Sunday, November 24, 2013

More NSFW fanart on Etsy

I added to OpenSlash some humor for fellow fans.
Wolverine the Pooh, 2013
I'm looking to bring in other heroes from the X-men, so send me your suggestions. I want the original image to be charged, whether with mystery or passion, as above. Recall that my venture into fanart began as an attempt to address the shallowness of Hollywood culture which mangles canonical characters and plotlines. An image should have potential to overturn or ridicule that culture. The climactic scene in The Last Stand with Jean and Logan alone comes to mind.

On the ground, I'm surprised how trying the logistics of scanning and printing oversize prints are turning out to be. How do young visual artists handle it? I suppose it's similar to engraving, printing, and binding scores: backbreaking tedium interrupted by infuriating technical glitches. Share your printer-scanner stories here.

Monday, November 4, 2013

NSFW Etsy store featuring my first drawing in 10+ years

I'm selling prints of a large charcoal drawing of Wolverine from X-men nude, for the price of production only. I'm happy to send readers the original scan for free.


I was struck by how engaged and almost feverish I felt while working on it. I had no appetite and took only one short break. I really hadn't drawn in such detail since high school. And though 15 might have been an age to obsess about a movie star, I would not have noticed a daddy like Hugh Jackman before my transition. I didn't intend to feed this obsession, but I read about his off-stage life and he seems like an exceptionally virtuous and inspiring celebrity.

From the listing:
The image was inspired by a still from the unreleased Days of Future Past starring Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine. He is seated on a couch, recovering from a fight, his chest riddled with bulletholes. One hand curls around the neck of a bottle, the other rests lightly on what could be a Japanese sword across his lap.

It reminds me of the resilience and indomitable spirit of people who suffer oppression, especially transgenders, queers, and people of color.  
Anyone else take the X-men as a metaphor for our struggle? C'mon, Hollywood, bring it.