Dig for Fire.

Graphite on Paper.

This is a full nude drawing with an erection. Not for everyone. But I’m really proud of this drawing. It took a lot of time to make and it’s a statement from me against the intense harsh homophobia and toxic masculine energy that I feel permeates everything these days.

My work is about warmth, affectionate masculinity, and healthy expression of sexuality and emotion. I almost never draw fully erect men because that’s a line society draws. I want to be taken seriously as an artist and I want my work to be more an expression of many emotions, not just sensuality. A flaccid penis constitutes art. An erect one is either erotica or something acceptable only if it’s from antiquity. But, then again, that’s weird and frustrating to me. I totally get that it’s not appropriate for all audiences. There’s a time and a place for everything. But that’s not what I’m really thinking about.

The intense hostility and fear that comes up at male nude art is amazing and enlightening. I think any conservative family would laugh off their kid putting a Banksy image or a Clash poster on their wall. But having a print of two of my (clothed) men kissing in their teenage boy’s room would really get a reaction. And it’s that same intense reaction, that toxic masculine energy, that tight repressiveness that’s what’s fueling every clash in society right now.