Notes from the studio
Buying, hanging and living with erotic art
Most of what you find online about erotic art is either a shop that wants to sell you a poster, or a museum text that never gets round to the awkward questions. This is neither. It is a set of notes from the studio where the paintings are actually made: what the work is, what it costs, where it goes on your wall, and what the delivery driver sees when he hands over the box.
I paint women. Oil on stretched linen canvas, one at a time — you can see all twenty-two paintings in the series — over several weeks each. That means I get asked the same questions over and over: by people who are curious, by people who are hesitating, and by people who already know exactly which painting they want and only need to know whether it will fit above the bed. Those questions are the table of contents below.
The menu above will take you to any of the five sections. This page is for the more common situation, which is not knowing which of the five you need.
Where would you like to start?
- “I want something sensual, not tacky — how do I tell the difference?” → where the line between erotic art and pornography actually sits
- “I’d like to buy, but I don’t know where to look without ending up on a poster site.” → buying erotic art
- “Am I even the kind of person who buys this?” → who actually buys erotic art
- “I’ve found a painting. Now where on earth do I put it?” → living with the work
- “Can I hang a nude in a room where people actually come?” → a room by room guide
- “Will it fit above the bed?” → what size painting works above a bed
- “I don’t want the neighbours to see what’s in the box.” → how your painting is packed and shipped
- “An original is out of reach right now.” → the signed prints, from €35
- “Is this really painted by hand, by one person?” → about the painter
- “Who is the woman in the painting?” → the women in Saved
The five things people ask about
- Buying erotic art
- What you are actually buying, what it costs, and how to tell a painting from a print farm.
- Living with the work
- Walls, rooms, heights, sizes, light — and the conversation with whoever else lives there.
- The women in Saved
- Twenty-two canvases, and the people in them.
If your question is not here, it is probably in the frequently asked questions about buying, framing and shipping — or you can ask me directly. I answer my own email.
The women in Saved
Twenty-two canvases, thirteen named women. The whole series, grouped by subject, with the ones painted more than once together.
Living with the work
You have the painting, or you nearly do. Four articles on which room, how high, what size, and what arrives at your door.
Buying erotic art
Start here if you are still deciding. Three articles on what you are buying, what it costs, and how to tell a studio from a print farm.