One of our current Insta obsessions is the art of San Francisco artist, Axeish.
I caught up with Axeish to talk about men.
When did you start to pursue your passion for drawing and illustration?
I’ve been drawing since I was a kid, but it was only about four years ago that I started pursuing it seriously.
What led you to focus on the male body and man-on-man erotica?
I grew up in Asia, where homosexuality was still an offence. Being gay, I fantasised about creating a world where things go according to what is ideal for me.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Day-to-day life. Things I see around in San Francisco. Things I hear about from people – their desires.
What sort of men do you prefer to draw?
I love men of all shapes, sizes, and colours. I love diversity. I’d love to wake up surrounded by cocks of different colours.
But there is also definitely a South Asian influence – growing up, I couldn’t find content depicting gay men of colour posing sensually.
If you could get any type of guy to pose for you so you could draw them, what sort of guy would you choose?
Nerds! I especially love the shy ones with beards.
Where can people see your work?
As well as Instagram and Twitter, I also exhibit. I’ve exhibited my stuff at Strut, which is San Francisco LGBTQ centre. I’ve also exhibited in the city’s State Building, the kink leather shop Mr S, among other places. I feel very glad that my art is accepted and appreciated.
I do accept commissions. It’s a fetish of mine to be able to draw something that illustrates someone else’s desires. I love the opportunity to bring to life their fetishes and fantasies.
How do you hope that people feel when looking at your illustrations?
I want them to be able to relate to the illustrations.
I want people to feel proud, and to celebrate the self-discovery phase of their life. I wish that I could shout out to them that they are beautiful – that they belong, that they are part of our community.
Love the art – I want some for my wall.
They’re stunning, aren’t they? Really evocative. Gareth.
I thought the drawings 2nd, 3rd and 4th from the bottom were really quite good. Those seem to me to be less in the graphic art or manga style, almost more akin to oil paintings.
Don’t disparage the “graphic art or manga style”–a number of artists who do those “styles” are quite talented and many do actually do “oil paintings.” Don’t forget that most of Picasso’s and Van Gogh’s most famous paintings which can fall, stylistically, under the heading of “graphic art” (look at their respective “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” and “An Old Woman of Arles”). An “oil painting” merely refers to the medium used–it’s not really a “style” in and of itself (just like “watercolor” or “tempera” or “digital”).
The vast majority of artists can use any number of media when they work and most have a preference when they’re doing something commercially; oil paintings tend to be more time-consuming since the oil has to be thinned to work with and then it needs more time to dry so a professional “commercial” artist might work with pen-and-ink or watercolor for their “day” job but work with oil in their free time (just for fun or maybe for profit).
Thanks for the comment joey.
I don’t believe that “I disparaged graphic art or manga style” illustrations / drawings / art. You are correct in pointing out the difference between a style (or indeed a movement) and the medium in which it is portrayed. I was simply using my own shorthand for the types of styles that I have noted are most often depicted in certain medium.
To my eye, the drawings I referred to are not typical of what I PERSONALLY have seen and associate with the MAJORITY of graphic art (specifically in graphic novels) nor in manga works. They are, as I said, and perhaps should have been more clear on, more akin to the style of drawing / painting that I ASSOCIATE with works done in oils.
I appreciate and enjoy many styles of art and many of the “modern” movements. However, if I had to pic just one stylistic type (of which there are many movements) and one medium, it would be the style represented by The Barbizon School and its various offshoots, The Danube School, Expressionism, The Hudson River School, Impressionism, Realism, Rococo, Romanticism and classical / traditional portraiture; and my preferred medium in art is oils.
Just like taste in men – taste in art is subjective and personal.
Cheers!
Very talented.
Spectacular work! Thanks, Sarge for continuing to raise the bar. Where can we purchase?
Not sure if he’s selling at the moment – but get in touch with Ash on Instagram/Twitter to see if he’s selling.
The price is right. He has a semi-dormant account on Deviant Art under “axegay” with free downloads.
Nice!!!
Does Ash need models for future projects? I’d enjoy collaborating as a model for one of his fetish fantasy works! Love his GH drawing, I really identify with that one as a GH enthusiast!
Way to show the sensual and erotic side of gay men.
ridiculous
Cut the man some slack. He is a recent émigré artist from gay oppressive India to San Francisco to feel free to be himself. He’s charming, witty and still a bit shy. As he says about his art: “
Trying to learn digital concept art and making horny men. I am gay and I love two men making sensual sexy dirty love. I want to sketch inner sexual desire without any censorship or sham”
Perhaps you’re not old enough to remember the old days here of rampant suppression he’s lived his life under. He’s learning to live free and spread his wings.
I agree with you, Behairy…I think he’s promising! You can please all of the people some of the time, you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time…then, there’s “if you haven’t got anything constructive to say…”