Aussielicious

Eleven months ago I committed to having an exhibition that I’ve been talking about for years. That day has arrived. I’ve just finished hanging the images on the walls. There are a few little bits and pieces to be done for the opening night and then I will have a firm grip on a glass of champagne to calm the nerves.

Thank you to everyone for the huge amount of support that you have all shown me. It’s all very much appreciated and humbling. Whatever comes of having an exhibition, I’m exceptionally glad I’ve done it and plan on doing more.

The alcohol is all ordered, the aussieBum clad barmen are organised and there’s not a lot left to do. This time next Tuesday I will be a nervous wreck but very excited at the same time.

A couple of readers have commented that they are hoping to come along on opening night. Unfortunately due to the size restrictions of the gallery I have to keep the opening night by invitation. It’s just not a big gallery space. I really appreciate the support of you all and would love you to come along to see the exhibition.

I will be at the gallery on both of the Saturday’s that the exhibition is running. It is open from 11am – 4pm on Saturdays and I will be there from around 1.30 if you’d like to come along and chat.

Yesterday I was in melt-down mode when my expected delivery of the prints for my exhibition didn’t arrive. After many frantic calls and hours of waiting to hear from the courier company I was informed that they were stuck in Brisbane which was about to go underwater. While trying not to over react and imagine blank walls at the exhibition, I tried to come up with contingency plans.

Thankfully this morning the courier company called with the news that they’d got my packages on a flight out of Brisbane last night and sure enough, at 11am the packages arrived on my doorstep. I did have to chase the courier around the building after the poor guy couldn’t get the lift to stop at my floor for some reason, but the prints are here. All I have to do is put my signature on them and take them to the framers.

20 days to go!

2010 hasn’t been the year I was hoping for in a lot of ways but has far exceeded expectations in other ways. Friends have had a great year, other friends have had and awful year. What ever you are all up to over the next few days for Christmas or what ever holiday you might celebrate, do it with an open heart and a big smile.

I’m heading down to my parents place for a few nights in a couple of hours. There will be family time, family friends, and then some old and very dear friends. I’m looking forward to it. I have 3 weeks off work and plan on being naked on the beach, naked camping and just lazing around a lot.

All the very best from me to you with a huge thank you for all the support, feedback and generous spirit you’ve all shown me! I hope Santa is kind to you all. See you in a few days!

lots of love

Brenton x

In just over 6 weeks time, my first exhibition will open and the combination of nerves and excitement is a pretty interesting one. I’m sure any artist or performer knows the feeling when they are about to put their work out there publicly for the first time. Will it be successful? Will people like it or hate it? The images are all at the printers now.

I’ve still got a lot of organising to do. I’d love to find a booze sponsor to cover the wine/champagne for the opening night. I need to find people to serve drinks and a lot of other things. AussieBum have come on board as a sponsor and covered my costs for printing and framing. Without them I’m not sure I could have made it happen. A huge thank you to Sean and his amazing team.

There have been a few very restless nights’ sleep but in general I’m confident and excited.

Here we are at Monday once again. I’ve had a long day at work after waking up dreaming and stressing about the exhibition then problems on a job at work but somehow, I’m still smiling. It’s actually been a good day. I had a laugh with the ladies in the cafe near work, I resolved a couple of things with the exhibition, it was beautiful weather and lots of little bits and pieces went right. So life is good.

Without sounding all preachy and “the Secret” on your arses, I do believe there is something to be said for positive thinking. It might not turn your life around, but it helps how you feel about things that happen.

Today I dropped 12 images off to be printed for the exhibition. I’ve got two more shoots this weekend and want to get 3 more images printed so that I have 15 to show. This shot above is a mate of mine, Jason who was kind enough to tolerate being painted black from the chest up. No, this shot isn’t in the exhibition but another one from this shoot is going in and I’m really happy with it. In 8 weeks today I will be at the opening night of the exhibition!

Back at the start of the year I promised I was going to look for the silver lining in things and Mine the Clouds for silver. Well I am the first to admit that I haven’t done very well at that but I’m turning it around. I’ve been keeping it in my thoughts as much as possible and it’s working. So Mondays are, along with other posts, going to be where I post the stuff that is currently making me happy.

Work isn’t getting to me as much and I try and find something to make me smile, even the little things, most days. There is a Jacaranda tree right near work that has carpeted the outdoor area it’s in, with purple flowers that remind me of when I was a kid.

This afternoon I may have been stuck in the office but it was warm and sunny outside which always cheers me up. A very very dear friend of mine has had a couple of rough years and on top of other dramas recently lost her mother, but this week she was down in Melbourne seeing U2 perform live. She’s a huge fan and they even played her all time favourite song which is something they don’t do live very often.

I’m getting stressed about the looming exhibition opening date and whether everything will be in place in time, but then I’m reminding myself how much I’m also enjoying the shooting and creative process. It’s all good!

