The Beauty of Men ~ Art

by Kelly Borsheim October 5, 2023

Dear Art lover,

     Happy October! I love this month, but seriously wish I could be out in this perfect weather to carve marble. I have now passed the 2-month mark of what looks to be a 6-month recovery period from spine surgery due to that freak accident in July. And I just recently started to work to finish a clay sculpture for a commission I have. Yay... slow, but YAY!

     Many of us grew up in a culture that celebrates women as the gender of beauty and desire, at least in art and cinema (if your idea of celebrating means "featuring nude"). But I also grew up with a mixture of ideas about human behaviour. Example: A dear friend told me when we were in university together in Texas that I was a feminist. Frankly, I was offended. What I had seen from the women's movement was that it started out justly, for a very worthy cause.

     But then the Women's Lib Movement got exaggerated and distorted. What appeared to me as a struggle of equal rights got twisted into a man-hating fest. [Luckily for me, my friend explained that she saw me as doing what I wanted and never feeling that I was limited because of my femaleness. Chalk that up to being raised with brothers.]

     I learned in the 1970s that I do not appreciate putting others down just to make oneself, or one's group, feel lifted up. Life need not be a seesaw! It is the exact opposite of the idea of all people being equal in value, despite our individual differences.

     I also suffer a lot from Underdog Syndrome. When I see someone or a group of someones being beaten down by stronger forces, I feel that actions must be taken to put the balance back into life's situations.

      To that end, as I began my art career in the early 1990s, drawing, then painting and later sculpting from life was what shaped me. Granted, I have had favorite models of both genders over the years, and to be frank, a very few models who either made me uncomfortable or just did not inspire.

     However, I learned a lot from that, not wanting to ever waste the gift a model gives to artists. I learned that no matter the pose, or the expression, or the body type (that I had been trained to see as not particularly attractive), each model had something beautiful about him, or her. It became important to me to share what I saw as beautiful in each person, even if it was not "pretty."

     So, with these thoughts in my head recently due to so many finger pointing, denials and justifications the world over for bad behaviour (understated), I want this newsletter to feature the
BEAUTY OF MEN.

     Men are better when they are not the adversaries of women (and vice versa). We all have more in common than we do not.

     Let me know which are your favorite artworks. Some of these works are full-figure male nudes. I would hate to shock you. ;-)

Drawings:

drawing of white light shapes on a male figure on a medium-toned paper, male nude model

Above: Ernesto, white pastel on grey paper

framed and matted elegantly drawing of the backside of a standing male nude figure, art by Kelly Borsheim

Ode to Michelangelo (Mauro II), pencil drawing framed

framed charcoal drawing of man's intertwined fingers resting on his chest in a grey living room scene

Entwined, charcoal and pastel on grey paper, framed

Tall vertical framed drawing of man in shadows with his hands covering his face, "Enough"

Enough, charcoal and pastel on grey paper, framed

charcoal drawing of a nude man on a type of cross... copy of a Fortuny drawing

charcoal drawing copy of M. Fortuny original

charcoal drawing of man lying on top of Hellcat motorcycle in front of stone arch

Hellcat at the Pitti, charcoal and pastel framed art, shown with Zebra Lips Marble Sculpture

Charcoal and white pastel drawing of a portrait of a man, a copy of a sculpture by Donatello, in a home office scene

Niccolò da Uzzano Portrait, after Donatello, charcoal and pastel on grey paper

blue, purple and white pastel drawing on black paper of shadow of man on smoking break, art on wall in loft apartment

La Pausa, pastel on black paper, smoking man in silhouette, framed

Il Dono, the Gift, a man offers his hands as if he is holding something towards the viewer, pastel and charcoal drawing on brown paper

Il Dono (The Gift), pastel and charcoal on brown paper

pastel drawing of sleeping man with rustled sheets and an angel wing showing in the shadows, male nude art

Sleeping Angel, pastel drawing inspired by Caravaggio

Full frontal male nude pencil drawing, self portrait of artist Vasily Fedorouk

pencil drawing, self portrait of artist Vasily Fedorouk

Painting:

framed print of The Triumph of Icarus, in a room with a white piano

framed limited edition print of The Triumph of Icarus

figure oil painting of man on his knees, accepting the light, Relinquish, with bronze sculpture Valentine on the mantel

Relinquish, with bronze sculpture Valentine on the mantel

Sculpture:

Bronze nude man sculpture sits on a dresser with two pastel drawings of Siena and Bologna hanging above the art.

