Sketchbook Library – Floor pose Sketch

I know the line of the leg is not anatomically correct, but I love the fluidity of it. sometimes it’s more fun to exaggerate or to distort to make a point.

Nudity is the uniform of the other side… nudity is a shroud.

Milan Kundera

Interlaced – 12×12 Oils on Canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum

Something that I never knew when I started exhibiting was that it’s very common to have the post exhibition blues. in fact, almost every artist I have spoken to has had this issue. there is a let down after the huge event. you spend so much time focussing on it all, creating artworks, hanging, publicizing, it becomes a massive high capped off by the opening. then, suddenly, it’s over. and your life can seem.. empty, it can be crippling- my first exhibition had me lost for over a month in a deep depression.

after that first experience I decided that this should be something that can be avoided and I’ve been actively working on it ever since. these are my tips for beating that post-exhibition depression.

1. Have a new series or body of work you are really excited about and ready to get started on. the sooner you get back into the studio the better. that’s why you became an artist!
2. On the night of the opening go out to dinner with collectors, friends, family. a nice group of people you can enjoy who are going to give you support, distraction and a great come down after a perfect night.
3. Don’t drink during the opening. nurse a glass of wine all night or have something else. alcohol is a depressant and you want to be sharp on the night.
4. Keep a file of “warm fuzzies” – emails, comments, tweets of nice things that people have said about your work. refer to it at need!
5. Spend 15 minutes in your studio each day, even if it is just looking out the window, sketching, looking at books, old sketchbooks, going over ideas, surround yourself in your art.
6. Give your studio a spring clean. if you are like me, after an exhibition everything is in chaos. tidying it all up gives you a sense of closure, and a clean studio always beckons for new work!
7. Try a new medium you’ve been meaning to try. experiment and have some fun!
8. Tally up all your achievements at the exhibition, no matter how small. the people you gave your cards out to, the new mailing list signups, the good things that were said and done.
9. Buy yourself a new sketchbook or brush or something, a nice treat to pat yourself on the back. it needn’t be expensive or large, just a celebration.
10. Don’t focus on all the things you should have done or wish you had done. remember them for next time and move on. start planning the next big thing!

Spirit – 21×36 oils on canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum

Her naked body

Rises fast

She lofty leaps

To my delight

Raised arms, curved spine

Away she darts

Today, my love….

She’s bathed in light!

I am so honored that my work has inspired this beautiful poem. to read the full piece, fully illustrated throughout with my works please visit here for more works by Phantomimic you can view his scribd page at http://www.scribd.com/Phantomimic or follow him on twitter

Kick – Sketchbook library Daz|Studio render

I am particularly pleased with the way this render turned out, it uses my new lights studio light pro which have made a mammoth difference to my works. I am really looking forward to painting these!

I’m sorry,did I 4get 2 mention that @hartluck surprised me on stage during so what+was naked in the pillow fight? I screamed, then fell over

Pink via Twitter

Puberty by Munch

Mr Hatzistergos will today release the recommendations by the NSW Child Pornography Working Party, set up after the Henson scandal.

The group, comprising Department of Public Prosecutions, police and Legal Aid representatives, was instructed to draw a clear line between pornography and art.

Its report, delivered to the Government on Friday, recommends art not be a consideration when reviewing images thought to be pornographic.

Mr Hatzistergos said the proposed laws would cover the production, distribution and possession of child pornography.

“The fact that it is art cannot be used as a defence. The report recommends that once such material has been found to be unlawfully pornographic, whether or not it is intended to be art is irrelevant,” he said.

[From Artists told: prove it's not porn | Herald Sun]

I have been following this for the last week. there is a lot of information out there and I have not nearly digested it all yet. there are serious, far reaching implications for artists in NSW and in the rest of Australia. this extends not only to visual artists but to authors, directors, anyone. and the terms are broad enough that they could be inferred to apply to anyone or any work involving children. The working party will be judge and jury in this case.

The working party, headed by District Court judge Peter Berman, also examined the use of photographs depicting nudity in a news context.

Mr Hatzistergos said the new laws would ensure the rights of photographers to publish pictures – such as the iconic Vietnam war photograph of a nine-year-old girl running naked on a street after being burned by napalm – would not be infringed.

[From Artists told: prove it's not porn | Herald Sun]

They openly acknowledge that this piece, although it contains a nude child, is not sexualized or pornographic. however, will the same generous liberties be extended to artists creating works now? the knee jerk reactions so far seem to indicate that all nude children are porn until proved otherwise. I have been reading the new proposed legislation in depth and the powers granted to the “working party” are enormous. I will provide my analysis as soon as possible, I think there are ways for legitimate artists to avoid self-censoring too much. but the fact that we may have to at all is a crying shame

‘The Base’ in Sydney on 1st March 2010 as part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras

Spencer Tunick, an artist renowned for photographing large groups of naked people in public, has picked the iconic landmark as the backdrop to his latest project.

On March 1st, hundreds of people will strip off and take their places on the steps of the Opera House for the art work, which has been commissioned by the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras as part of its 2010 celebrations.

Titled “The Base”, participants will be asked to strike a selection of poses to make several different installations.

Tunick told the Sydney Morning Herald that he is excited that permission for his latest work has been granted.

“I like to work with the body in a non-sexual way in public space. I think it breaks down a lot of barriers in society and for myself as well,” he added.

[From Sydney Opera House ‘to host nude art’]

As usual I can’t make it to this spencer tunick installation either, which is a huge shame as I support Tunick’s work and the thoughts behind this installation – at 12 days from B-day I will be way too gravid to make the trip- let alone strike poses!. however, if you would like to sign up and be a part of it go here – http://www.mardigras.org.au/tunick/

Tunick says he has been a lifelong advocate of gay rights. “We’re going through a lot of issues right now in the United States with gay marriage, rights for partners and gays in the military,” he says.

“And I feel that if I can do something that combines the gay community and the straight community in an artwork that’s about the human form, about breaking it down to the equality of flesh to flesh, it will have a profound impact on the participants and, possibly, the viewer.”

Though it is frequently misunderstood, Tunick’s art is hardly a concession to the raincoat brigade. Nudes are his medium, the way some artists use pebbles, glass, clay or stone.

[From You're the medium, grin and bare it | The Australian]

I hope that the current censorship issues in NSW do not get in Tunick’s way with this installation!

I love Jennie’s art, and am fortunate enough to own some of her smaller pieces, including Heart and Cross (pictured below, hanging on my bedroom wall).

I thought two or her new works were stunning: Composed, where she has been experimenting with using volumetric lighting, and Release – I love the detail and perspective in this work, particularly in the hand and arm.

[From Jennie Rosenbaum at Summer in the City « Polly Morgan]

A quick shout out to friend and collector Polly for an awesome review of my latest exhibition. thanks Polly! it’s great to see some pics of the exhibition too. if anyone else has some feel free to email them to me (as long as I’m not in them! ) the memory card that had some pictures on it has died in a tragic washing machine accident..

Apparently there was a review in The Age as well, I’m trying to track it down. De installation went very well, I had a lovely chat with the director about the exhibition, they are interested in my showing there again so I count this as a very successful show!

I have seen three emperors in their nakedness, and the sight was not inspiring.

Otto Von Bismarck