Let’s be honest. I stumbled upon Mark Blanton’s art because I’m a perv obsessed with satyrs. There, I said it and yes, you heard right. I am a bit of a satyr fanatic, bordering on collector. I was doing a search in Google for satyr/faun/Bacchus, you name it when I saw a couple of images that really got me excited. These weren’t your usual suspects but rather, amazing hand-drawn erotic images that I had never seen before.
Immediately I set about to finding out more on the artist who made them. That is when I fortuitously stumbled on Mark Blanton’s pin-up site and finally Satyromania.com. I spent hours browsing his site before I wrote him an email that went something like, “Hi Mark, I’ve just drooled all over your work!” Well, it was more elegant than that but certainly conveyed the same message. I was head over heels in love with Mark’s erotic art and knew almost instantly that I’d be commissioning something in the future.
As I thought of the erotic coffee table book I realized it would be really wonderful to feature not just my art but a series of artists. That is around the time I requested a price sheet from Mark and set to work on figuring out the details of our first commission. After having written entire sections of our second book of our trilogy, Three Princes, I knew I wanted a piece featuring sexy Daniel of Dawnduir.
I had just finished wrapping up some preliminary 3D models of Daniel and on a hunch sent them to Mark. I don’t know how he did it but the first sketch that arrived in my inbox was Daniel and Khajj in the flesh. He captured their likeness and the sizzling, playful energy between them. I was stunned into a fit of giggles–seriously. I hit the forward button instantly and sent the piece to Marzio in the middle of his workday. Ooops! Should have mentioned attachment was not safe for work!
When he told me he had shipped it, my heart raced. Having missed the delivery, I rushed to the post office. The small file attachments did not prepare me for the unveiling of the 14×17 finished piece. As each protective layer was discarded, I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was equal to the thrill of undressing a long awaited lover. When I laid eyes on the final work I nearly jumped. The subtlety of light and shadow and the precise lines didn’t even seem like something made by human hands. There was not a single eraser mark or a single smudge. It was breathtaking. It was like he reached into my mind and saw my vision for Khajj.
Immediately I began to plan another commission. Dhatura must to be next! I saved my pennies, sent him some of my own sketches and did my best to describe Dhatura. Again, Mark Blanton awed me. The sketches that came back were just mind blowing and sexy as hell.
I have both these pieces gracing the walls in my library. I don’t care how lewd people think they are. To me they are simply divine.
