Black Horse (Patreon)

This has been in my to-do folder for many years. It changed massively over the years. I worked on it off and on since I started it.
The woman as well as the horse changed. It does not resemble the original startup anymore and that’s why I’ll now post it.

There’s a story about this that caused me not wanting to work on it anymore. I’ll tell it, to give you some insight again in my work. Skip it if you’re not interested in background stories whatsoever:

I started it when a French model applied to work with me (By the way, I finished this painting right after I did that announcement about my books being published by Tabou.com just today. It reminded me of this one and luckily it was already halfway done)
Even though the model was riddled with tattoos, needled in without any sort of plan (I’d call it random stickers) which usually puts me off big time, I accepted because she seemed more than average creative and also looked a whole lot like the actress Noomi Rapace (check out the original “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” trilogy not the American derivative but the Swedish one.

It may be a bit ironic that she was full of tattoos but none of a dragon.

I indeed had a couple of great and creative days with her.

She was artistic and not afraid to be.
She actually owned a horse and I always try to do something really personal when models take the time and effort to visit my studio.

So, I started a double portrait of her with her horse. Something like this, but in a much less dramatic setting.

While she was here I made some really good photos, dressed, nudes and more erotic too.

I wasn’t on Patreon yet, so I started posting some dressed ones on IG and FB, while I worked on some artwork with the model as the subject. I wanted to share that I worked with a good model and artwork takes longer than touching up photography.

The photos I shared were not heavily clad of course, but everything was decently covered nonetheless. Like how I have to post all my art on the mainstream platforms really.
So that Facebook and IG can handle it.

Only then to find out she did not want to have photos published of her with her clothes on. For reasons she gave me, but I still don’t understand. It was so far off my way of thinking that I actually forgot what the reasons were since. I was stunned and not in a good way.She had no trouble with the nude ones or even the more erotic ones. She had issues with the dressed ones...

I deleted those posts instantly, stopped everything I was working on with her because honestly; crazy puts me off even more than tattoos. I was suddenly done with her and I told her so.

Legally I could have kept those posts up really. If you come here and know my work, it is hardly surprising that I post the stuff we make together, when a platform allows. But I don’t want to have material of people like that on my pages. It’ll have a negative vibe for myself forever and I don’t want my art connected to it. When tagging (which is mandatory of course) it might even direct colleagues to her and I won’t be responsible.
It was about the strangest thing that ever happened to me, with regards to models, (and I met a couple of strange ones over the years) so I did not expect this at all. Until that time I had worked with models that didn’t necessarily want their nudes posted. Some wanted to keep it private so that I could only use the photos as reference for a painting, some wanted a say in what I would post. Quite understandable reservations that I usually know up front, since I met the first one with reservations like it and I always directly ask about it and decline when I can not use anything for my social media.
I did so with the French girl too, but dressed things never were an issue before, as they are always professional, good and quite beautiful and thus I did not specifically mention or ask about clothed photos.

I don’t assume anything anymore. I have a long list of things to clear with models now, and frankly, a new model would have to be pretty amazing and uncomplicated, for me to consider her application. If they don’t understand what an artist like me is doing right away, I can’t be bothered anymore. I took risks in the beginning and even some further down the path but they rarely were worth it.

I would’ve liked to find that Muse that’s stunning, creative, artistic and free spirited and do picture books, graphic novels, and what not, with her and her alone, but chances are that the social media and their artificial prudish rules have caused a new victorian era and Muses are in hiding for the duration. It came close a couple of times but life messed it up somehow so it never blossomed like I envisioned.

Anyway, here’s a girl on a horse. How’s that for a Beauty and the Beauty themed painting.