HELLO LADY!

I took some time recently to create a T-shirt graphic for Elvis Duran and the Morning Show's annual T-shirt contest to support breast cancer awareness month.  I wanted to create something last year for the annual contest, but before I knew it the entry period had come and gone.  But not THIS year!

Along with some basic common sense no-nos, according to the radio station’s website, the only requirement was:
"We are looking for an original and creative T-Shirt design that embodies the playful nature of our show’s signature saying “HELLO LADY” in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
The winner will have his or her design printed on an Elvis Duran and the Morning Show t-shirt, be featured on ElvisDuran.com and awarded $500."

The show’s signature saying, “Hello Lady”, comes from Elvis Duran’s dear friend “Uncle Johnny” who is an older gentleman and still works as a bartender during the Summer months at Cherry’s bar on New York’s Fire Island.  So, can you imagine just how campy that saying gets when flamboyant Uncle Johnny says: “Hello Lady!!”

Nutcrackers Christmas Card

Also known as “A Very German Christmas”, this design was created in 1998.  All of my nutcrackers and smokers (rauchermann) are wood, hand painted and were made in Germany.  They are either very traditional (like the two kings; one wearing the red coat while the other decked in blue) or very beautifully unique (like the snowman nutcracker).  Many of these beautiful nutcrackers were given to me over the years by my mother, usually as a very special Christmas gift.

I do have a small collection of smokers (rauchermann).  Essentially these are incense burners in the form of pipe smoking everyday figures.  The Santa Claus was one of the first smokers given to me by my mother.  While the three nutcrackers are colored accurately, the Santa Claus is not.  The original is lightly stained in muted Earth tones.  The red of Santa’s coat is more like a brick red “barely-there” wood stain.  The white is more like a white-wash, hit-or-miss in its opacity and coverage.  I used artistic license to re-color the Santa smoker so he was visually similarly to the three nutcrackers, keeping consistent color harmony. 

These sentimental items are not only beautiful works of art rich in history and tradition, but they also hold treasured memories for me.

I really loved the previous Christmas cards, but I wanted more color.  As a result, this card was printed two up on 8.5 x 11 inch paper using a color copier.  The printed paper was then mounted to 8.5 x 11 inch twin-tack (double stick adhesive paper, similar to double stick tape, but paper…not tape) and each illustration was cut from the paper and applied (peel and stick) to a blank card. 

The original artwork was created using the same technique as my erotic pieces.  Black India ink line work painted then photographed using a stat camera.  The black and clear acetate of the painted line work was then used as a guide for “painting-between-the –lines” to produce the multi-colored Nutcracker Christmas card.  

Scruff

“Scruff” is definitely a favorite of mine.  It’s a favorite because I love faces, especially handsome ones.  Beautiful bodies are great, but there is something about a stunningly handsome face that can stop us in our tracks.  That iconic look, like Pete Kuzak’s look, takes your breath away.  Well, it takes my breath away.  Striking facial features, like those of Kellan Lutz, Jason Statham, Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Worthington, Matthew Fox, Shemar Moore, Bradley Cooper, Cameron Mathison, Rock Hudson, Marlon Brando and John Gavin are the fantasies of wet dreams.

While “Scruff” does not look exactly like the model, it does resemble him.  Because my work is stylized and graphic, it makes portraiture less convincing, to some.  I hope to get better, with practice and time, at creating more accurate or convincing portraits.  That being said, I think capturing the likeness of someone’s face is one of the most difficult tasks an artist can take on. 

“Scruff” was drawn and inked back in the mid 1990s.  It has been updated for the blog, with the color applied using Photoshop.  Back then it was painted with gouache and the line work was, of course, India ink.  The updated Photoshop coloring is very similar to the color feeling from the mid 1990s.  The major design changes are: the dot pattern over the blue field was added as was the stripe pattern on the seafoam green field.  These patterns were added because I felt the piece was lacking.  It looked boring.  It definitely needed some activity in the background, but not too much to take away from the model’s face.  While the 1990s piece did have very dense facial hair, I added additional scruff creating a soon-to-be-completed goatee.  I also revised his lips some, making them fuller.  I think a man’s lips can be one of the sexiest features on his face.

Gay Pride

“Gay Pride” is another hybrid creation that was started back in the mid 1990’s.  Like all the other works I created then, “Gay Pride” was painted using fine Sable hair brushes and India ink.  I did complete this piece in full color using gouache, but in order to update the work for the blog, I re-colored it using Photoshop.  I stayed true to the original gouache coloring, but using all the Photoshop bells and whistles is certainly a lot more fun than using paints and brushes.  Sorry traditionalists, I still love to sketch and draw using pencil and paper, but applying flat color to my graphic works is easier, faster and more fun using digital means.

While my model did not pose nude for me, that didn’t mean I couldn’t make him naked in my mind.  I did ask him to poses in certain ways knowing I was going to make it a nude illustration.  He was aware of my intentions, he just didn’t want naked pics of him floating around.  And I don’t blame him.  I wouldn’t want naked photos of me out there…even if I looked as good as him! 

Gay Games

In June of 1994, the Gay Games came to New York City.  I had been shopping my illustrations around to the various gay publications, so some of the art directors knew my name and the style of my work.  I was asked to donate as many illustrations as I would like to “The Official Guide to all Gay Games IV & Cultural Festival Events”.  The black and white spot illustrations were divided between another illustrator and myself.  I was honored to have been asked.  I was even more honored to have my work appear alongside the other artist’s work, as he was very talented and very well known.  Each illustration was credited to the artist and had the potential to be seen by many, both locals and tourists. 

My spot illustrations were used for the following activities: country & western dance competition, flag football, diving, comedy performances and music.

Vested

“Vested” is also a hybrid design.  All the black line work was completed in the mid 1990’s using India ink and a fine triple zero Sable hair paint brush.  The black and white artwork was scanned and the color was added recently using Adobe Photoshop.  Not all the artwork generated from that session with the model was taken past the black line work stage.  As I said, “Vested” was black and white until recently, but I always knew I wanted the vest to resemble the American flag with rainbow stripes.  I actually like the creativity behind the modification of the American flag into becoming the gay American flag.  It’s creative and I guess this is my homage to the person who originally came up with that idea. 

The next several artwork posts will be the results of my photographs from the session with the model.  All the photos came out great; however, all the poses were not that good.  The model did a great job and so did the camera.  And at the time of the photo session, the poses seemed “cool” and “very interesting”.  Well, they were a little too interesting; as I felt I could only use a handful of the photos. 

The Sweat Shop

It’s baffling how challenging it was finding a model back in the early 1990’s.  I was living in North Jersey, working in Manhattan and it was still difficult.  You might think gay men would jump at the opportunity to take their clothes off, be paid for it and do nothing more than be photographed, right?!  Not the case.  I took advertisements out in all the Manhattan gay weekly publications and had flyers hung at the gayborhood gyms, which turned out very disappointing results.  Where were all the good looking men who would lose their clothes in a New York minute??

After receiving one disappointing submission after another, I was literally wiped out, frustrated and ready to throw in the towel.  Some submissions had amazing bodies, but not such great faces.  Some guys had handsome faces, but the body wasn’t what I was looking for.  I could not find the total package.  I could not find my Pete Kuzak.  One afternoon, I was in a bar in the West Village when the bartender’s boyfriend showed up to bring him dinner or something.  The boyfriend was stunning.  He had an adorable face.  He was also handsome and rugged.  The bartender introduced us, we said hello and after dropping off whatever it was he was there to drop off, the boyfriend left.  Since I knew the bartender (my then partner was the weekend manager of the bar) I asked him if he thought his boyfriend might model for me.  He said, “I don’t know, but I’ll ask him.”  As it turned out, the bartender’s boyfriend did model for me and in the next few posts, you will see what I created based on that photo session.  A contract was signed and the photos were taken in early December 1993.  It was a legitimate business transaction where the model was paid for taking (most of) his clothes off and then photographed.  I was very happy.  I had found my total package.

This post, “The Sweat Shop”, was originally painted back in 1994.  However, what you see here is a bit of a hybrid.  The black line work was painted in 1994, but the color was applied recently using Photoshop.  The coloring was kept the same for nostalgic reasons and also to keep the original copyright in place.

International Male

Simply titled “Man #2” back in 1991 for the United States Copyright Office’s Visual Arts Form, I decided to call this painting “International Male” for the blog.  Since the inspiration for this artwork came directly from the pages of the International Male clothing catalog, it seemed fitting to somehow acknowledge the original reference.   

