the other side of the nude

Acrylic on masonite, 15 x 33 in (2012)

The nude is considered a genre of art, in the same way that landscapes and portraits are considered genres.

The nude has a long tradition in art and is considered more of a classical art endeavour rather than a modern one. Some may view the nude as pornographic or erotic; others may view the nude as an expression of ideals of beauty. By painting the backside (forgive that) of the nude figure, some of the subjective sting may be alleviated. Hopefully this will allow one to celebrate the beauty of the figure and assuage some of the rigors of personal taste.

In art school, we drew the nude figure as a way of understanding the body and how movement is achieved through the interactions of the musculature and skeleton. That led to drawing the draped figure, and using the knowledge of the underlying form to understand the stress points, the emanation of folds and other aspects of drapery and eventually, clothing.

In the past, I have painted mostly frontal nudes or nudes in profile. This variation is part of my exploration of the beauty of life through a wide variety of subjects and points of view.