Women

I am caught like so many, by the beauty of women. All the work I am currently planning involves a beautiful woman. I cannot help myself. This is after all a universal and timeless obsession for artists. Although the work smattered across the pages of art history books is dominated by men painting women, today the female artists of notoriety are often as inthralled by their own forms as their homo and heterosexual male counterparts. The female body is art. It just is. I won't be tiresome and attempt to explain or explore why women embody artwork, let's just accept it as true, and let me say in passing that I am grateful to get to be a part of such a renown gender.

I've always been more interested in drawing women, I think it's because the female form was much more popular in the drawing books I taught myself from, breasts are easier to get published than penises, I suppose, and of course, my own figure was always the most available for study. I've always thrown in the token male figure, some pieces need a yen and a yang, I have even attempted a few pieces with men as the sole subject, but they're pitch has always been a bit flat. the form of a woman inspires me, I identify with what or who I am creating, perhaps. Or perhaps... I don't have a good answer, and I am just tiresome in my justifications. It is tiresome to me. Justification was shoved down everyones throat at school and I'm damn sick of it. I love drawing women just because. It seems to be what I need and desire without any good reason at all. So there.

A note on the subject of men, i.e. a counter argument of the above:

I fine men delicious. I am one straight lady and I am bonafided and certified boy crazy. I love being boy crazy too, I think it's healthy and entertaining. I love to look at men, and I love to take them apart... yes in the emotional way of course, but I'm talking figuratively here... I literally mean figuratively... The male body is fantastic, I am particularly fond of mens hands and forearms, also shoulders. I could look at the male form all day, taking it apart and putting it back together. Muscle structure is always much more wonderful and easy to study on a man. But, perhaps here-in lies the problem... I'm attracted to men, I covet and attach hopes and desires to them. Women seduce me esthetically. Women seduce me the way a beautiful sunset does, only better, because this landscape contains within its gloaming light, innate sex-appeal. Men are more like joyous 2x4's to the back of my head than sunsets... the last thing I'm thinking about while examining the esthetic grace of a mans hand and forearm exposed underneath his cuffed sleeve is drawing it.

Bottom line, I'm going to be drawing women, because they keep inhabiting my ideas, but I haven't given up on getting past my twitterpations and expectations to capture the form of a man, it's a challenge with winning possibilities.

These are some of my current favorite images of women from my reference stash of online finds. Enjoy!

Also, if anything you see here infringes on copyright law it was found on public forums and likewise believed to be for public viewing. Upon notification any copy-righted material will be removed.

Image Credit:

1. Autumn Whitehurst
   
2. Coby Whitmore
   
3. Raphaelite Harpies (credit unknown)
   
4. Nude with spear (credit unknown)
   
5. Amy Adams
   
6. Sylvia Ji
   
7. Kris Lewis
   
8. Chiara
   
9. Jean Giraud
   
10. Tamara de Lempicka
    
11. Tank Girl by Jamie Hewlett
    
12.  Kevin Francis Gray
    
13. Fashion Photograph (credit unknown)
    
14. Harajuku Girl
    
15. Philip Hale
    
16. Adam den Haene
17. Hashiguchi Goyo
    
18. Maggie Gyllenhaal
    
19. Owl Mask (credit unknown)
    
20. Natalie Portman
    
21. Factory worker at realdoll (adult content at this link)
22. Egon Schiele
    
23. Image from: ffffound
    
24. Image from: ffffound
25. Image from: ffffound

The Moth Man

I've found the stories of the Mothman fascinating and only mildly disturbing since I first heard them years ago. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can read more :here: You will probably disagree with me about how disturbing the accounts are, but I look at them as modern day fables. Thinking of them in that way it is easy to apply my own set of ideals, by dedicating a certain amount of hooliganism and hidden morality as derived from fairytales to the mix. (ugh... that was a mouthful I shouldn't blog so late at night.) 

I have read my share of fairy tales. Ones meant for children, adult's, those redesigned by literary geniuses like Angela Carter and those paper backs that fill the fantasy section of your local bookstore. I have read about other horrific and yet strangely majestic moth-folk in these books, the Mezmurden with deadly sweet kisses and hexagonal eyes, and those that will sing you to sleep. I'm into it. 

I'm also into moths just as they come. I've caught a few giant caterpillars in my day, and waited with them through they're secret metamorphosis. Such as the cocoon we kept on out kitchen window sill when I was about 12. We were certain it contained one dead polyphemus moth/caterpillar, but no... when we least expected it... there came a scratching within! Those are the sorts of gifts you can't unwrap yourself. 

Now I am working within my head (mostly) on a piece of artwork dealing with the Mothman. It's been a while in the making, something that has skipped across my consciousness but never come to lie until now. I've done a few sketches, but I'm rethinking the female element and her position which started as standing... There almost always has to be a female element. I can't really tell you why at this point... I just accept it. So, for now more sketches, figure out the pose and then pick a model. Note: this ain't no weird hairy red eyes glow'n kinda Mothman, this is my mothman... and I rarely do anything... ghoulish. I'm more inclined towards the exquisite kind of corps.

I am Interviewed.

the two people discussed in this post.

 

My dear friend hissingfauna the savvy little artistic blogger that she is, has begun a weekly interview (each monday to be exact) of artists and other creatives that she publishes to said blog. I happen to have had the honor of being the popper of her bloggidy interview cherry. Lucky ducky me. No really. Please be so kind as to humor me with at least a little skim through of my witty retorts to her thoughtful questions and if that isn't enough to lure you away from my shiny page onto hers you can check out the rest of her cute blogs as a bonus prize!  Go :here: and do it now! pwees?

Collection of Mouths

The Open Mouth Theme (that has secretly been running through my life for years)

This is just the tip of the ice-burg my friends... the POINTY POINTY TIP!

Images:

1. Some Notes, 6" x 4" (matted 8" x 10") Mixed media, $150

2. Cherubim, 48" x 24" graphite and acrylic on board, $300

3. Better Than Sushi, 14" x 11" Collaboration with tribalbot, mixed media, $500

4. - 6. Various photobooth photos of yours truly over the last year or so.

TEETH! MOUTHS! HATS!

I am really happy with these little sketches I did recently while chill'n and draw'n with some of my favorite friends/artists. I have been collecting any and all images I can find these days on ffffound of open mouths, cat mouths in particular. These hats had been drifting somewhere in my subconscious for awhile, and now wahla! It looks like it's going to be a theme.... or maybe it already has been a theme.... more to come.