Flattery will get you everywhere

So, last month I was asked to participate in a show at the Soda Plant Artists' Collective Environment (S.P.A.C.E) Gallery . It's a gallery that Sweet Enemy, who has shown there many times, and I frequent often. We're now good friends with many of the artists who show and work there.

The show was called "Sweet Tarts" and was an exhibit of pinups and erotic art. Yup. I don't usually do that stuff but, when asked, I oblige. Especially when asked to be in a show by a gallery I respect and among artists I admire.

Did I say 'flattering'? I meant incredibly daunting and quite intimidating. I mean, to do pinup/erotic work to be hung beside such artists as Jme Wheeler and Justin Atherton is intimidating enough. Add to that the fact that I don't do much erotic art and not many pinups recently and it's a definite nerve-fest.

The first one took weeks. Scraping the brain for ideas, then sketch after sketch. A critique, more sketching. Revision of final work, then more sketching. I've got tracing paper bits all over the place; a head here, a leg there all to be traced onto the final piece of Bristol. I finalized the work, then began the next difficult step: remembering how to do ink rendering. I've done lots of line work in the past year but, not much rendering. Boring line work seemed too gauche for my second real gallery show.

The inking too lots of experimentation and two failed attempts.

I was worried because the image is a little risque. Not for the crowd but, for me. For all that I love erotic art I don't do much of it. At least not for public consumption.

So, here you go. My first piece of public erotica (Super Marvel nerds will see a bit of "slash" here. Should I offer a prize?).
Click to make huger

It went over pretty well, I guess.

I say "I guess" because I was a bit to busy hob-nobbing to ask for a proper critique.

There was to be a second piece, a very ambitious second piece. However, it flopped. I'm still not sure if it is because of my abilities, or if the idea just will not work. Put simply, I could not get a workable, let alone interesting, composition going. Two days before the deadline, I started drawing. As time was of the essence, I decided to re-work a piece I did as an art-trade with the fabulous pinup artist Becca: a spacegirl for her Wall of Barbarella. I took six or so hours of sketching the body with another two or so on the face. Then tracing onto Bristol for a three hour inking marathon. No full rendering as there wasn't time.

There also wasn't time for scanning. The ink was still wet Friday night. Saturday night was for drinking nearly too many cocktails with friends. Sunday was for leaving on a plane to D.C. for four days. Sunday was also Delivery day. So, no scan.

 Yet.

So, if you can make it to the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery, please do so. It's a great space fill with great art and artists.

 Listening to while posting: "The End of the World As We Know It" by REM