Edward Ficklin, artist

oil painting of two male figure, one nude standing to the left, the other lying on the ground before a surreal landscape of swirling clouds, a red planet, and flowers

John Carter, but make it gay!

The gay erotic surrealism of Burrough's hyper-masculine hero John Carter unpacked through the medium of a new oil painting

marble statue of standing nude male looking pensively off into the distance

Spartacus, queer hero

A new, queer look through the lens of ecstatic ritual at an old hetero legend, history's most famous gladiator, Spartacus, queer hero

A sleeping male beauty, nude, with a sizeable endowment peeking out; he's resting on a dark background and graced with gentle white flowers

Buddhism and the Erotic

Why is the erotic, something so fundamental, powerful, and pleasurable criminalized, censored, and shamed? Because, if let loose it threatens to tear down the house which whiteness built.

side by side images of a young, shirtless, muscular man grinning at the camera in delight at being made a sex object

What Men Want and What Men Look Like

Reading this book, and sharing in the experiences and reminiscences, I wondered: is representation also the freedom to present your desire, unedited, uncoded, uninhibited for those that share the desire? We bond over not being the same, but wanting the same.

oil painting of muscular, nude, male angel against a pristine blue sky, graced by large magnolia blossoms. he's grinning impishly and aiming a golden bow and arrow at an unseen target

An angel has no memory

I find myself suddenly drawn to the angel as a presentation of male beauty that is sensual and celebratory, rather than violent or coercive. Yes, there’s a bow and arrow. But it’s the revelation of hidden desires he’s aiming at his unseen target, not a threat of subjugation.

detail of John Singer Sargent painting of youthful male athlete, presumably nude, crowned with laurel leaves, instead of triumph, the dark background, deep shadows and his somber expression convey something much deeper and mysterious

Coded works, coded lives