Nik Santi is an artist who lives in New Mexico. We caught up with him about his erotic illustrations.

Getting started

“I grew up in a really conservative Christian family and because of this, I was pretty sheltered from things that our church found transgressive – like homosexuality…” explains Nik. “I find it a little ironic that despite this upbringing, I’ve grown up to become a gay, atheist, artist that draws dicks and hairy bums as a hobby.”

“I’ve been drawing and making art for as long as I can remember. My grandmother is an artist and I spent a lot of my childhood watching her paint and sculpt. She often involved me in her process and would have me knead her clay for the storyteller dolls she made. I’ve always been really close with her and I think that art is a major part of our connection.”

“I was a very quiet and reserved kid, so I spent a lot of my time drawing and reading. My childhood sketches were mostly of dinosaurs and animals  –  a lot more innocent than what I work on now.”

“The story behind how I started drawing men is a bit unusual. To make a very long story short, in 2012 I had a near-death experience and I am only alive today because a friend of mine was there to save my life. I couldn’t think of a gift grand enough to thank him so instead, I drew a hairy bubble butt on the front of a card and wrote on the inside ‘thanks for saving my ass’. That hairy booty was the first of what has now become many.”

“My grandmother has really surprised me with her acceptance of my lifestyle. That being said, she’s fairly conservative when it comes to discussing anything sexual, so I’m not sure that she would want to see some of my more explicit drawings.”

“I’ve shown her several of my pieces, but only the safe-for-work ones. I think it’s probably better for the both of us if I don’t show her the drawings of blowjobs, rimming, or fisting, because those aren’t really things that I particularly want to discuss with her. I’m proud of my work, but would prefer not to have to explain a rim-job to my granny.”

The creative process

“I work primarily from reference photos that are sent to me by the men that I choose to draw…” explains Nik. “I really like to focus on capturing the details, down to the very last freckle, so that means that a single drawing takes me anywhere from six to twelve hours to complete. That’s far too long for a person to sit still in front of me.”

“I’ve been trying to work on doing quicker sketches with live models, to practice freeing up my hand and trying to break out of the perfectionist mindset I have when drawing. Allowing myself to make mistakes and be a little more expressive with my work has been a lot of fun, but it definitely makes for a different type of sketch than I’m used to.”

“I primarily work in pencil, but have experimented with pen and paint.”

“Drawing the body hair is my favourite part of any sketch. Because I love it so much, I tend to have a heavy hand with it, so sometimes my muses end up with a little more hair than they actually have.”

“I feel that body hair adds a lot of depth to a sketch, allows me to better capture the shades and highlights of a piece, and makes it look more realistic. Plus, I’m just personally attracted to men with body hair, so it gives me something fun to look at while I’m sketching.”

“I don’t accept commissions – I’ve found that when there’s money involved, my art feels forced. I find that my best art comes when I draw for myself and when I work on what inspires me rather than what I’ve been hired to do.”

Heroes and Inspirations

“My favourite artist is Keith Haring…” confirms Nik. “I love how free and expressive his pieces are. I feel like he’s my artistic opposite, as his pieces are really colourful and have minimal detail, so I think I see in his work something I’d love to be able to achieve some day.”

“My work, though, is more inspired by artists I’ve met and discovered on Instagram. David Farquhar is one of the best portrait artists, and I consider him one of my art idols. His pieces are really expressive and detailed and I hope to someday get to that level.”

“I also have a friend, Katie, who is incredibly talented and masters every medium she tries. We like to joke that we’re art twins because we both create erotic art in graphite, but she’s miles ahead of me technically and someone I also look up to artistically.”

The power of art

“I like to say that I draw what I find beautiful…” says Nik. “If there’s anything I want people to get from my art, it’s that same feeling of beauty.”

“I’ve heard from people that my pieces turn them on. That’s a fun but unintended reaction.”

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