From Head to Toe

I'm working on a new painting and the darn FEET are making me nuts. They look too big they look too small they look flat ...bla bla bla.....sigh.

Anywhatastupidthingtocomplainaboutway, I went to my personal fav resource, the INTERNET and did an image search in the attempt to find some drawing feet tips.

Well, I seemed to have tapped into the 'human strange room' with this seemingly innocuous search item. I got a plethora of 'foot fetish' pics.

And, boy oh boy, it was mind boggling. Not the whole 'whatever floats your boat' deal, but just the amount of odd stuff out there attached to sex. It got me musing on just how, well, messed up human sexuality is. Really, you have to admit we are a weird bunch when it comes to something that is a basic instinct. It's become a driving force in our world, it causes huge amounts of suffering and unethical behavior and it makes most of us slightly nuts. (and by the way, I count myself in with this) Most of us are walking around confused as heck as to what is right, or enough or doing it right or enough and all the little 'bits' in between. We are all stewing away paranoid as hell about ourselves and SEX.

I once read a great science fiction series by Greg Bear - 'Hominids' where the females lived apart in large communal towns from the males; who lived in their own communal towns; except for their twice yearly ' mating seasons'. OK, brushing aside the male/female living arrangement thing, (which I think is brilliant, but that's another post) the whole thing of having a cycle much akin to animals would make much more sense. Now think about it. Women, I don't have to point out what benefits this would bring...right? (don't lie!)

Anywhatinheaven'snamehaveIdoneway, I could go on and on and on, but won't Suffice to say, we ARE messed up about sex and body image.

Pick any song from way back to now and if the subject is "love" you have to agree. Paintings? Same.

Pic is "Nero" by the surrealist painter Vladimir Kush. I don't know why 'Nero' - Artist privilege to name their work with unfathomable (at times) (and yes, I count myself in with this too) titles but I like it because it makes me think of all the layers we place around ourselves.