'Sophi Squats'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Elian' Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
I love Weltman´s work for three reasons. First of all because of her line which is often loose and sketchy. In many of her works Weltman utilises this line which is deeply rooted within the classical sketching tradition and clearly seen in the picture of 'Elian' above.
Secondly there is a great sense of humour or playfulness to be traced in many of the works.
Carolyn´s line reminds me at times of the work of Danish cartoonist Nicoline Werdelin (see some of Werdelin´s work here). I grew up with Werdelin´s satirical caricature strip in the newspaper Politiken, commenting the daily life of Danes and I can´t help but smile when I see some of Carolyn´s work.
The sense of humour or playfulness can certainly be seen in the work 'Smokin´Josie' below.
'Smokin´Josie'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Thirdly Weltman is one of few artists who portray the male nude from a loving female perspective - and that is rare!
Mostly, when you see a depiction of a male nude the artist is usually gay himself. Although the female nude has been used artistically for centuries to describe a formal aesthetic and to display a masculine erotic preference, it is still far from acceptable or respectable for women to express their erotic desires artistically. With Weltman´s work though it is clear that she is very close to her subject and describes her own desires for it (just look at her own descriptions of her work...).
Diversity of eroticism.
There is another aspect of Weltman´s work which makes it interesting and important and that is her investigation and subsequent depiction of various aspects of eroticism. Her work makes reference to eroticism both explicitly and indirectly and shows us some of the many different ways in which people live, experience and experiment with eroticism. There are too many to give examples of them all but below is a selection of some.
The couples.
Weltman´s depictions of the postcoital loving hetrosexual and homosexual couples show the tender moments after the physical loving has taken place when we bask in the afterglow of the erogenous sensations.
'Spooning'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'The Sleepy Boys'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'The Sleepy Girls'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Curvy women.
Weltman has also done a series of works on large ladies - below are two examples.
'Body Of Woman'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Sexy'
Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Sexy'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Bondage.
Bondage is a much used and well loved subject for many artists referencing erotica and Weltman is no exception. Bondage is erotica of a more extreme kind but nevertheless with a strong focus on aesthetics. There is different styles of ropework, Western and Japanese. To the initiated, Japanese rope art bondage is known by the name Shibari/Kinbaku. Weltman works with the Western style.Usually, photography is the preferred media for artistically capturing this kind of erotica. Weltman´s work is therefore perhaps a little unusual in that she uses the medium of drawings instead when depicting her bondage subjects. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of that, her work possesses another kind of beauty not seen in the traditional bondage photographs.
Most unusual of the works below is 'Tied To The Game' as it shows a man and a woman standing next to each other - usually an image just records one person maybe because it often is the photographer who does the binding and then snaps the pictures.
'Tied to the game'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'The Prayer'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Binding my muse'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Gods and Men'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Shoes.
This is another highly specialised area and much used theme for artists working with erotica. Some simply show feet in shoes whilst others include and display the rest of the partially clad or fully naked body to whom the feet and shoes belong.Weltman obviously loves shoes and has done many pictures of just shoes but she also links and shows her subject´s powerful erotic potential more explicitly in her work 'Long Night In White Shoes'.
'Long Night In White Shoes'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Strap Ons'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Karma Sutra.
If you are looking for more of the explicit kinds of pictures Weltman can also provide that without it becoming vulgar or hard. There is still a sense of loving between the couples she shows us in her series of Karma Sutra cards.
'The fish'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'One Knot'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'The Ascending'
Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'The Ascending'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
Boxers.
Finally I want to show her series on boxers. There is no doubt in my mind why I love Weltman´s boxers so much. Although I'm not a fan myself, I do find Weltman´s treatment of this subject fascinating. Combining nudity, particularly the vulnerability that goes with it, and the raw strength displayed by a boxer is a clever idea and this juxtaposition is reflected in the colours.'Still In The Game' (see below) is one of my absolute favourites because you really see Weltman excel at the technical aspect of her profession as an artist and if I had the money I would buy this picture in a flash.
'Still In The Game' Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'On the Mat'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Thinking It Through'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
'Fight Boy Getting Ready'Copyright by Carolyn Weltman
As a testimony to Weltman´s ability and love of her subject, this year she received the honour of being the first female painter to have her work included in the quarterly journal The Art Of Man, which focuses on the fine art of the male form.
You will also be able to find her work in the highly desirable and beautiful book '100 Artists of the Male Figure' due to be published in January 2011.
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