Erotic watercolors
I began working on these a way to improve my figure drawing. As I worked I became bored with figures themselves and more interested in identity, relationships and intimacy. Sex seems like the most intimate relationship to me but for some it’s not-it’s not even a relationship but a job. You can think that you know someone and not know them at all.
People are ultimately mysterious when you meet them.
Eros and Thanatos can loosely be translated into “sex and death”. These are the elemental forces that rule us. In fact, sex has been called “the little death” in some cultures. The problem was that the Erotic series coincided with the AIDS epidemic. I thought that the works might be viewed as some sort of public service art on AIDS which was not my intention so I did less of them. They sold very well but I became more interested in politics and history. I did a few of the erotic scenes in large scale but they came off as vulgar compared to the intimacy of 5”x 7” watercolors. Many were lost when my studio flooded.
