Not For Victorian Eyes Virtual Art Tour – Interview with Christopher Chamberlain

A little something different today here on ABA! Fantastic artist, erotic art...well, lets get right to the art and the questions, shall we :) Make sure you check out the chance to win an original print that Christopher is offering with his blog tour at the bottom of today's post!

Can you tell me the inspiration behind this drawing?

It all started with a one minute gesture drawing that I created at a life drawing session.  I liked the pose and I wanted to use it in a finished piece, so I laid it out on the finished board.  While I was drawing that, thoughts of a fantasy image came into play, and before I knew it, I was adding her flaming wings and the barren landscape around her.

What medium is used, and why did you choice it for this work?

I used watercolour, watercolour pigments, and coloured pencils to create this piece.  I think there was some gouache involved as well.  I just love working with watercolours – they react in an immediate way.  Sometimes you have to step back and let the paints dry a bit, or absorb.  But, you can lay the colours in so delicately and really produce a great deal of colour depth.

Flaming wings and a skull with such bright color choices…is there a message in this? Why the juxtaposition?

A message, well there could be?  How about, behave yourself or she’ll get you…  Not very good, I know.  Feel free to make up your own!

I love playing with colours, and I love using bright hues.  There was a thought beyond “hey, this looks good” but I’d rather hear other people’s interpretations. 

Again, what is the inspiration behind this picture? I just always have to know!

Scales and balance, are always somewhere in my mind.  It’s just something that I do naturally.  I don’t think it’s only because I’m a Libra. 

The image came into my mind one day, when I was considering balance, and the sexes, actually.  It has a bit to do with historical allegory, some of the current politically correct point of view, and metaphor. 

What about the color choices? To me the blue and orange clash as much as they compliment each other. LOL Are your color choices very deliberate, as in you give them a lot of thought or do you use whatever strikes you at the moment?

It’s a deliberate choice in the colours.  I think much of what I create with my artwork is very well thought out.  Sometimes there are happy little accidents which just take place and I love those.  I do like to do what strikes me at the time.  In fact, I’m experimenting with some pieces that require me to be less structured in my planning just to see what happens.

Why are the people on the bottom of the scales? What exactly are you weighing here?

I didn’t want them holding the scales from above. 

Part of the inspiration was a bit of Cirque du Soleil.  The acrobatics involved astound me, and it just keeps me mesmerized. 

I wanted the people on the bottom because it’s amazing what unimaginable strength can be found in any person.  As for the weighing – I’ll have to say nothing in particular. 

Do you have artists that do erotic pieces that you really like and possibly even inspire you?

Certainly!  Klimt did amazing work.  I went to see a traveling show of his artwork a few years ago in Ottawa.  He did some really beautiful work and it was eroticism without showing much in the way of overt sexuality. 

Egon Schiele created some really intriguing pieces as well.  His were more about raw emotion, in my opinion, and being utterly exposed and not always in the loveliest ways.

When did you start drawing as a career choice?

I started actually drawing freelance and professionally about ten years ago.  But, it was always something I loved to do.

For me, even if nothing personal is in a story I write, revealing it feels like exposing myself in some very personal way. Is this the same with you and your work?

That is a pretty accurate statement.  In as much that every time I put my work out in the past, yes, there’s a feeling of I hope someone likes it.  I have found recently though that I’ve been able to distance myself somewhat from my works; although that may have much to do with the fact that I’m already thinking about the next piece.  Even still, there is a bit of me in each and every piece that I create.

When did you first create an erotic piece of work, and what was it of, if you can share?

It was about five or six years ago that I created my first erotic piece.  I don’t think it was much more than an overtly sexual pin-up girl, to be honest.  Since then, I’ve matured in my tastes, and found different ways to deliver an expression of eroticism.

Let everyone know where they can find you around the web:

You can always catch me on my blog.  I'm creating more erotic art and bunches of other stuff.  For my erotica artwork, I'm actually creating a couple of different series, or themes; as well as doing a little experimentation with style.  I'll begin sharing them on my blog once I have a good selection of pieces finished.  I post new works as they are created, and of course, figure sketches and studies for my erotica.

(www.manyfacesart.blogspot.com)

And I also post works on my deviantart site:

www.c21.deviantart.com

Also, I'm creating my fun, all-ages webcomic Kid Robo (www.grayhavencomics.com/category/kid-robo.html)

It's a total departure from my erotic work.  I love working in different styles and genres, and this is just a fun thing for me to play with.

For anyone of your readers who may be looking for artwork of all sorts, they can feel free to contact me and be treated very professionally. I take my artwork seriously, and I treat each piece with the same level of professionalism. I can be contacted through email:

manyfacesart@gmail.com

Regarding my Not For Victorian Eyes virtual art tour:

I'm offering as a bonus, to all new followers of my blog, a chance to win an original print of one of my pieces of art.  This contest will run until the first day of Autumn.  Each and every follower of my blog will have a chance to win, including my current followers.  New followers will have an extra ballot in the random draw.  You can also get an extra ballot by leaving a comment.  The best three comments (as chosen by me) left on my blog over the duration of the contest will receive a print.