X
I partnered with Trojan™ Condoms on the unique and bold Trojan™ Nirvana™ Condoms variety pack. A collaboration celebrating self-expression, passion, and pleasure. I couldn't be happier with how my painting has come to life.
A lot of the things that allow me to express myself in the studio translate to finding pleasure with my partner. In both realms, safe practices and good communication are essential and enable experimentation and discovery. I remind my friends to be safe when they work in the studio, and be safe when they are out having fun. Good communication will help you continue to reach higher levels of pleasure. For me, not many things in this universe compare to the feeling of painting, but I can tell you sex comes pretty close. Having a painting inspired by sex, pleasure, and color came naturally to me. The act of painting is much like finding pleasure with my partner. There is a continuous dialogue on many levels that heighten the senses and inform what should be done next. One sensation is dependent on the next. Art and safe sex come together perfectly in Trojan™ Nirvana™, a collection of four different condoms offering a variety of physical and visual sensations of self-expression.
A painting inspired by sex, pleasure, and color came naturally to me.
I would like to take a moment to thank Trojan™ publicly for having confidence in me to give me full creative freedom for my painting. Having a partner that communicates this and encourages spontaneous creativity is inspiring. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Sometimes it takes me months but I had only one session to make this painting. My adrenaline levels were high.
I knew I had to trust the process and trust my instinct, and listen to what the painting was telling me. My paintings are never designed ahead of time. Intuition, exploration, and experience come together to determine how they reach completion. Each mark instructs the next one, and the voice of the painting helps me materialize what is forming in my minds eye.
The energy was absolutely electric.
Lets jump to the day of the painting... It was a hot summer morning at the infamous Shop Studios in Midtown. The space was a massive light filled white room. It had a giant wall of windows and a very tall ceiling. After setting up my workspace I stood before the painting preparing to dive in. I came up with the idea of creating a painting with only the Trojan™ logo painted on the canvas as the starting point. This was the only part of the painting that was planned ahead of time.
I’ve painted hundreds of paintings and the anticipatory energy before starting a new painting is always there. I was amped, nervous, and excited. It's an amazing feeling.
This is what I feel every time I start a new painting. Only this time the sensations were more intense because there were video cameras and a full crew shadowing every step. Not only did I have one attempt to make a 5 x 5 foot unscripted painting, the process was being filmed for a short documentary.
In that zone it felt like it was just me and the painting. At times I wasn't even aware of myself.
I often like to listen to music when I paint. I was the designated DJ and had the crew use my phone to put on Anderson Paaks album Malibu on an amazing sound system. Malibu is one of the best albums I've heard in years. Good music was just the lubrication I needed as I started to paint. When I paint my movement at times is like an ecstatic dance. With each mark my anxiety shifted towards euphoria. The paint and the music helped me get into a zone where I think less and do more. In that zone I felt like I was in the room with just me and the painting. At times I wasn't even aware of myself. Each move dictated by the last.
TROJAN NIRVANA
When I paint I move forward and back to look at the painting from a distance and up close. At one point I stepped back to view the entire painting and I knew it was finished. I felt it right away. The painting felt still, but slippery at the same time. It had a sensation of balance yet at the same time of dynamic movement. These feelings aren't the easiest to express in words, but let's just say it felt like everything worked together. It’s the magical alive feeling of how a good painting enchants the viewer.
I knew right away it was finished. I could just feel it.
Another reason I partnered with Trojan™ was the ability to use this platform for things that I am passionate about to inspire others. I tried painting for the first time due to a chain of unpredictable events. After a few sessions I was hooked and have never thought twice about stopping.
To everyone reading this please remember to keep exploring this world to discover what inspires you and brings you pleasure. When you find it, keep doing it, keep exploring, and share that joy with others.
I couldn't be happier with the painting and am very excited on how it has come to life on the exterior of the box and on the foil wrappers. A painting inspired by the joy of painting and the pleasures of sex and color. There are four different condoms with four different sensations to find your pleasure. Each of the four condom foils has a different design from a detail in the painting. Each featuring strokes of color that create internal sensations that can't be put into words.
