One of our favourite erotic artists is Marc DeBauch.

“One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked is – Where do you get your ideas?” writes Marc. “I need only look at my hard dick for that answer. If I see something that turns me on enough, I will paint or draw it. Sometimes it’s just the wrinkles on the sheets next to a naked man on a bed, or the backlit glow of hair, on a muscular leg, torso or crotch. Or maybe its sunlight reflecting on water and casting bright sparkles on a muscled man wading in the ocean. My nude models serve as my best inspiration. I also have a photographic memory and some of my memories become visions that I feel obsessed with sharing with the rest of the world.”

“Painting the male figure is a meditation for me. I worship every millimetre of skin, every hair, and every muscle with my brush. My models are often friends and lovers.”

“I work using oils on canvas, graphite pencils or gouache on paper. My subject content can range from subtle classical nudes to pornographic images of men is sexual ecstasy. I create sensual and erotic images to illustrate the mysterious, the occult, the forbidden.”

“I especially enjoy adding a humorous twist on homosexuality, politics, religion and icons. Peter Paul Rubens, George Quaintence, Paul Cadmus and Tom of Finland are among the artists who continue to influence my work.”

Dive into the world of Marc DeBauch

Beach Boys in the Buff

We caught up with Marc DeBauch to look at his series of work titled Beach Boys.

When did you discover and start to explore your passion for art?

I started drawing and painting when I was three years old. Before I was five, I remember creating a crayon drawing of the Sinking of the Titanic on the rough plaster of the living-room wall of my parents’ house. It was impossible to remove – my parents weren’t happy with me, but after that they provided me with enough art materials to pursue my creative interests without destroying their home.

When did you start specialising in painting naked men and creating erotic art?

It was over 30 years ago that I started painting male nudes and selling them in a local gay book store. Then, in 1995, I entered two paintings in the Tom of Finland Foundation’s Emerging Erotic Artists Contest. I was won first place. This opened the door for my art career, as I was immediately approached by galleries and magazines that wanted to feature my art.

This gave me the confidence and notoriety to exhibit and sell my work at erotic art fairs and gay events. At that time, the internet was just emerging, so my friend Andrew created a website for me, which was a fantastic tool to get my art out to people around the world.

You’ve written that Tom of Finland is one of the major influences on your work – when did you first encounter the work of Tom of Finland?

I remember seeing Tom of Finland’s art in a porno magazine my friend had in high school. I was just amazed at the sexual tension, outrageous anatomy, and attention to detail in Tom’s art.

This was back in the early 1970s, so gay porn was just emerging legally in magazines and films. At the time, I wasn’t talented enough to draw the human figure accurately. But, I was fascinated enough to want to try. My sister’s boyfriend was a photographer, and he gave me his dark room equipment. Back then, you actually had to develop film, as there were no digital cameras.

I talked a friend into posing naked for me while jacking off, and I developed the film and made some prints. I was 14 years old, photographing another 14-year-old boy. It was very exciting creating my own porn!

Unfortunately, my dad – being supportive of my art – wanted to see the photos, and of course I couldn’t show him. Not only did he not approve of gays, he didn’t want his son to be gay. He would have probably hit me if he knew I was a homosexual creating gay porn! So, I destroyed the photos almost in front of him, while saying that the photos didn’t turn out and that I would show him better work at another time.

I was scared and freaked out. I knew I was self-censoring. But I also realised that if I was going to create erotic art that I would have to do it in secret. When Tom of Finland began drawing naked men, he also had to make his art in secret. I think most erotic artists learn to be very careful about choosing the right audience with whom to exhibit their work.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My inspiration comes from people I know. I’ve been fortunate to see and meet many beautiful men in my life. Capturing their beauty and illustrating them in a unique way, is my goal.

What’s your creative process?

My creative process is different every time I paint. Sometimes an idea for a painting just pops in my head and I try to find a model to pose for a photo to match my vision – that’s often the easiest route.

I rarely work from a live model. My paintings take so long to create – I often work all night on a painting – so, finding a model to sit for that long of a period and whenever I want them is impossible. I use the photos of my models as reference.

Often, I look through hundreds of images and piece things together in a collage. It’s more like a jigsaw puzzle – lots of pieces missing – and my mind fills in those missing pieces with an arm from this model, the chest from another, the dick from another, the face from another, and so on, until I have the entire figure. But then, I have to decide how the light and setting will pull all of those puzzle pieces together.

I have dozens of photos that are my references for every detail of plants, animals, rocks, furnishings. I sort through a constant mess of photos – gradually eliminating those references as my brain digests the information and my brush puts it on the canvas or paper.

The paintings that form the Beach Boys series are beautiful – what are some of the challenges in creating beach scenes like this?

Trying to find a balance between the setting and the model is always a challenge. I don’t want the model to overpower the beach, or the beach to feel more important than the model. I want my paintings to have a natural feeling, like you could be at the beach with my models.

Who are the men featured in the paintings of the Beach Boys series?

They’re mostly friends that have modelled for me. Sometimes I find a photograph of a model that someone else has taken, that inspires me to use it as a reference pose to work from, then I find one of the photos of a beach that I’ve visited and I try to recreate a similar pose in a drawing that will eventually become a painting.

What do you hope that people feel when they look at your work?

I don’t want to just give the viewer of my art an erection, I want them to feel like they’re part of the painting, that they want to invite the men in my paintings into their homes, their beds, their dungeon, their car, their locker room, or the bushes for a hot fuck, butt licking, cock sucking, and an ass-spanking good time.

I hope to excite the viewer visually, emotionally as well as spiritually. It’s my goal as an artist and sexually active gay man to paint erotica that continually challenges the views of people who oppose sexual freedom. If my paintings assist the viewer in discovering where they are in the spectrum of human sexuality, then my aim is reaching its target.

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