Beautiful women models sold cars, appliances, and cigarettes. Handsome rugged men sold farm machinery, lawn care, and cigarettes. Both vices and virtues were made more attractive with great looking people. These were the advertisements of Madison Avenue and beyond.
My MEN IN ADS acrylic canvases reflect what all those other advertisements did not: A very conscious gay bent. Male pulchritude is used to sell pleasurable products (candy and potent potables). In the 1960s there was the Marlboro man, but his sexuality was, at best, ambivalent. He was pretty much a loner, although handsome and seductive. Robert Redford would have made a good Marlboro man.
The first advertisement I did was a Halloween themed canvas perfect for a wall in my living area. It was fun composing it, beginning with a vague idea and then creating a fun and spooky pitch for Halloweeny rum.
As an artist, the greatest fun is doing something unique and new for any picture. The giant moon, flying bats, and pumpkin patch all required thought. When I paint, I always want it to feel like I am in fourth grade again during art class learning something new. Indeed, I loved all the Halloween paraphernalia in stores and school walls. This picture I think keeps those decorations in mind.
This was the first in my series of MEN IN ADS, many of which have seasonal themes. They are meant to be a little silly, but with a satiric bent.
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