Don’t you love it when a weekend just unfolds nicely? Friday night I had a mate come over that I hadn’t seen in ages which was lovely. Saturday morning I got up and in the morning I photographed two guys at once for my exhibition which was a bit daunting. I’ve never shot two at once but it was relatively successful and a good warm up for shooting 7 guys at once next weekend. That was followed by picking up some stuff for another photo shoot and paying the rest of the fee for the gallery.

Last night was a friend’s birthday drinks which was lots of fun and involved me developing a big crush on the birthday girl’s brother. Seriously hot. Sunday morning this morning and I woke up a tiny bit dusty from the beers last night but got organised and headed to the beach for several hours of nude bliss with friends in the sun. Love it.

What could make the weekend better? Not one but TWO new Kylie videos. One for her duet with Taio Cruz and her new solo single, Better Than Today. Enjoy.

We’ve heard of people googling themselves but do you think Urban Dictionarying yourself will take off? A friend had done it and posted the results, or part of them on facebook so I thought I’d go do it too. Given that it’s totally random and like Wikipedia, anyone can post stuff it’s a bit hit and miss but there are aspects that are spot on.

Definition 1: n. A great guy that’s funny. Knows karate and has a black belt. But can’t do a back flip. Known to play Xbox a lot. Good at playing COD4.

Definition 2: A cute, gassy man. attracts many girls. known for his sense of humor and charm. Intelligent but sometimes doesn’t use it. Normally very horny but will wait patiently if he loves you. Can eat you out of house and home if you let him.

Definition 3: Brentons are usually very very gay. They will age as old as 16 without reaching puberty, love ghostbusters, are generally despised by many and will for ever be picked on by everyone in his group. Also, has a rather undersized penis. Likes to drink on the odd occasion. Farting is a very common thing to occur in the presence of a Brenton.

Clearly I’m not going to agree with all of them, but they did make me laugh.

Well this week Aussielicious passed a fairly decent milestone. Aussielicious has turned 5. I knew it was coming up and had thought about doing something special to mark the occasion even though I had no idea what, but then life kinda kept me busy and I didn’t get to it.

I’ve posted nearly 3,500 posts over the two incarnations of the blogs and some would say (and have said) that I have nothing interesting to say. In that time I have had just shy of 7 million hits which is just astounding. I never thought anyone would stumble across my little blog. Then I posted photos of myself nude on the steps of the opera house and someone sent the link to Fleshbot and that day I had 17,000 hits in one day.

Through this blog I’ve met some amazing people, had some amazing opportunities, lots of fun and great times. There has been bits of hating from time to time but overall the response to my corner of the blog world has been tremendous. Thanks everyone.

In general I think blogging is becoming less popular, and people reading blogs has dropped as our attention spans are reduced to 140 characters at a time through twitter and now just pictures through tumbler. Having said that, I’m going to keep blogging for as long as the motivation is there and it’s still there. Thank you everyone for dropping by.

A facebook friend and I were chatting about men the other day and how to meet the good ones. It’s been joked about before that I should use this blog to meet someone but to me it doesn’t feel right, advertising for a husband on my own blog. I jokingly said to my friend that he should write my own personals ad for me. This is what he came up with.

“handsome nudist acrobat photographer dude
looking for love in all the wrong places has decided to try something different
30 something professional artistic type
doesn’t go to the disco
doesn’t smoke or do drugs
drinks occasionally with good company
prefers to keep fit and create art and obsess about things unecessarily
loves kids and family and is a good and genuine true friend
Kylie is his religion
seeks handsome strong fit gentleman with a sense of humour and a good laugh to help him learn to not take him self so seriously, lighten up a bit and to love him back
all entries please attatch a photo as he’s not judgemental but he is a fickle homosexual who appreciates beauty”

I have to say, he’s not far wrong. I definitely love my family, Kylie and all things beautiful, but yes, I am also a fickle homo that needs to lighten up.

Time to answer more questions! Formspring Me!

Since today is october 20th..we clebrate the SPIRITS DAY in honor to those teens who died because of LGBT bullying (lesbiansgaysbitrans.). so wear purple today :)..so a question..do you think this is necessary? :)
Unfortunately yes it is necessary. It’s very sad but we do.

In your professional opinion, what are the BEST stats for a male model: ht, wt, age, etc.? Is there a certain eye, hair, or even skin color that photographs better than any other? Not trying to be racist, but wanted to know about things I can change.
Hey, I have to say no. I’ve seen guys of all sizes and colours who photograph spectacularly. Generally speaking the most successful models are ripped. You never see overweight models and there are racial groups that make more money professionally as they represent the marketplace, in theory.
Feel free to email me your pics!

