Archive for February 2011

model: Jenni Lee Cupcakes
location: The Inn on Ferry Street, Detroit, MI

A view from the window with JL Cupcakes.

model: Carlotta Champagne
location: The Inn on Ferry Street, Detroit, MI

I’ve had the chance to work with Carlotta four times. Twice when she was passing through Austin, once when we were both in L.A., and now when we were both in Detroit. Working with her never disappoints because we always end up with good photos.

model: Luna Devise
location: The Inn on Ferry Street, Detroit, MI

Luna and I hit off right away for our artistic collaboration. This is one of our first shots and there will be plenty more to come.

model: Jenni Lee Cupcakes
location: The Inn on Ferry Street, Detroit, MI

The bed and breakfast I stayed in while I visited Detroit had these wonderful windows that took up most of a wall. Every morning I would wake up and look at the overcast skies and the snow covered roofs. When the models came over for our photo shoots, they provided some nice natural light and there was even a good sized window sill to play on.

I should add that dancing girls are at all the shows I participate in to my rider

Another adventure came and went with the opening weekend of the Dirty Show 12 on February 11th & 12th.  I arrived late on a three degree fahrenheit evening to Detroit and stayed at a nice bed and breakfast for a few snowy days. I highly recommend The Inn on Ferry Street if you’re ever there. It’s made up of several historic Victorian homes built in the 1800s and each room is unique. Although I didn’t get to see much of the city, I was told I stayed in a nice part of town.

Getting back to the Dirty Show, it was a good mix of all types of artwork. It ran the gamut from fantastically good, very naughty, humorous, and maybe just a little bit wrong (in the conservative society kind of way). There was also a stage show with different types of burlesque, dance, and other performances. The production could have been better though. They had some technical problems and the level of the performers wasn’t near the caliber of similar shows I’ve been to. Before going to the event I was happy to see my piece was featured in Real Detroit Weekly’s coverage of the Dirty Show. Towards the end of the opening night I saw that it had sold. So overall I think I can say I had a good experience.

While I was there I had three photo shoots and I just might have some submissions for next year’s Dirty Show after reviewing a few of the photos.  I started working on the images this weekend and will start posting some of them in the days to come.

Model: Deanna Deadly

Liquid latex can be some messy stuff. I’ve sworn off applying it all over the body because it’s just too much of a hassle for everyone involved, but it can make for a fun accessory if it’s used in small doses.

This photo is one of the shots from our “Second Skin” photo set on Zivity. Trial members and subscribers can view the full set here.

“Paranoia Doll”
acrylic, graphite & colored pencil on 12″x12″ canvas

Personally, it felt like my last couple of paintings where missing something. They were a little more flat and graphic. So I returned to a grittier style of painting with acrylics for this one. I started with the black and blue underpainting and built up the figure with layers of reds, blues, purples, pinks and whites.

I had the title for this painting before I started it. I was curious what a Google search would bring up and found a lot of images of these gothic, anime-inspired dolls. How come they didn’t make nice, creepy toys like this when I was a kid?

Model: Nikki Sebastian

This is another photo from our “Vintage Undies” photo set on Zivity. Subscribers and trail members can view the full set here.

If anyone is interested in becoming a member of Zivity, I have plenty of free trails available.

model: Leeann Leah
inkjet photo transfer on 9″x12″ paper

This is another adventure in photo transfers. In the past I’ve mentioned the results can be pretty unpredictable. This was actually the second transfer I did. Instead of getting the “ghost print” it wound up pulling a layer of the paper off and transferring it. This kind of gritty look almost can’t be manufactured. You just have to let it do what it wants.

from 2007: “Be Still”
acrylic on wood

It’s Valentine’s Day and maybe I do have something that fits today’s theme.