My Work & Playlist Top 10 - March 2, 2012

TW	LW	WKS	TITLE / ARTIST
1	2	12	“Something's Going On” (1 Week at #1)      September
2	4	6	“Too Good To Lose (Seamus Haji Mix)”     Rebecca Ferguson
3	1	8	“Shed My Skin” (1 Week at #1)     Therese
4	3	6	“Levels”     Avicii featuring Etta James
5	10	5	“Magic”     Sophie Ellis-Bextor
6	5	7	“Drunk (Lazy Jay's Wasted In London Mix)” (2 Weeks at #1)      Ed Sheeran
7	8	7	“Young Professionals”     The Young Professionals
8	14	5	“Together”     Patrick Wolf
9	9	11	“Don't You Want Me (Matt Pop 30th Anniv. Mix)” (2 Weeks at #1)      Human League
10	21	3	“Like a Robot”     Aqua

New Release: "Bed"

Some look forward to cool crisp sheets, while others prefer a snuggley warm blanket. Either way it's our spot for total relaxation of both body and mind. Our most intimate place where we're at our most unguarded, our most vulnerable. And where we become the closest we can be to another person, when we invite them to share our bed.

The original is on consignment with the Lyman-Eyer Gallery. While it is available for purchase, it cannot be delivered until after my solo exhibit in Provincetown this summer.

Limited edition Gallery and Studio prints are available directly through BREYETTE.COM at the special first day price through midnight ET tomorrow.  

on the drawing board: double teamed

I hardly ever work on more than one piece at a time.  Even when I do pieces that are part of a series, I may have the general idea of what I plan to do for each one, but that is about as far as it goes.  They don't even get to my refined sketch, which is what comes before I get out the pastel paper.   So it will be interesting for me to see how these two progress.  I think one of the reasons I've avoided doing more than one at a time is that I'm afraid I may lose interest in one if I have something else to do.  My head might be in a completely different place by the time I can get back to it and I'll scrap it and come up with something else.

New Release: "Encounter"

Living in the steamy heat of the jungle, among the animals and abundant flora, he is in his element, free and wild. To them, however, he is a curiosity, a strange one, a misfit. But now one of them is here in his world, and it's them who are out of place, them who don't fit in, who he has encountered and who is need of his help.

While the original is available for purchase through the Lyman-Eyer Gallery, as part of my solo exhibit in Provincetown later this Summer it cannot be delivered until after the show.

Limited edition Gallery and Studio prints are available directly through BREYETTE.COM at the Special First Day Price through Midnight ET tomorrow.  

on the drawing board: dudes in distress

I am just realizing the similar theme of 'dudes in distress' in this and my last piece, 'Deep Blue'.  In both cases it seems to be the 'regular' guy who needs a bit of help from the misfit/outcast character, the guy who lives in the jungle or the merman who lives in the sea.  They also seem to say, 'to you I may seem strange, but in my world I am the one who belongs and you don't fit in.'

Steve Walker 1961-2012

He may have not been a mainstream household name, but within the gay community any guy with eyes most likely knows the name or has seen the art of Steve Walker. 

Before I began putting my own work on display (around 1999-2000) I really had little knowledge or even much awareness about, the 'gay art' genre. I of course had seen gay themed paintings and illustrations but didn't know the names of the artists or anything about them.

That quickly changed, and Steve Walker was perhaps the first artist whose name and work I began to easily recognize.  I am sure that was partly due to the immense popularity of his work.  But I was also drawn to him because, while his work was gay themed it was not first and foremost about sex (not that there is anything wrong with that).  His work spoke about the emotions, relationships, and social aspects of being homosexual, and that's something I, along with countless fans of his work, identified with. 

From the beginning of my career I've gotten comments comparing my work to his, which I've always taken as an honor.  While I see all the differences in our art, just the fact that people saw qualities in my work that caused them to compare it to the most well known contemporary artist of the genre was and is humbling.

Years later when my work was picked up and represented by a gallery (Lyman-Eyer of Provincetown) that also carried Steve Walker's, it was definitely a benchmark moment for me. 

 

When I got the news a month ago that Steve Walker had died at a mere 50 years old, I was saddened, stunned and in disbelief.  I guess in the back of my mind, since we brushed along the same circles, that one day I'd get to meet him in person, thank him for inspiring me as an artist and in my life, talk technique with him, and commiserate about the social anxiety of gallery openings. From all your fans, thank you for the gifts you have given us, you will be greatly missed

 ***

The popularity and significance of Steve Walkers work and can be best illustrated in the context of time. While the gay rights movement began in earnest in the 1960's and 70's it wasn't until the AIDS crisis in the 1980's forced the closet door open and society could no longer ignore their gay brothers and sisters or dismiss them as the flamboyant fringe that marched in big city parades.  By the 1990's there was no denying us.  More and more they became aware that we were their neighbors in suburbia, their mailman and mechanic, their aunts and uncles.  Steve, through his own personal perspective, held up his art like a mirror to this quickly growing out and proud segment of society.  It wasn't just that his work resonated within the gay community, it was that he also showed those who regarded being gay as 'just about sex', that we care, love, cry, and dream just like everyone else.  Over the years he constantly managed to capture our lives on his canvas.

   

    

on the drawing board: go figure

Even though I like to work on my figures first, when or before I work on my figures I try to fill in the background area around them.  This way I won't smudge too much of the work I've done on the figure when I finger blend elements in the background. When I have a background like this though, a bunch of random plants for example, and I'm referencing several different jungle photos, I don't have a specific plan and am just making it up as I go along.  This slows my work on the figure down while I 'work out' what I'm gonna do with the backdrop.

My Work & Playlist Top 10 - February 3, 2012

TW	LW	WKS	TITLE / ARTIST
	1	7	“Don't You Want Me (Matt Pop 30th Anniversary Mix)” (2 Weeks at #1) Human League
	3	3	“Drunk (Lazy Jay's Wasted In London Mix)” Ed Sheeran
	4	5	“Shake It Out” Florence & The Machine
	2	6	“Seek Bromance (Avicii Vocal Edit)” Tim Berg
	6	3	“Young Professionals” The Young Professionals
	7	8	“Something's Going On” September
	5	8	“Playmate To Jesus” (2 Weeks at #1) Aqua
	10	4	“The Sea” Melanie C
	20	9	“I Die For You Today” Alphaville
	19	6	“What Can We Do (A Deeper Love)” Tiesto featuring Anastacia

on the drawing board: wild man

I only find long hair on guys flattering in certain instances.  If it's too styled it just seems too feminine, if it's not styled at all it seems shaggy and dirty.  But a long length on the right guy can look pretty sexy.

on the drawing board: jungle love

Just a little peek at my next piece, think 'hot and steamy'. :-)