My first name is Brent, and we are about the same age. I’ve found it odd in my country (USA) to find anyone around my age with the same name, but I’ve met lots of folk who have a son, nephew, etc. with same name. Is your name unusual in your country?
There are lots of Brendan/Brendon’s around my age but I’ve only heard of/met about 8 other Brenton’s. Brent is more common but not a hugely popular name.

What do you think of the current model of beauty? As both a person and a photographer, what do you think beauty is? And how subjective is it?
Beauty is TOTALLY subjective. There are so many contributing factors to what someone finds attractive. What I look for as a photographer is physical beauty but as a person there has to be more.
The current model is a very hard one to live up to. Sculpted abs, chiselled jawline, high cheekbones, big muscles, tapered waist. The list of tick boxes is endless. Half the time the models don’t even look like that. Photoshop is distorting our view of beauty and what is real and it scares me.

Where are these “Asian Style baths” that you visited in Sydney?
They are in Market City above Paddy’s Markets, not far from China Town. They are called “Babylon”

Why is it that Australians use the term “arse”?
Because generally speaking, we’ve followed the English way of spelling and speaking as opposed to American spelling. To us “ass” is a donkey but because of the recent influence of American television and culture these days, a lot of younger people wouldn’t know that.

Why are you so willing to show the goods on other sites, but unwilling to show any frontal nudity to your faithful readers? Are you afraid we are going to point and laugh at the computer ?
There is a little bit of that fear as in the past there have been viciously nasty comments for no reason but as I’ve said several times before, there are people I’ve worked with and other friends that drop by from time to time that would feel uncomfortable seeing all of me and I don’t want to do that.

If you could travel abroad tomorrow (you have the week off), where would you head to and why?
My natural instinct would be to go to somewhere amazing and totally different to explore and see a different culture, I’m also inclined to lie naked on a beach or by a pool in a resort and be pampered because I need some down time. BUT I could definitely go to somewhere like Budapest and soak in their traditional baths, look at amazing old architecture and see something new.

Every year it rolls around, like clockwork apparently. It’s my birthday. In reality it’s just another day but with a nice chilled out meal at the pub tonight with friends. At times I think “When did I get to this age? That snuck up on me quickly” and you get a little worried about the things you thought you’d have achieved by this age. Should I own a home by now? I certainly never thought I’d get to 37 and be chronically single and in a job I don’t love but these things will get sorted at some stage.
I have my health and a lot of great friends and a wonderful family. I’m doing things outside work that I love, dangling from the roof, nude camping, dinners with the great friends I have. There are a lot of people with some serious problems in life. So today is one of work during the day and relaxing this evening.

It’s time to post a few more answers posed to me on Formspring. If you have any questions, Formspring Me!

What’s your favourite condom to use?
Quite frankly, any brand because it means I’m getting some action which is very very rare at the moment.

I’d sure like to know which 5 blogs (besides aussielicious) are “must reads” for you on a regular basis? cheers!
2 cents worth, towleroad, str8jock talking, dlisted, favoritehunks.

Last time you jacked?
I would normally say yesterday as it’s usually a before bed thing, but last night I was just too tired. Update: This answer was posted on formspring two weeks ago. If I were to answer it honestly as I post this, twice, this morning.

Questions from “Inside the Actors Studio” part 1 1) What is your favorite word? 2) What is your least favorite word? 3) What turns you on? (in general, and sexually) 4) What turns you off?
I haven’t given my favourite word much thought but the first word that popped into my head was “delicious”, the least favourite word… again, the first thing that popped into my head is “vulgar” but that is probably more what it represents than the word.
Turn ons are a killer smile, a twinkle in the eye and a great sense of humour, that’s generally. Sexually it’s all that and a whole lot more.
What turns me off is arrogance. I loathe it.

Weirdest place you have ever masturbated?
Probably in the toilets at work. Conveniently all the partitions and the door go right from floor to ceiling.

Do you own or have you used a fleshlight/fleshjack? If so how was it would you recommend them?
I have a fleshjack and while I don’t use it very often it does feel fantastic!

I’m a fan of your blog but do you think you maybe a little narcasitic ? all the pensive self portraits and can you explain what the formspring site is about? I don’t mean to be rude but do you really think you are that interesting?
Firstly I’m glad you like the blog. The “pensive self portraits” are just shots that my flatmate has taken when setting up for other shoots and I’ve stood in to help see what the light is doing. No I don’t think I am that interesting and that did sound rude even if you don’t mean it to be. I created the formspring account because a fellow blogger suggested it as it is a good place to get inspiration for blog posts if I don’t have any ideas.

I remember reading that you were not comfortable with your frontal nudity online. Today I came across a site and instantly realized it was you. Why have you changed your mind or comfort level?
I have posted some frontals on sites before, like hookup sites and nudist sites, but my rule was and still is, no full frontals on my blog.
I did find a site during the week that someone had sent some of my photos to, without my permission. Thankfully the webmaster took them down for me immediately.