With many of my creations in these first posts, there are aspects of the paintings that I like and aspects that I don’t like.  When coming to terms with a creative style, there is always a period of time when the artist must “work out the bugs”.  It’s an experimental time.  It’s a time for trial and error.  In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, my main concentration was to solidify my creative style.  Being raised watching cartoons from the 1960’s & 1970’s and aspiring to be a comic book illustrator, I was heavily influenced by flat color that was defined by solid black line work.  Coloring books, animation, comic books, they all had one thing in common: the flat graphic color was defined by the black line work that surrounded it.    

With the exception of “Princess” I have relied on published photos for my inspiration.  “Princess” was inspired by a co-worker at the time that was both statuesque and beautiful.  I simply had to paint her.  “Tex”, “Nagel Boy” and “International Male” were all inspired by published photos of some kind.  But I was quickly getting to the point where I wanted to own the inspiration as well.  I wanted to be able to select and mold my inspiration and not be limited to what was already out there. 

The definition for the word muse is a source of one’s inspiration.  In Greek Mythology, the Muses were the goddesses who inspired the creation of literature and the arts.  I needed a muse.  I needed someone who was so idyllic, his beauty would inspire me to produce greater work.  I needed a model.          

Deforestation 1991

As I mentioned in my previous post, “Deforestation” was originally painted in 1991 using India ink for the line work and the background texture and gouache for the color areas.  I digitally scanned the original art and what you see in this post is essentially that art as it was painted twenty years ago.  That being said, I did use Photoshop to brighten the colors some, add my signature and copyright, but other than those very minor changes, the original art remains unaffected. 

Deforestation

Originally painted in 1991, what you’re seeing now is a bit of a hybrid.  The black line work and background texture was painted twenty years ago, using India ink and brushes.  And although it was colored similarly back then, the color you see in this version has been applied using Photoshop.  The original colors were painted in gouache. 

This “Nagelesque” style is firmly taking hold, as seen in “Princess”, “Tex” and “Nagel Boy”.  My artwork has always been stylized and graphic.  But after seeing Patrick Nagel’s work, my commitment to this style, which I have often referred to as “high tech coloring book”, is unwavering. 

I have been presenting my work somewhat chronologically, indicating something of a progression.  Hopefully, this progression shows some level of improvement.

Creative Influences: Patrick Nagel

One of the main creative influences on my work is American artist Patrick Nagel (November 25, 1945 – February 4, 1984).  He created popular illustrations in the 1970’s and 1980’s, most of which emphasize the simple grace and beauty of the female form.  He is best known for his illustrations that appeared in Playboy magazine.  

In 1972, he began work as a freelance artist for major corporations and magazines, including Architectural Digest, Harper's Magazine, IBM, ITT Corporation, Intel, Lucky Strike cigarettes, Ballentine Whiskey, Budweiser, MGM, Oui, Rolling Stone, United Artists and Universal Studios.  In 1976, Nagel began to regularly create images for Playboy magazine, which greatly improved his exposure and brought much attention to the highly stylized "Nagel Woman".  In 1978, he made the first of many posters for Mirage Editions.  Nagel's 1982 painting for Duran Duran's album cover "Rio" would become one of his best known images. 

According to Elena G. Millie, curator of the poster collection at the Library of Congress:
Like some of the old print masters (Toulouse-Lautrec and Bonnard, for example), Nagel was influenced by the Japanese woodblock print, with figures silhouetted against a neutral background, with strong areas of black and white and with bold lines and unusual angles of view.  He handled colors with rare originality and freedom, he forced perspective from flat, two-dimensional images and he kept simplifying, working to get more across with fewer elements.  His simple and precise imagery is also reminiscent of the art-deco style of the 1920s and 1930s- its sharp linear treatment, geometric simplicity and stylization of form yield images that are formal yet decorative.

Nagel would start with a photograph and work down, always simplifying and removing elements which he felt were unnecessary.  The resulting image would look flat, but emphasized those elements which he believed were most important.  Nagel's figures generally have black hair, white skin, full lips and the distinctive Nagel eyes, which are often squared off in his later works.  Because of the intense stylization and simplification of the facial features, the figures resemble each other, even though Nagel worked with many models, including Playboy playmates Cathy St. George, Tracy Vaccaro and Shannon Tweed.  Nagel also painted several celebrity portraits including Joan Collins (whose portrait was subsequently released as a limited edition print) and Joanna Cassidy.

Nagel did paint men, but only one was ever released as a fine art print while he was alive.  Nagel continues to have a devoted following of collectors.