Artwork Description:
The curator at Nude Nite suggested that the price for Celestial Venus, which she described as “seriously beautiful” was too low, so I increased it to 1200. The model was Naomi Clark, my first nude model. I got the idea of using a seashell from a photo of an Italian model that I saw on Model Mahem, which I painted in black white tones as The Artist Protects His Model 2012. Including my hand painting the seashell came from a dream. Naomi was about 20 at the time, very voluptuous, though I added more body to her torso.
One can draw historical references to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus coming to shore in a seashell. It is the birth of a pearl in a seashell, symbolic of the birth of love. Matthew 13:45: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. In these paintings, the artist is hiding the pearl of greatest value--his love of painting. The paint is both the cover and the revelation.
Artwork Keywords:
Venus, Nude, Female Nude, Sea Shell, Birth Of Venus, Original Painting