Last month while visiting with my parents, my dad and I had an interesting conversation. He asked me why do I usually only paint half naked women. I've had similar comments/question on some of my social media. So when I was contemplating what to write for my new blog post, I felt this would be a perfect topic. So why do I only paint women and why are they usually naked?
Early Inspiration
When I was a teenager, I loved using the well known hip hop magazines
VIBE,
XXL, and
The Source, as a library of reference photos. I was attracted to the bold and edgy photography of the magazines. They were just very in your face. Back then, I did not always draw women. I drew men too, but the females were by far my favorite. Being that they were hip hop magazines, they routinely had spreads of female rappers or popular video vixens throughout. Through these magazines, I discovered how much the female form truly inspired me.
Women Are Just More Aesthetically Pleasing
To me, women are just more aesthetically pleasing to look at from an art perspective. The shape of our bodies are more organic than men. We have more curves whereas they have more straight lines. I commonly use the analogy of the beauty of a flower and the beauty of architecture. I can appreciate the aesthetic of a well built building, with it's straight lines and occasional interesting intersections of those straight lines. But for me, that beauty does not compare to the beauty of a luscious flower. It's soft curves force you to handle it gently so you don't bruise it.
How I Want to be Viewed?
This last point is one that I just recently discovered about myself. It's possible that I paint and draw women the way I do because it is a reflection of how I want to be viewed or how I may feel at the time of creation. I am one of those girls who has not mastered the "come hither" look. I look like a complete goof ball when I try. I can't do it with a straight face. I'm sure I look pained when I'm trying to give "bedroom eyes" because I'm fighting with the muscles of my face to keep back the stupid Cheshire grin that's battling to break through. So it's satisfying to know that I can at least accomplish this in my art ( I hope, LOL). I think every woman wants to be viewed as and feel sexy and attractive. I'm just expressing my wants and desires on canvas.
Once I explained all this to my dad (well the first 2 points anyway), he completely understood. I could tell he was relieved to know I wasn't painting naked women just for the "sex sells" factor. I'm just drawing from what inspires me, what I find aesthetically pleasing, and my innermost thoughts and feelings.
If you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading! If you are interested in any of the artwork shown in the post visit my website - www.ariedebrenart.com
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment