Featured Artist
It's a pleasure to share the blog's very first artist feature with our viewers. His bio-sketch follows, along with samples of his work. Join me in extending a warm Kennel welcome to:
ShylyMrWolf
I am an artist, a pup, and a furry, and I have always been interested in the BDSM lifestyle, but I have only recently made it a subject of my artwork, thanks to the encouragement of one of my good friends. My favored medium is digital painting, as I find I have the most control over my canvas and brushes.
The aesthetic of dominance and submission is very fascinating to me, as there is a strange beauty to be found in a man bound in rope and leather, his body red and bruised from the strikes of a flogger, and his master standing proud and strong. The Furry Fandom had also introduced me to strange creatures who's power and ferocity exert control over smaller, weaker forms. This amalgamated into fantasies of strong beasts showing their dominance over me. These of course are things that cannot happen in real life, so I live vicariously through my artwork.
"Bear Booty"
Whenever I would try to paint with browns, it would look really muddy and ugly. Bear Booty was an ambitious attempt to become better at painting with that particular color. It was really great practice and it helped me get over my weakness.
"Bear/Man"
I made this for an art show at my old college to help promote National Coming Out Day. I wanted something to support bear pride and to show chubby gay twenty somethings that "Yes, you are beautiful".
"Bear Pit"
I adore armpits, mostly for their shape and smell. It is a very masculine symbol that took me a long time to get the shading just right. Although I think it turned out very well.
"ShylyMrWolf"
This was a portrait of Anubis, which is a figure that I feel attached to. Anubis gave up his position as a god of death to his king Osiris and he serves as guide to the dead loyally and obediently, like any good pup. I gave this piece my internet handle as its title, not as a an ego trip, but as a way of saying that I want to emulate his loyalty and humility.
"Leather Demon"
I had the idea of painting something that felt otherworldly, something that looked like it was made of leather instead of just wearing it. My favorite part though is the eyes. They bulge out and remind of some alien being.
"Man/Dog"
My first painting that specifically featured a human pup, Man/Dog was something that I took special care in getting right, especially the curvature of the spine and the leather of the hood.
"Seeing Spots"
My biggest goal was to tell a narrative with this piece, and to express my own anxieties about my sexual fantasies. I find the act of having sex in a club or party setting to be absolutely alluring, but too dangerous for someone as reclusive as me.
"Werewolf"
When I first got my Mr. S leather hood in the mail, I was astonished at the craftsmanship and care that was put into it. So much so that I was determined to make a self portrait of the hood for my portfolio.
"Fat Rat"
I appreciate clean line work by itself, and recently I've been making more of an effort to improve my own shaky hand. This is a character that I've made a point to draw more of too, so he's been great practice.
Want to see more? Check out his sites: