Aussielicious

Neil Curtis is an artist who is breaking with tradition in the medium of body painting and turning it into art. As he says in the trailer for this project, most people when you mention body painting associate it with female models so when it is on a male model they are more likely to see the actual project.

Part of this project is about taking away the symbols outer layers of what we use to represent ourselves to the rest of the world, the colour of our skin and our clothes. Whether we like it or not, race still does influence how people are treated and our clothes always have and always will influence people’s judgement of us. Are we dressed appropriately? Expensively? Cheaply? By stripping a model completely nude and taking away those clothes and then taking away skin colour by painting every inch of their body, we bring everyone down, or up, to an level playing field. Talking with the artist today online, he explained that the sideways format is intentional, again it stops people looking with preconceived ideas.

The first of these videos that I’m sharing with you is “the Boxer”. He also happens to most fit the image of the “hot” guy. He’s got a great body and a beautiful cock. Neil also tells me that the Boxer is straight. All of these models must be pretty comfortable in their own skin to be so completely revealed and exposed on video and for a straight boxer, a macho sport by anyone’s standards, to have another man using a roller to apply paint to every inch of your body, would be pretty challenging.The models also have to shave down their body as, as Niel says, hair and paint don’t go well together.

The matt finish on the paint once the model is painted is giving me some ideas on how to proceed with my own “tribal” series.

Replace Clothes With Paint: The Boxer from Neil Curtis on Vimeo.

After my post about random nudity a few days ago, a few readers have sent in some photos. Granted a couple of them aren’t that random given one is on a nude beach and the other is inside the home but I’m happy to post them. David, on the beach, is a regular nudie and contributor to challenges around here on aussielicious so he’s always welcome. Josh lost a bet with a mate when they were out running. Whoever lost a bit of a race had to run the next few blocks completely nude. From what Josh has told me, he wasn’t that upset about losing, being quite happy nude. The only shame was he didn’t get to see his friend nude, and still hasn’t. Buddy Bear sent in this shot on his motorbike out in the bush and Kelly sent in one of himself pottering around his kitchen nude.

I keep coming across photos online of guys playing drinking games nude or even having nude games nights etc. Love it. As we all know, I don’t understand the big deal about being seen nude by friends. I say get it out and have a good relaxed time.

I’ve posted a bit recently about how I’m craving a massage and physical touch. I was talking to a friend in NYC about it and he told me about a group in NYC that get together and trade massages. They have professional masseurs come in and give demonstrations on various techniques and group members can have massages from the professionals as well. They have regular workshops, casual massage trade nights and bodywork classes and instruction. There is a selection criteria to be a part of the group. You have to be approved to be a part of the group of “fit and athletic” gay and bi guys. Their site talks about bodybuilders, athletes, yogis, jocks and more. On one hand the idea of a group full of hot fit men is very appealing for aesthetic and lustful reasons but it also feels a bit exclusionary and discriminatory. I’m genuinely not sure how I feel about that.

A mate and I were discussing the idea of trying to get a group together here in Sydney. Both of us kind of assumed that the group was a nude thing given we are both prone to nudity and enjoy socialising that way. Looking at their website I don’t know that the group is a nude thing at all which would make it easier to get guys involved but massage does require a level of clothing removal to be effective.

For me, a massage is a very nice and non threatening way to connect with someone and in some ways feels more personal than sex can. A group of men that are comfortable getting together to trade massages is a very appealing one. I’m sure there would be guys hoping to come along expecting it to turn into an orgy but that kind of expectation is easily remedied.

Those talented folks at aussieBum have been slaving away creating new product to make sure all of you in the Northern Hemisphere aren’t short of new goodies to wear this northern Summer to show off your assets to their fullest. First up is a new range of underwear called Roger. It’s available in 5 different colours and is a new take on the “classic” undie from aB. For those of you planning on hitting the pool for some laps or the beach for some sun there are two new ranges available. The LowRider swimwear range is some sexy graphic swimwear (modeled by the luscious Andreas) and the Swish range is for the serious swimmer who follows the black line up and down the pool.

When I opened my Freedom exhibition in February, I also launched my book, Aussielicious Men. I’d always wanted to work towards a book and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. Yesterday I finally put together a video trailer to promote it using snippets of footage from different shoots over the years. Sadly I didn’t start shooting footage on photo shoots for a long time and I didn’t have any footage from any of the “Shrouded” exhibition shoots. I think this trailer gives a pretty good impression of the book.

You can order the book in both Hardcover and e-book versions. To order the hardback click here and to order the e-book click here. Enjoy the trailer!

Aussielicious Men Trailer from Brenton Parry on Vimeo.

This blog owes it’s success to people getting nude in very random places. The public nudity challenge which made it popular was born from seeing some guys surfing nude at the beach I used to do lifesaving patrols at here in Sydney. Sure, it was rainy and windy and no one was around to be offended, but we saw them and we thought it was hilarious and pretty darned cool.

As you all know, I’m quite comfortable being nude but I generally keep it to places where it’s approved or ok to do so. Having said that there is something pretty fun about being nude in places where you shouldn’t be. I’m not talking about the office or the shopping mall but a bit of harmless cheeky nudity is great fun and liberating. So today I thought I’d share these photos of people being a bit random with their nudity, surfing, riding a motorbike and in some random hallway covered in soap suds. If you get into a bit of random nudity, feel free to send me the photos!

A while ago I was talking to another Sydney photographer that lives around the corner from me and he was telling me that someone had commented that he’d photographed just about every escort in Sydney. He wouldn’t tell me which guys in his portfolio were escorting but apparently it was several of them. Over the past several years it’s funny how many people I know and friends of mine that I’ve found out are escorting or have escorted. In years gone by I would have been rather scandalised by the thought but really, why should I be? We all have sex with people we don’t know and don’t plan on knowing, why not get compensated for it? Sure it might mean that you have to have sex with someone you don’t find attractive, but as a friend who used to work in the business told me, you can always find something about them that you find attractive.

A couple of months ago I was on the beach and started chatting to a really lovely guy in his mid 40′s in beautiful naturally athletic shape and it turned out he was an escort. He said he might be interested in getting me to do some photos of him. I came home and thought I’d see if I could find his profile on a local escort site. I didn’t find him but scrolling through the profiles I found the profile of a guy I have met a few times through friends who is the sweetest guy. We’d chatted online as well and I messaged him and said that I’d found his profile on the escort site and that I could do much better photos than he currently had on there. Apparently I was the first person to stumble across the profile and connect him to the work.

Out of curiosity the other day I scrolled through the profiles again. There were a few familiar faces on there. I was curious, just what is the per capita percentage of the Sydney gay population that is supplementing their income with escorting work? It seems to be rather high.

Note: I am not claiming that any of the guys in the photos above are escorts, although I would seriously pay money to spend time with just about any of them. I’d pay just to watch the guy on the far left swing those balls around.

Ross Watson has long been one of my favourite artists. My other favourite artist is also an Australian, still living and is also gay, Jeffrey Smart. This new series that Ross has begun is called 010:Coast and to me personally is a return to a style that I love from Ross. His paintings that referenced renaissance art was beautiful but didn’t click with me as much as his earlier work and this new direction.

Ross has been going to Noosa in Queensland, Australia since he was a child and this series was born from the sights and sounds of that beach culture. Rippled muscles under tanned skin in blazing sun under Australia’s big wide blue sky. It’s the beach culture I grew up with so that is probably at least partly why I respond to these works.

Celebrities keep buying up Ross’ work. Elton John is a collector, Stephen Fry loves his work and it seems Ian McKellan is a convert as well. One day I want to be able to afford one of these pieces.

This is an old video from a Burning Man in the distant past. I know I’ve said in the past that I won’t post photos or video of people nude that don’t know or agree to the footage or image being taken. Burning Man is one of those places that you kind of just assume if you are running around nude then there is going to be imagery taken of it, no matter who you are or what you look like. I fully assume that there are photos of me taken at Burning Man while doing the nude pub crawl bike ride that I didn’t agree to but I also wasn’t doing anything at all that I’d be ashamed of, so I don’t care.

I’ve heard of things like this happening on the playa and love the idea of it. I hope they had rigged up showers nearby to get the mud off afterwards.

Burning Man – Mud & Water from M Beare on Vimeo.

A little while ago I posted that I was craving some physical intimacy like a massage or a cuddle. I can’t afford a massage at the moment while I’m putting all my savings towards my Burning Man/Hawaii trip so that puts that out of the question. I found a guy on Scruff that was into massage and caught up but I don’t think either of us was left fulfilled by that arrangement. He wasn’t really my type and I haven’t heard from him again so I figure he wasn’t thrilled either. Fair enough.

I’ve heard the term “cuddle buddy” thrown around and it sounds appealing. I don’t know if I’m misinterpreting a casual reference to a fark buddy scenario but either way, it sounds fun. A fark buddy that is happy to sleep over and spoon afterwards or watch a movie curled up on the lounge would be absolutely ideal.

The question is, how the hell do you find these guys? So many people I see online are only after NSA (no strings attached) shagathons usually served in a cloud of crystal meth that I just get scared. A good cuddle session every now and then would do WONDERS for my outlook on life. So would a good fark of course, but I’d be happy with a cuddle right now.

For a long time, I’ve looked at guys with big bushy beards and thought to myself “why would they kill their hotness like that?”. There is a stunning guy we nicknamed Jesus at the gym because he was all funky haircut and amazing body and then he grew a big bushy beard and it really didn’t add to his beauty.

Like my stance against skinny-leg jeans which was very much anti to begin with but got worn down by constant exposure til the day I bought some fairly skinny jeans myself, I find myself growing used to the bushy beard. Maybe it’s just on those uber hot guys that the hotness shines right on through the face foliage or maybe they are just so hot that it actually makes their hotness manageable on a day-to-day basis. Tom Bull is a model that fits into the group of men that suit the hell out of a beard. Personally I think Tom would have to be a serial killer with nasty body odour and tattoos all over his face for me to be less attracted to him. Oddly I actually like him better with a beard. I like it all trimmed or maintained. Even Tom might struggle with the big bushranger beard, but I would gladly help him through the trials, talking to him gently in our post-coital spooning while I gently stroke his beard and that gorgeous blonde floppy hair. If you want to know what my type is, see Tom. All of Tom. Especially that middle photo where he’s comfortable lying nude with another man as well as a woman.

Don’t forget you can click on the image to see it enlarged in all of its follicular glory.

Today was mother’s day here in Australia and in an attempt to try and make it as easy as possible for my mother and sister, I put myself in charge of our picnic lunch. I delegated nibbles to my brother in law and dessert to my dad. I made fresh spring rolls, marinated chicken wings and a thai beef salad for lunch and everyone seemed to like it.

Today was also the first time I’ve seen my niece and nephew since my sister told them I’m gay a few weeks ago. I had actually been really nervous as to whether they’d treat me any differently today. I should have known better. They are ten and seven and a half and couldn’t give a rats arse about that kind of thing. It was just like every other time I’ve seen them. It was a really lovely afternoon in the park with good food, my fabulous family and a couple of glasses of champagne. Now I just need to find myself a boyfriend to round out that lovely scenario a bit more.

My mother is a pretty awesome mum. Yes, she’s pretty straight laced at times but while I’ve tested her patience and resilience with getting a tattoo, coming out, quitting jobs with nothing to go to and last year tearing my biceps off and having post-surgery recovery at their house, she’s never made me doubt whether I was loved, not once. As you can see from the photo above (yes I’m wearing a personalised t-shirt) I tested her patience from a young age. She had me dressed ready to go out and I ran through the garage and jumped into the wading pool, sandals and all. Look how happy I was!

I’ve decided that once a month I will offer one of my limited edition, signed prints from one of my exhibitions for sale at a discount. The unframed prints usually sell for $300 but for one week only, I am offering “Matteo 2″ (pictured) for $200. This was one of the very popular images from my Shrouded exhibition in February 2011. There are only a few available so if you want to buy one, you’d better get in fast. They are each hand numbered and signed.

Archival Pigment Print on 310 gsm Bartya Photographique Paper. A3 in size: 297mm wide x 420mm high, 11.69″ x 16.53″ high. If you want to buy a copy of Matteo 2 on sale this week click here or any of my other images from my website, click here. If an image of mine that you’ve seen isn’t featured on the shop page of my site, feel free to email me and enquire.

A minor political party here in Australia has just announced that they are presenting a bill to Parliament to change the definition of marriage to allow marriage equality. The bill will be voted on June 6th. The same political party has presented a bill previously which was voted down because our opposition Leader, Tony Abbott will not allow his party to vote with their own free will, forcing them to vote no with the party’s official policy. There is growing pressure for Tony to allow the conscience vote. I’ve just sent Mr Abbott a message on facebook asking him to allow a conscience vote. If he doesn’t the bill is doomed to failure. Our ruling party allows a conscience vote but we don’t have the numbers with the opposition voting unanimously against the bill. My message is below.

I’m asking everyone who has the interest and the time, to write to Tony Abbott and ask him to allow a conscience vote.

“Dear Mr Abbott,

I know you don’t agree with Marriage Equality but I am writing to ask you, PLEASE allow your party members a conscience vote on the new Greens Marriage Equality Bill being voted on in June.

If you sincerely believe that the majority of your party think the same way you do, then what risk is there in allowing a conscience vote? If you are wrong, then people like me, genuine, decent members of the LGBT community get to decide for ourselves whether or not we want to get married, rather than lucky people like you who have never known discrimination and inequality.

Please Tony, be on the right side of history.

regards,
Brenton”

My post on re-evaluating my photography direction had some interesting and pretty spot on comments. More planning and more thought are definitely needed. There were a couple of comments that said I shouldn’t be hiding the penis and “what makes him a man” or that the penis in art shouldn’t be taboo.

I have never thought that the penis was taboo in art at all. When it’s done well, full frontal nudity in art can be both beautiful or intentionally confronting in the way that art should be, as demonstrated by the beautiful images above.

For me personally, I prefer not to include full frontal and there are a couple of reasons why. Firstly unless it’s done well it can be very distracting. As a gay man whose primary audience is probably gay men, the audience is inclined when presented with a photo of a nude full frontal male, to immediately focus on the cock and forget about the art in the rest of the photo. Is it a big one? Is it a little one? For me I find it easier and more satisfying, sometimes even sexier, to leave a little to the imagination.

Secondly, I have found that it’s very hard to find models in Sydney or generally that are willing to pose full frontal even for art photos. I’ve written about this before in my attempts to find models to shoot for The Male Form. Thankfully I have photographed two different guys full frontal to submit to The Male Form in the past two weeks which was quite different to my usual shooting style. Because of the nature of The Male Form, the cock had to be clearly visible in most of the shots, not subtly shown or slightly hidden. The shots look great and the first set will be on the site in August.

Thirdly, I just haven’t got my head around doing it well. I don’t want to show a cock just for the sake of it. I also find that if I can’t hide the cock in a way that doesn’t look too awkward or contrived then I won’t hide it, if the model is ok with that.

I know some people, from comments made on yesterday’s post and a previous video of a guy kite surfing nude, don’t consider it truly nude unless full frontal is display but I disagree. We don’t really have to see every detail of something to know it to be true, so do we really need graphic display of genitals to know someone is nude? Not in my opinion.