Eric, male nude tabletop sculpture shown with pastel drawings: Coral Corridor (Siena, Italia) and Pensive in Bologna

another view of the seated male nude figure sculpture Eric... muscular man art by Kelly Borsheim

Detail of the beautiful Eric, bronze sculpture of a young muscular man seated

mirror with five nude men as a bronze frame, mounted on the wall in a contemporary bathroom

Oh Boy! unique bronze mirror of five nude male figures

Detail of bronze man holding a red hawk on his hand, as they look at one another, sculpture by Kelly Borsheim

Detail of man and bird in Warrior Spirit

The Unwritten Future, bronze sculpture of two men on a lily pad and cattails, set in a contemporary bathroom

The Unwritten Future graces this contemporary bathroom

Set of three diamond shapes bronze tiles, each has a different pose of nude men, Tranquility, Peace, and Vivacity

Tranquility, Peace, and Vivacity bronze tiles. Available as set or as singles.

Black patina on bronze sculpture of male nude torso, Valentine, with white marble back looks great in black, white, and red bathroom

Valentine bronze with charcoal patina

Reginald, a bronze sculpture of a black man walking featured in Austin American Statesman newspaper as part of art exhibit

Reginald bronze figure made the Austin American Statesman

a small bronze wall sculpture features a man's chest mounted on a stone base

Chest Piece, bronze wall hanging (or put on small table easel)

Sculpture ~ Order Only Bronzes:

Large man's chest makes a bronze Shield sculpture that may be exhibited inside or out.

Shield may be exhibited inside or out. Would look amazing on a gate!

Gregg is a bronze sculpture of a standing man wiping his face with his tank top. Orders only

Celebrating men with this bronze Gregg

a tall statue of a bronze man struggling against large hands pulling him down, orders only

Against the Dying of the Light, bronze beauty in the struggle against something larger than oneself. Detail of head profile below:

profile detail image of the bronze male figure's head and neck as he leans backwards in his struggle

Sculpture: by Vasily Fedorouk:

the god Apollo rides a dolphine and he looks heavenwards. Stone carving by Vasily Fedorouk

Apollo, god and dolphin, stone by Vasily

Male torso nude carved from white marble, sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

Male Torso, Marble, 8 x 15 x 7 in, sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

Centaur marble carving self-portrait of artist in stone sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

Centaurus, Marble, 13 x 10 x 5 inches, stone sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

A man rides a horse, but looks behind him. granite stone carving by Vasily Fedorouk

Trust, Granite, 22.-5 x 18 x 7 inches, stone sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

abstract sculpture of male figure nude with arms extended over a circle of stone

Spaceman, Limestone, 17 x 16.5 x 4 inches, stone art by Vasily Fedorouk

Warning If you click on the link below or on this image, you will see a sculpture of a male erect phallas in marble

Phallus, marble, 23.5 x 11 x 8 inches, sculpture by Vasily Fedorouk

naughty art, in this link is the limestone carving titled Peeping Tom by Vasily Fedorouk

Peeping Tom, limestone, 13 h x 6 x 6 inches, by Vasily Fedorouk

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In my two shops on the Etsy platform, I have moved all of my nude artwork listings, in many different formats (from digital downloads to prints I make and ship to you, and a few selected original works) to the second shop here:
https://borsheimartsstudio.etsy.com

Enjoy. I hope to keep adding content to both shops.
[The main shop is: https://borsheimarts.etsy.com ]

Thank you for following my art and career. Share this newsletter link if so moved.

Best,

Kelly

https://BorsheimArts.com

P.S. Two vertebrae in my middle rib cage area were broken in an accident on the beach (well, perhaps the wave INTENDED to slam me into the seabed as I turned towards the shore, I was not able to ask). The doctors and rescue staff told me repeatedly to stay still on my back (for five days) or I risked losing the use of my legs. I had surgery in Livorno, Italy, on 25 July 2023, to stabilize the vertebrae by installing eight screws and some titanium bars in the surrounding bones of my spine. And I can walk.
My siblings set up this page to share the story. If interested, click here:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/back-surgery-rehab-for-sculptor-kelly-borsheim
Thank you.