Erotic art is the most important art form to me. It is a declaration that you are proud to see the beauty in something others keep hidden or under strict control, that you can be confident in yourself and what you feel a natural attraction towards. The prouder you are, the better. There is a stigma attached that can make people look down on the genre or not want to interact with it at all. But that’s what makes it feel like an underdog tale to me, and a fight worth fighting.
My art style has always relied on black linework, bright colors, and heavy patches of black shading to contrast and define my shapes.
The organic look of hand-colored pieces has become something I value very highly. I used to believe that computer-perfect colors were innately better; I now know there is not enough humanity to relate to in a piece without mistakes.
My subjects typically depict erotic scenes or images inspired by American and Japanese tattooing motifs, but the intention is to present them in subversively defiant yet intricate ways. My driving force is to be somebody’s breath of fresh air in a world lacking dedicated, passionate art.
The cultures that have influenced my work (i.e. Japanese and American tattooing, BDSM, Shibari, punk) have always required a heavier investment in practice and finding the niche communities around the art forms. Within those cultures, art can also become repetitive and formulaic. But as an eager learner, I’m just as eager to play. I take rules/techniques and break them as I see fit. I attempt to take the pulse from one culture and put it in front of another. I see every part of tradition as open to elaboration.
Combining the strongest parts of visual languages has become my favorite way to make art, I feel my creations stand out from each niche they borrow from. The mindset I’ve developed over the last couple years is that you should always be creating work that will live in the viewer long-term, and not leave them feeling like they spent time on something they have and will see again. Let as much of your completely true self shine through as possible. That’s what makes your seconds to minutes with a viewer the most worthwhile.
The amount of detail put into erotic pieces is a love letter to the self, the subject, and the viewers. To perform beyond prudish views on the genre, and to satisfy the viewer searching for such an expression, is why I’m so dedicated to what I do.
Leathercrafting has become a part of my artistic toolbox via creating and handcrafting the custom bondage bench featured in my 2023 solo show, “Your Art Should Be Torture.” I’d like to thank my leather and carpentry mentor Joel Thanos for teaching me.
My art has influenced my leather in that I can physically make pieces I have drawn. I can draw models that are wearing my artwork on furniture I can create. The striking timelessness of leather is something I see myself exploring and testing the limits of indefinitely. But my ideal approach to leatherworking is the same as my approach to art: it must stand out, the details must be painstaking, the concept and its uniqueness must be given the utmost care, multiple visual languages must be combined, and it must be the breath of fresh air that the discerning leather, smut, kink, punk, and tattoo loving weirdo out there would be eternally grateful for.
In art and leather: keep it kustom, let others perpetually make the basics/follow traditions to a T, and when creating for a client or friend or loved one, try your damn hardest to channel their true essence completely. Create the heirloom piece that can never be thrown away or forgotten.
-Frank Martinez, Saucyboi69.
