Erotic Art by Dené Shelton
By Dene Shelton • Mar 12th, 2007 • Category: E-Gallery: Erotic Art
Dené Shelton
Artist’s Bio
Dené Shelton is a queer, sex-positive artist living and working in San Francisco. She most recently showed her acrylic and mixed-media paintings in a solo show entitled Body Splendor at The Women’s Building in November. She also writes a monthly column called “Femme Biker” for Urban Moto, a San Francisco-based motorcycle magazine. Dené is a social worker and is applying to graduate programs in Painting, Writing and Expressive Arts Therapy. You can check out more of Dene’s work at www.deneshelton.com and her myspace page.
Artist’s StatementMy body is the temple of all my being and doing in the world. I will not deny its existence or its splendor.I discovered that I was queer before I ever touched another woman in a sexual way. Along with this new understanding, I found myself immediately afraid of their sex- the messiness, the texture, the smell, the complex process of knowing a woman’s body and bringing her pleasure. Being that I am a woman myself, I began to utilize creative processes to investigate what I had learned about my own body that would cause me to fear my own sex.I began this work with a photo series exploring women’s connection to our bodies. I delved into various ways I connect to my body through my experience of it. I focused specifically on the vagina as it is utilized by society to define a person’s sex as female and can be definitive in our sexual experiences as women.I furthered my exploration with paint. I began painting images suggestive not only of the vagina, but of a woman’s relationship to her sex as well. My work traveled outward from cunt to breasts to heart until all of it, even my hair, became not only represented in the pieces I created, but employed in their creation as well. These pieces are a celebration of my physicality, a celebration in resistance to those who wish me harm for being a strong woman living in this strong and womanly body. Paint is my revolution.
There are pieces from two series here. The first is a series of paintings representing the vagina. These paintings imitate, explore and celebrate women’s sexual physicality. The second series utilizes my body in the creation of various form images. Paint is very physical, a medium which mingles naturally with my body and my being, a release as I release it on the canvas. Having always loved the feel of paint on my skin, I began to paint my body and apply it to the canvas. This allowed me not only to become more intimate with the creative process, but illuminated a new means for me to celebrate my body as I captured its image.
Copyright 2007 Dené Shelton.
Dene Shelton >> a queer, sex-positive artist living and working in San Francisco. She most recently showed her acrylic and mixed-media paintings in a solo show entitled Body Splendor at The Women’s Building in November. She also writes a monthly column called “Femme Biker” for Urban Moto, a San Francisco-based motorcycle magazine. Dené is a social worker and is applying to graduate programs in Painting, Writing and Expressive Arts Therapy. You can check out more of Dene’s work at www.deneshelton.com.
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