paint a sound? I can. I know, because I did it yesterday! I attended an art workshop, and all I knew was it was going to be "landscape in mixed media". Sounds quite exciting. But I was wrong........................... It was VERY exciting!!!

The woman who ran the day workshop was very arty, and creative, and inspiring. She does very vibrant and brightly coloured landscapes using virtually everything that she can, to create her works of art - watercolour paint, acrylic paint, oil pastel, soft pastel, acrylic inks, dried ink, pens, brushes, and collage made from patterns she's created on paper and tissue paper to add texture to her work. So a messy day then! YAY! I can always tell if its been a good art day if I go home with blue fingers! LOL

To start the workshop, we were asked to draw basic shapes in specific colours, a black triangle, a green rectangle, yellow circle, orange swirl, blue oval,red square. And then to say what we thought of the colour and how it related to the shape. For instance, the green was considered calming but the shape of the rectangle was strong and rigid so they were giving conflicting signals, the yellow circle was happy, the black triangle was menacing, and the red being the colour of passion but a square isn't passionate as the lines are too straight. I preferred the orange swirl both for colour and for a shape.

So we had learnt that you have to consider colour AND shape and the message you want to convey by using particular combinations of them.

Next we had to paint sound. And what an interesting concept that is! We were played seven short extracts of music, one at a time, first to listen to the piece and imagine the colours, then to hear it again and paint the colours. I loved doing this! I closed my eyes as I listened to the first extract, so that I was closing off my visual sense, and concentrating on my hearing sense. As I listened to the first piece by Debussy, the soft strains of gentle music filled the room, and I could see pale greens, pale blues, light yellow and pale pink, and that's what I painted - no specific shapes, just abstract shapes and colour. The next piece was by "Afro Celts" and was staccato in sound, with strong rhythm and beat, and I could see bright red dots and orange zigzags. For a gentle piece by Wagner I could see the palest pinks, oranges and yellows with a slightly darker pink floating over it, and for "Bulgarian voices" I could see strong vibrant red and orange and deep purple vertical lines, rising up. Beautiful! and a lovely experience to depict them all. But, I asked the tutor, why hadn't she played us some punk, some rock, and some metallica? She thought I was joking, but I was quick to reply that I wasn't! And told her that I paint to rock and dance music, and music with a strong beat, to help me paint and move on with ideas and concepts, painting techniques and dynamic action! It helps me immensely.

Then we got to the "play" stage where we added paint and water to paper, made prints from acrylic paint applied to ceramic tiles and the paper pressed to it for interesting effects and patterns. We all loved doing that, and it was at that stage that I realised that we were all women of varying ages there, and the workshop was run by a woman. I asked then if the tutor has men on her course, because its very rare for me to attend a workshop that hasn't got ANY men on it (and I've been to many!). She said that men were usually bemused by her workshops. I can see why! I think men would find it difficult, as I think a man artist would look at a colour and try to emulate it in paint, whereas the workshop was more focused on what colour do you "feel" or "hear" than "just" see. An interesting concept, and certainly one that would relate to the more sensual painter I think - like a woman Erotic Artist, for instance!!!!! LOL

After lunch, we started our paintings, using the techniques we'd learnt earlier. Some workshops I go home at the end of the day with a finished piece of art, but this wasn't one of those days. Today was a learning day, to be creative, and try different ways of producing art. I used the patterned paper I'd made earlier to add texture in collage to my painting, I used acrylic ink to create swirls of shape, I used oil pastel to make a "wax resist" to the acrylic paint, I used pastel to make texture on top of the paint, and I went home without a finished painting, but with a lot more knowledge learnt, and with blue fingers!

Decision made whilst injured

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:06:00 +0000

I've been working diligently on Fitzys painting, and am delighted that the second working painting is progressing well now I've worked out more or less what I need to do.......! It helps!!!!! LOL It still needs some more work doing on it but at least its going positively in the right direction!

