Erotic Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

It is very frustrating, but sometimes my work is not permitted to be exhibited because of “rules” against nudity in art. This despite the fact that most people are extremely complimentary of the sensitivity in which I portray people in their most vulnerable state (or so they tell me).

So, if you cannot beat ‘em, . . . join ‘em.

And I actually feel a bit excited to be joining the ranks of many of my predecessors, including lots of the “Big Boys” such as Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Théodore Géricault, Rodin, Pablo Picasso, and my friend and mentor Vasily Fedorouk. Even Michelangelo painted quite a lascivious “Leda and the Swan” composition. I suspect that besides the Japanese, Egyptians, and the Greeks, every culture has birthed some form of erotic art.

While exploring various compositions, I was trying to think of a title to inspire me and keep me on track. I was seeking eroticism, not vulgarity. My ex-roommate Elena, from Italy, unknowingly named this pastel and charcoal drawing. She and I happened to be corresponding shortly after I began work on this piece. She often addresses me as “tesoro,” which is Italian for “treasure” and is a term of affection among the Italians.

Thus, I would be happy to introduce to you my first published work of intentionally erotic art.

”Tesoro!”
22” x 16”
Charcoal and Pastel Drawing
Roma-brand paper
$1800 (+ $20 shipping + applicable sales tax)
by Kelly Borsheim

And I wish you a sensuous and joyful 2010 full of passion and amore.

Anatomy and Line

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Although I have not spoken much about this, I am not trying to make a copy in marble of an actual human being. While I am thinking about anatomy and using real bodies for references, I am constantly looking for that beautiful line.

The depressing thing about doing art of a more representational style is that people judge the piece for what it is not more than what it is. I mean that the tighter a work gets towards recognizable, the more people critique it for the artist’s mistakes. If would not matter if someone creating an exact replica of a specific person that was 99% accurate (on a scientist’s terms I suppose). The viewer’s eye would immediately find that 1% inaccurate part and it would ruin the rest of the effort.


It was not until my first visit to the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado, about a decade ago, that I realized that there was a limit to how far I wanted to depict reality in my own work. Too much reality bored me. Art is in the details, but the KIND of details makes a world of difference. In Italy, especially, I have been learning to understand the difference between art and copying.


So, anyway, these images that follow show you how I am inspired by Nature’s anatomy, but that I am seeking a line that flows beautifully. In the latter two images, I have drawn the line of the legs that are covered up by the hands. This not only helps me to shape the legs underneath the arms and hands, but also helps me know how close to carve the hands and how much more marble I must remove.

The most difficult thing to do in stone carving is to have two things touch without overlapping in a weird way or becoming too far apart.

Enjoy your New Year’s celebration.

Top Ten Artist Blog Post Award

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Well, I would first like to thank several of my readers for nominating various artworks of mine that were posted on this blog in 2009 for artist and author Katherine Tyrrell’s Making a Mark blog’s “Best of . . .” competition. Two of my drawings were chosen in the semi-finalist stage for the Figure Art category, but I was not so lucky on the shortlist. However, I do appreciate your support and interest. Thank you.

You can vote for one of the three finalists by clicking here before the 29th of December:
http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2009/12/vote-for-best-artwork-on-art-blog-in.html

Then to my surprise today, I found out that one of my blog posts won a listing on Casey Klahn’s “The Colorist” blog. It made me laugh to see which of my blog posts struck Casey as memorable and why. Perhaps you will enjoy his point of view as well. Check it out:

http://thecolorist.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-ten-posts-2009.html

Thanks, Casey Klahn, and thank you to you ,too!