One of the greatest benefits of having this blog is the excitement of meeting new artists that send in their work to be published in our artist channels.  This past week, because of our open policy about posting works from artists around the world, Giancarlo Giovine, an Italian artist living in Sicily, sent in about a half dozen pencil sketches of sexy men in a variety of erotic settings.  The first thing that came to mind when I saw the sketches was that he must have been influenced by the art by Tom of Finland, however, when I inquired as to his inspirations, I got quite a surprise when he told me that his inspirations come from general classic art with a special emphasis on Sandro Botticelli!  That has to be the first time that an artist drawing gay erotic art told me his inspiration came from Renaissance art…but in retrospect makes perfect sense.  Classic art and especially Renaissance art was full of male nudity so it stands to reason that one could find inspiration to create modern gay art using that as a source of inspiration.  

Although Giancarlo is inspired by classic art, he has received no formal art training and is a self trained artist working from only his fantasies and dreams.  Once he conceives of an idea, he, like many artists, makes a rough sketch on paper, blocking out all the elements of the pinup that are essential to tell the story.  Once he has roughly composed the piece, he then begins to apply color, filling in every detail, shade and nuance to convey the story he wishes to tell. It’s interesting to see how artists generally follow roughly the same work flow whether or not they’ve received formal art training.  Even more surprising is that it seems there are quite a number of very competent artists creating very stimulating gay art working only from their inspirations and passions, sans any formal training at all.  I guess some of us, like Giancarlo, are just born to be artists.  

Giancarlo’s art has been used as illustrations for fliers, advertisements for gay discoteques and other venues and he is always available for private art commissions.  He is also seeking a publisher for some of his gay graphic novels and would appreciate any contacts or referrals that might help him find the right publisher to work with.  Please contact Giancarlo by email for his rates and availability. If you know publishers of gay erotic art that would be interested in Giancarlo’s work, please pass his email address along to them or refer them to this blog post.  

I just received a notice from one of our blogging friends, Calvin “CMan” Washington, of the C Man Art blog and one of the artists from GTC Magazine (Gay Truckers Classified), that he has been selected to illustrate a new and original series of erotic gay short stories written by Alan “Woofy” Winkler.   Alan has been a writer for the famous “Handjobs” gay erotic magazine for a number of years and personally selected “CMan” to illustrate his new erotic gay series.

The new book, “Brave Men Do”, will contain a series of twelve gay sex stories told by Alan and illustrated by our friend, “CMan”.  Two of the stories, ”Carlstone Manor” and “Texas Hot Tub” have already been completed and we’ve included some of the art by “CMan” that will be used to illustrate these stories. You can order the new “Brave Men Do” book at the Woofy Tales website.  

I wanted to give a big congratulatory shout out to “CMan” and tell him we’ll be looking forward to seeing his art in print… I know he’s pretty stoked about it!   

Illustration from the story “Carlstone Manor” by “CMan”

Illustration from the story “Texas Hot Tub” by “CMan“

We just had some new gay cartoon art submitted to us by an artist, Feral Elf.   Here are a few of his pinups that he sent in.    Comments are welcomed!

This one is a personal favorite of the artist, a depiction of Kyo Sohma, in human form, from the manga series “Fruits Basket”, titled “Kyo – That Damned Cat.    In the words of the artist,  “Kyo was always super hot”, and yes we would agree, especially with a tool like that in his pants! 

A fan art picture titled “A Treat From The Future”, of Inu Yasha having brought back a little toy he found in a future version of Kagomes’ room.

Remembering Childhood: An example of my manga work, just a young man sitting in the tree he used to climb every day in his youth and remembering back to the “good old days”.

Rose: This is an example of some of Feral Elf’s pinup work, an original character, laying prone for the viewer and eager for a little fun.

Here is a pinup featuring Yuki Sohma, also from “Fruits Basket”.  He must be under some kind of stress or perhaps just hugged by a girl, because it appears he is on his way to transforming into his rat incarnation.

I’ll be posting more art from Feral Elf as he sends it in and will update his artist channel here with the address of a blog he is working on now.

 
This is the first art submission by artist Blair Parkinson and officially opens our artist channels section of the SpunkToons.com blog.   Blair’s art has some similiarities to the style of works by famed artist Tom of Finland.   Below each image is a brief explanation by the artist of his motivations when creating each piece.   You can see more of Blair’s digital gay art, and follow what he is working on in his blog.  You can support Blair as an artist by purchasing some of his art here. Commission your own art by Blair Parkinson here.

 
Beat the Heat
Inspired by the heat wave we experienced this year, a never ending stretch of hot days and even hotter nights.  When clothing should be optional and even though the last thing you need is to raise the temperature, you can’t resist his killer smile.

 
Brandish the Sceptre
The God of Masculinity holding the symbol of his Holy Office. Are you man enough to receive the reward befitting your station?

 
I Found This On The Beach – Art by Blair Parkinson
A Paean to summer, when the guys are hot and a conquest only just a stone’s throw away.  In this image my goal was to capture the intense white light of the midday sun in contrast with the contours of the male body.

 
I Always Give In to Him Like This

Here I wanted to evoke that sense of lust you get when you know now you are up and ready for the day, all he wants to do is make you late for work.

 
I Remember This One – He Sure Was A Handful
All of us have someone in our past that when you look at old photos, makes you realise why you left them in the first place, even though he might have looked like a young Adonis.

 
Pay The Tribute
Homage to the sword and sandal genre.  Refuse to pay tribute to the master of the land and you will be made to pay in other ways.

 
The first day of holidays

Painted at the beginning of the summer break over Christmas/New Year.  Here I wanted to evoke the sense of fun and anticipation one feels when you know that you can sleep in for the next two weeks and wake up to your man.

 
The Punk Flandrin
One of the most recognisable images of western art would be the “Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer” by Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin.  Using part of a photograph I took earlier this year, combined with my current fascination with the mohawk, here is my tribute to this remarkable image.