Douglas Simonson’s Artist’s Diary: Home Base
This Blog is no longer active. In 2016, with the construction of my updated website, all content from this blog was incorporated into the new site. Please visit my current blog on douglassimonson.com to see all content from this inactive blog as well as several years of more current entries. Thanks for your interest!
Douglas Simonson
Comments
Douglas Simonson: An Artist's Diary 
Douglas, This is not a comment in response to above. For your information: During the past year or so, Lambda Rising gay bookstores in Norfolk, Baltimore and Rehoboth Beach have closed. Now the flagship (or is that FAGship) store in DC is in the process of closing. AT 75% off regular price, the greeting cards were a particularly hot item during the final sale. I thought you would be interested to know that a card of one of your now no longer available prints was on the rack.
Hi Douglas, I just “discovered” your website and I wanted to say how impressed I am with your talent. Your pieces are really beautiful. You have such a variety to your drawings, from the roughs, to paintings, to photography. Your black and white finished drawings are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, in all honesty. You truly have such a talent. I’m also amazed at the variety and numbers of your models! Where do you find so many beautiful guys who are willing to bare it all for you? Do you work from life, or take photos of everything and draw from there? As I said, I’ve just come across your website, so I’m just beginning to dig into your amazing treasure trove of work and blogs! And ironically, I’m in the DC area and just learned about Lambda Rising’s closing from the post above. That was the first gay bookstore I ever entered. For a bi guy from the suburbs, that was quite a bold move. Now, everything I hoped to find there is available online!
Hi Douglas, Two-Fisted is great, we want some more!!!
I enjoy your artwork very much. After retiring, I complete a BA in Fine Art. Major in oil painting and print making. Have always loved the figures. I have several of your prints on my art room wall. No problem with male frontal images. Two-Fisted I would not display on my art room wall. My neighblors would be offended. The general public has trouble with male frontal nudity, even without a hand or hands on the penis. The public needs to see more good artwork involving male nudity. Keep up your effort.
Westerners have such a hangup of male nudity, but yet a naked woman can be illustrated in various forms. Now there is a double standard.
I will be visiting from San Diego on thursday and there till july 4th. Is there any way I could come and see your studio/work? It would be fun to come see it.
Thank You
CS
Great Works.. I would like to subscribe your post, how can i do?
If you’d like to receive email notices of updates to my wordpress blog, just scroll down to the bottom of any page on the blog and look for the link that says “subscribe via email” or “receive email updates” or words to that effect. you can also subscribe to my general e-mail list (go to http://www.douglassimonson.com and look for the “click here to sign up for email updates” link at bottom right) which will give you updates on new art and special sales, etc. on my website. that way you’ll hear about new blog entries and new art even if it doesn’t appear in the blog itself. thanks for your interest!
Tio eres un fenómeno pintando. Llevo muchos años viendo tus obras en tu página web y estoy impresionado de lo bueno que eres. Felicidades.
OMG Brian is sooo cute will you be having photos available to purchase?
Yes, Jim, there will be photo prints of Brian coming up in the next few weeks.
Hi Douglas
I am currently studying for a BA in Fine Art and am writing my dissertation on the Male Nude in art. I came across your great work and would be very interested to know what the reasons are for your work being based around that subject?
Thanks
Esther
Hi Esther. Two reasons: one, my sexual energy propels me toward men. I’m gay, I’m a sexual being, I am an artist. Life energy, sexual energy, same thing, so for an artist what’s most basic is what he will try to express. two, i never saw much art out there that was what i wanted to see, or what i was seeing in my own imagination, so i felt even more compelled to create it in the physical world.
Dear Douglas, I just wanted to wish you and yours a very, very Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! I look forward to your 2011 calander and hope it contains a lot of those absolutely gorgeous Hawaiian boys in it!! You portray those boys so superbly! You are truly a master of your art. Thanks for that. I now have just 4 words for you….: More Hawaiians!! More Hawaiians!! LoL! (But I deeply do wish you’d do more, thanks in advance.) again…..Merry Christmas Doug!!
Hi Douglas!
Nice, lovely, great to meet you here!
Do you still remember me?
…”É preciso muito amor
para suportar esta mulher”… kkkkkk
Hey Doug! You asked if I remembered you from your blog…Oh yeah…I remember you quite well. Your website address is permanently inscribed in my foolish brain! I have purchased from you before: Several calendars, 4 I believe, One big signed print, two smaller prints, a book, and some placards. All great! You are truly a master…if not THE Master of your art! Just please, please add more slender Hawaiian guys, OK?? I think they are the handsomest guys on the whole darn planet! LoL! (Especially in your calendars…they sure adorn a wall!) Thanks for taking the time to answer me in your blog…no need to answer me here. Gay Hawaii Love to you! James Pearson…Hawaiian lover! Have a Happy, “Aloha” New Year!
Hey, I was going over your work and wonder if you remember a model Jonny ,..he goes by JonnyBlaze now. I have been quietly searching for some art work that is of him – before he became the big guy he is now.
I did the searches on your site and it looks like all of the sketches of what where possibly him are all bought up. Are there any other sites or links u might know of where I can look for earlier nudes of JonnyBlaze?
hi, i just sent an email to the email address you listed, saying that a search for “Jonny” on my site brings up quite a few older sketches of him that are still available. just go to the Search page on my site at http://www.douglassimonson.com/search.php and put in “Available” under Available/Sold, and Jonny under Model, then click on Search.
just realized its a spelling change – Johnny Blaze or Jonny Blaze – sorry for the miss spell. let me know if u know of anything. Thanks.
Hello Douglas, I’m from Sri Lanka. There are so many male beauties in coastal Sri Lanka. You’ll definitely find wonderful male nudes here. This country is an ideal destination for you. Just visit here one time, then you’ll understand.
What would be a URL or email address to find Sri Lankan nudes?
Gordon
I’m writing this with the notion that other people may have the some issue/conflict as I do. Simply put – why is female nudity considered “high art” and male nudity merely pornographic? If male artists paint/draw/sculpt what inspires them, and if it’s with a sexual impulse, then really everything that contains nudity is potentially nothing more than pornography, which then turns art as a classical expression on its collective head. And if it isn’t, and the male form is as equally transcendent as the female form – then where are all (fully) nude males in art? I can think of ancient Greek statuary, pottery and Michelangelo’s work and that’s about it. Someone earlier mentioned that full male nudity in art isn’t appreciated, but why? Why are we all embarrassed by naked men but not naked women? Again, why is male nudity not considered “high art?” And I’m not saying it should be, I’m just confused by the discrepancy.
Colin, in my opinion none of this is surprising if you acknowledge the role of POWER. We’ve been in a patriarchal, male-dominated society for a couple of thousand years now. Objectifying the female sexually is one way the male asserts his power. The female is a vulnerable and submissive sex object, the male is the dominator. She is vulnerable and powerless, he is invulnerable and powerful (at least that is his belief). Objectifying the male sexually, however, suggests that the male can be dominated in the same way as a woman can–which is pretty much the male heterosexual definition of pitiable powerlessness. No surprise that this offends (and scares) the shit out of straight men, so of course any form of art glorifying the male body is seen as subversive or perverted and is suppressed by the heterosexual male power base whenever possible. It’s not easy to appreciate beauty when you’re so so busy trying to stay in power!
What a pity, and that probably won’t change…at least in my lifetime.
Cool blog site.
Cool!
Where do you find your models and what do you look for?
Hi Douglas sorry i guess jumped the gun and will purchase when Brians photos become available
Douglas, I have long admired your wonderful artwork. I just read in your blog that you visited my hometown, Baltimore. Geez! So close and yet, so far away.
As a photographer specialising in unorthodox portraiture, I often have young men asking if I will photograph them with their clothes off. There are ways to take pix of men that are naked without causing offence: simply portray them with the offending bit out of shot. Does not have to be a full-frontal with a discreetly placed hand either – that does look corny! A slight turn of the body with the subject looking back is one way and I have found this to be highly successful in the past. Lots of lads like to take their shirts off and some powerful and intense pix are possible with various poses that are taken above nipple line. A lot of my sitters are surprised that I do not encourage them to strip completely. As far as women are concerned, many people accept that men like looking at pictures of nude women far more that women like looking at pictures of nude men. This, of course, is a sexual thing. By taking full frontal out of male photography, we are able to brand it as artistic and so dispel any notion of smutty-ness. Lets keep smut out of it – that’s my line.
Hi Douglas you made me do it again. Jim
Douglas ah you made me do it again. White pencil? How do you do it? just spectacular portraits and art work. But how could you leave paradise. ?
Its such as you learn my thoughts! You appear to understand so
much approximately this, such as you wrote the book in it or something.
I believe that you can do with a few percent to force the message home a bit, but instead
of that, this is fantastic blog. An excellent read.
I will certainly be back.
Ah i am not entirely sure what the message is
LOL me neither but it seems to be positive!
It seems to me that the writer used an online translator. It usually comes out that way. Probably originally French. LOL
Love your work, by the way. If you ever get tired of young men as models, this old fellow might be available.
delightful pictures envy your talent
Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Thanks dfkbfeceakebadcd
hi, my theme is just a simple free wordpress theme…you can go through wordpress’s themes and you’ll probably find it there.
Hey Doug,
Thought I’d put this question on your blog since it would be of general interest….
I bought a couple of your canvasses and have recently stretched them both…finally. I’ve always been a little worried about the dirt that gets kicked up by the trade winds here in Waikiki collecting on the paintings and ruining them over time. Cigarette smoke is also a concern…though less so as time goes on. Are the canvasses you sell varnished? Should I have them varnished to make it safer to clean them when needed? I see the damage the cleaning crew has done dusting the original paintings in the lobby at the condo…I’m sure I’d never cause that level of damage…but would rather not cause any.
Of course I could frame and glaze them and may yet…but thought I would ask….they both look fine without frames. But without frames they will need frequent cleanings especially along the top.
Glad to hear life is good in Mexico.
I don’t know if you remember us joking (nearly 15 years ago) about your paintings on t-shirts and coffee mugs, teaching the simonson method (if I recall you were offering classes a few years ago)…so when do you start the 100 murals?
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your questions. Yes, dirt and dust etc. will collect on unprotected paintings over time, but I paint in acrylics (not oils) which is pretty tough. I spray my finished paintings with an acrylic varnish so they’re pretty well protected. To clean dirt and grime from them, I recommend a damp cloth (no harsh chemicals or abrasives, just water) and gentle wiping, not scrubbing. Doing that a few times a year should suffice in the majority of cases.
Some gеnuinely intеresting info, well written and Ьroadly usеr
pleasant.
Hello Mr. Simonson, and as I am an amature artist I have attempted to emulate what you do. I have purchasrd your book, don’t have the title in mind, wherein you show a photograph then a drawing you’ve done from that and I’ve done a few sketches of my own from it. Anyway, had I greater patients and time I could spend hour upon hour,doing so. I thank you for the insight and inspiration.