Well folks, in this week's exciting episode of Artistic Angst, I am gonna explore why some of my artwork gets preference over other. For quite a while I had this theory that nudes would gather more pageviews than more normal portraits.. So a little while ago I made a bit of an experiment, by drawing a regular portrait, a full-frontal nude, a more subtle nude, and a pregnant nude.. Now the idea was to see which would be the more popular, and obviously this is taking into account that they weren't posted on the same day, amount of Deviants online at the time of posting, and all the rest of it...but I was surprised to find slightly different results to what I had expected. The numbers are below..

[link] (79 views, 12 faves)
[link] (77 views, 14 faves)
[link] (71 views, 11 faves)
[link] (135 views, 14 faves)



In the same vein, I have started cleaning up my galleries, re-organising, and will delete what I find is not being viewed. It's funny, I have found in a number of instances that what i thought was one of my better efforts has almost been overlooked, and stuff that are 'after-thoughts' seem to do quite well! For example, I thought this one wasn't too bad

[link]

but to date has only had 1 fave and no comments at all, yet this one, which was a quick drawing by my standards,

[link]

has done quite well.. I don't know, I have no idea what makes a picture popular and what doesn't.. Oh, and this is the winner of Most viewed piece is this one..

[link]

yet it only had 3 comments (and one of those was from me!)



I have often wondered why it is that a photograph of a nude lady where all is revealed can often be the motherlode of pics, even if the model has taken 200 and only one shot is full view. Is it absolutely necessary to see everything? Is there some male need to see 'what she's got', as though it is some great Indiana Jones-esque quest? (I was going to add ' or female' to that too, but somehow I doubt many women would actively pursue the hunt for such pics..unless I am wrong of course..) There is an ever-growing library on an ever-growing number of websites, of Celebs caught out with underwear shots, nude beach shots, boob slips, or indeed 'stolen' sex videos for the whole hog..whatever.. Surely this alone is an indication of either a raw hunger to see our movie/pop/sports/tv stars sans apparel (maybe to compare with others, or ourselves?: humans are good at that..), or a primitve, almost childish way of belittling them. Billy Connolly once said "when your knickers are down, you're funny", though surely depends on the context and situation! I mean, one single point-and-laugh and things could turn nasty

I have seen artworks here on DA devoted entirely to the female genetalia, some reproduced as straightforward drawings/paintings. others using it as a metaphor for Creation, Origins, Flowers, cherries, you name it.. Personally, I wouldn't do that, simply because I have always thought that regardless what is on display, the face is ALWAYS the most important part of the body: it can display all the emotion and expression required..I mean you don't need to see what she is doing if she is giving herself pleasure or pain - you can tell it on her face Of course there are times when the face isn't visible, and the eye is drawn to another part of the whole...I have tended to avoid the gynaecological approach to drawing nudes, but of course have had to draw everything if everything has been in the original photo. I am not shy about that ( about the only thing then!)

I went through a phase of drawing lots of nudes in the early part of the decade..In fact i can remember when I thought I was pushing it a bit drawing not only the side of a boob, but the hint of pubic hair that was just visible in one shot. Then that progressed to above the knees, then thighs, then underwear..etc... Artistic 3rd base I guess... Anyway it got to the stage where I was drawing so many that I started to get bored with it. Things came to a head one night when I took a portfolio of my work to a local pub to meet someone for potential photoshoots, she wanted to see my work, and my folders got passed around the whole damn pub! Upon seeing this pic.. [link] , one slightly merry chap asked me, in all sincerity "hey jas, do you ever get...you know..'excited' when you are drawing these?" I had a lot of good comments, even selling one there and then! But I think my flame had gone out..(it has never been lit on that pic, no faves, no comments!) So I turned my hand at more regular portraits, and to this day only venture back to the nudes now and then..

It seems to me that (for want of a better phrase) pussy shots will be here, in all their wonderful high def glory, on a zillion websites, way past when I am dead and scattered.. All the time there is a want for them, like an insatiable thirst that cannot be quenched..WHY? I don't know... probably a primitive male urge, or desire, or curiousity. Yes I've had that too, back in the day when I was in college, a lot thinner, and a bit of a lad..(oh..memories.. ), but now I'd like to think that nearly 20 years later I am old enough to be able to appreciate the whole of the female nude (as I have for many years) as the most beautiful thing there is, and not as i did as that intrepid adolescent, as a challenge,a goal, or a need to satisfy a sexual appetite. And I feel so , so sorry for these kids today that grow up and are taught by society that certain parts of their wonderful, unique bodies are 'dirty', 'not talked about', 'obscene', 'mucky', 'something to be sniggered at'..well, you get the idea..

So, I ask you, what makes a picture popular? Is nude preferable to clothed portraits? I know everyone will have their individual ideas and thoughts, and that's great.. can anyone else understand my frustration at drawing things for hours only for them to reside in the doldrums? I don't draw solely for the reason of getting pageviews, I do it because I like it (else I wouldn't do it!!) It's just a little disheartening when you put your heart into a picture, or take lots of photos that only get a few glimpses..you ask yourself - what's the point?.. The easiest thing to do is to stop and to just watch the masters at work.. and believe me I have come close to that a few times.. but I think I just need to accept that i will never reach the dizzy heights of some artists on here, and that that is fine..I should just keep plodding away, be happy with my average of 70 pageviews and 5 comments, and be thankful that at least ,in my lifetime, my work has been seen by many more people than a few dozen in a noisy Welsh pub

Right, that's enough, I have typed a novel and have just discovered my right leg is bleeding nicely (thanks to a damp sock!). No idea how I did that - sharp nails and an itch I think??