Oils on Canvas
5×7 in

$100

This piece is one of two that I sketched up late at night, I’ve been sitting on the 3d versions for a while now and looked at them the other day and went.. yeah! lets do it! I am really happy with the level of detail in this tiny piece, I’m getting better and better at shadows and details.

at the moment I am fascinated with the shape and movement of hips, the attitude in them and the gravity in buttocks. it sounds strange but there is a lot of attitude in a pair of hips that are thrust forward. I am also obsessed with backlighting and of the different temperatures in lighting and the way they interact with skin. my 3d program really allows me to play with light and shadow and color, I love that everything I see translates back into art, it makes the whole world a magical place.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25

Stance- a4 Watercolor and Pencil on Paper by Jennie Rosenbaum

I have felt pigeon holed lately by my writing. I am building a reputation for myself as a nude activist. Someone who stands up time and again to state that the nude is not porn and is not always about sex. I don’t believe the nude is necessarily sexual but i also think that there is a place for sexual expression in art without it being porn.

i have felt as though i am bound by this stance. it has stopped me from writing about certain topics, even from painting more explicit works. I feel like cannot write about my own sexuality or artists that I admire who do create sexualized nudes for fear of diluting my message or scaring off readers. but, do you know, there also comes a time when I have said almost everything there needs to be said on a particular subject, I don’t wish to repeat myself, I want to keep my blog fresh and new, rather than rehashing the same old tired arguments every time a nude is censored.

and what if a week or two go by without any censorship of nudes? what do I write about then? this blog was started initially to be a journal of my evolution as an artist and my developing career. but it started to get away from me, as writing often does, and take on it’s own life. I think there is room for both, I think there is room for a whole gamut of topics.

I have been thinking for a while now on the direction of this blog. I really enjoy writing, but lately I have suffered from the bane of all writers, writers block. so, in an effort to kick start my ideas and hopefully re-energize my blog, I am going to turn the question over to you, my readers – what would you like to see me write more about?

Oils on Canvas
12×12 in

$300

This Painting was a surprise to me, I don’t really remember painting it. I remember it as if it was a dream- small flashes of the whole. sometimes I get in “the zone,” a lizard brain state where it feels like I have very little to do with a painting. it all comes from somewhere else that my conscious brain isn’t involved with. it is a fickle and elusive state that artists pursue with abandon. the state often produces the best work, because when the conscious brain isn’t available to nit pick, the real art can start to emerge. the problem with the state, for me at least, is that it’s harder to feel good about the painting afterwards. the conscious brain starts to gripe about being left out of the action and becomes overly critical. I can’t help it, it seems to be part of my self destructive nature! so, how do I feel about this piece? I have no idea! how do you feel about it?

Consternation – 12 x 12 Oils on Canvas by Jennie Rosenbaum

I have been running from pillar to post yet again, getting applications ready, sending off purchases and hunting the wild gallery. things have gotten so hectic that my wonderful husband has stepped in to give me a hand with all my unanswered emails, helping with my hunt and most importantly poking the snarling artist back into her cage (studio).

you see, the actual business of being an artist frequently takes up more time than the creative aspect. unfortunately we also have a built in self destruct sequence if we don’t get to create on a regular basis. these two things are often at odds with each other. so there comes a period of implosion as the outside business matters act on the lack of studio time to create a vacuum of uselessness. and a slump.

Liam is helping me by taking away all the things that I should do (but am stressed out by thus leading to procrastination and more stress) and making me do the single most important thing for the betterment of my career – namely, creating. thanks hon!

this long ramble is purely to explain why I’ve been hiding and why, hopefully, things will be back to normal soonish. we are instituting a schedule, and all sorts of things to make me work better, faster, stronger… we have the technology.

Oils on Canvas
8×8in

$150

Hands are something that fascinate me, I used to draw them as a child, constantly sketching my own hands when I was supposed to be doing other things. I would draw them resting on the table, holding my pencil, scrunched up or open, they were a constant delight. part of my experimentation with new angles, shadows and light made me want to revisit hands some more, there is so much expression that can come out in the posing of someone’s hands.

Tourist boy: You can see his penis! It’s not art if you can see his penis!

–Petrie Court, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Overheard in New York

One of the things I love about being an artist is the ability to look and dress however I want. back in corporateland I was in a boys club and a very young manager. to offest this I lived in Anthea Crawford suits and had very conservative hair. it was blonde, long and usually tied back in a powerbun or something. the most creative I got was a spiky variety of a power updo. I had the same stylist most of the time then and now, only now he and I go through the most creative magazines and get inspired by fun and silly and outrageous. my hair has been blonde and hot pink, blonde pink purple and black (in order from top to bottom), blonde purple turquoise and black (I mixed my own colors that time! they all had fun watching me – I tend to stick my tongue out) but this time we really wanted something different. my hair is now burgundy, red, pink, copper and black. it is the darkest it’s ever been and very cool. Liam says I am more confident with red hair, and maybe that’s the case! I finally managed to conquer my fear of the camera long enough to take a couple of new profile pics, bio photos and the like.

It’s winter and baby it’s cold outside! but things are heating up around here, I’ve been painting my butt off! will show my new work soon but for now I am just enjoying the pure joy of creating.

PS shameless plug, if you live in the SE suburbs of Melbourne Navona Salon really is excellent. plus they bought my award winning painting Freedom and have it on display there.

There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth.

Agnes Repplier

No sale for nude Madonna and Guy from BBC News

Madonna & Guy, an admittedly rather unflattering likeness by Peter Howson, was estimated to rake in between £15,000 ($24,603) and £22,000 on Saturday at McTear’s, the Glasgow-based Scottish auction house, but didn’t sell — despite generating unprecedented press coverage, a McTear’s representative said. The painting had been commissioned by a Scottish collector in 2005 and was one of many the Scottish artist had painted of Madonna.

[From Nude Madonna Painting Fails to Find Buyer - ARTINFO.com]

this is an excellent example of ‘it’s nude and it’s a celebrity therefore it must be art!’ throw in two celebrities and a whole lot of hype and you will get this auction. but no amount of twitter buzz, news sites and publicity will turn this painting into an attractive and desirable work of art. I notice that the leading buzz was very careful to mention the names of Madonna and Guy Ritchie as much as possible but you had to really really dig to find a picture of the piece.

having a celebrity as a subject is usually good for reputation boosting, buzz and moneys in the bank. and Peter Howson has received a lot of hype and exhibition requests due to this series. I feel a need to say however, that probably having the piece closely resemble the celebrities in question might work a bit better. Without the hype I would never have known who those people were supposed to be. I do like some of the tones and shadows used, but overall I find myself unsurprised that this piece did not sell. perhaps people are not as all out celebrity obsessed as we thought.