I've not shown you a drawing for a while, and thought I'd show you my latest. I love these white on black images and think this one works particularly well. I had decided that I'd draw my usual model in a wide brimmed hat, and she was still wearing her black bra whilst we were deciding on poses. I liked the basis of the pose but felt it needed a bit of something else, and with the addition of a long scarf, this was it!!!! I loved the pose the instant I saw it - lots of lovely strong diagonals, her face in shadow under the wide brim, her hands on her hips in a defiant pose, and lots of white flesh peeping out from under the clothing, with enough black clothing and shadows to add a lot of interest..................The picture works really well and I really do love it! As for the title, I felt that she was thinking about something with her head held down and her hands on her hips and that she had reached a decision regarding it, and this was what lead to the title - "Decision made" - as to whether the decision was to her choice of clothing at that moment in time, or a deeper and more profound problem, that's for you to decide................

And I think this picture is even more special considering I was injured whilst I drew it!!! I'd burnt my finger just before I was starting to draw and the best thing I was taught for a small burn is bicarbonate of soda held against the damaged skin. This isn't easy when its a finger on your drawing hand and your model has turned up ready for a drawing session! She watched incredulously as I covered half a tissue in the bicarb of soda, wrapped it around my poorly digit and bandaged it up with plasters to keep the whole thing in place. I let her get away with the hysterical laughing at my plight, since it wasn't a bad burn.

My fingers fine now, so the treatment worked! As did the picture. And as is Fitzy's painting. Yay, a hat trick! Yes, I know......................... a pun!!!!!!! :)

How can one little word do SO much damage

noreply@blogger.com (Jackie Adshead) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:43:00 +0000

This is my 222nd blog post! A pretty number, I think............ if you can have pretty numbers! LOL

I saw the bride and groom over the weekend. It was good to see them again, as the last time was on their actual wedding day. Two years ago. My wedding present to them at that time, was a painting. *Any* painting of their choice. Erotic or non erotic. Landscape, portrait, watercolours oils, fantasy fanny and willie, anything! Up until this weekend they had not made a decision, and I was beginning to think they never would. Everytime I saw the brides parents, which is very often as they are good friends of mine, I would ask if they had made a decision, and the answer was always "No, not yet!". Ok. I'll just quietly forget about it then, although I was looking forward to painting whatever they wanted...............

But now, they have made the decision! Fanfare of trumpets in the background, and bring on the dancing girls!, YAY! And they were able to tell me and show me at the weekend. Lovely. They want a landscape of a place that is very special to them, and which I have also been to and love almost as much as they do. Its a small quiet village in rural France and they want a view of it, done in traditional watercolours. Ok, no problem. The scene is taken from a high vantage point, there will be the tiny village in the valley below with the mountains behind, and some sky. Nice picture. And as we discussed sizes, styles, colours etc I asked nonchalantly if they wanted any secret messages put within the painting - an erotic couple, or something that was special to them, to make it especially their painting. They thought for a bit, and decided that the best thing to put in would be their initials. Good idea. Ah, but here lies the problem....................... They had the same problem with their wedding invites. Their initials are "M" and "S" and the bride said to her mother at the time of sorting out the wedding invites "Well, we CAN'T have "M and S" entwined on the front of the invites. "No", agreed her mother, as anyone in England would think of the shop"Marks and Spencer". "And we CERTAINLY can't have "S and M!!!!!!!" said the bride to be. "Why ever not?" asked her mother. Pause from the daughter...........who then found herself explaining to her mother what "S and M" stood for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her mother listened in disbelief, and said "I'm going to ask your father if he's heard of it........." and went off in search of her husband! As the bride told me this tale on Sunday (whilst her mother was out of the room!) I was laughing my socks off!!!! Ok, then, we'll make it an "S" and we'll have an "M" somewhere else in the painting and no "&"..........................ANYWHERE!!!!!! LMAO