I recently started a series of realistic true-to-size oil paintings of Poppers bottles. Below are the results! The impetus for this series was the desire to challenge myself to create tiny, photo-realistic still-life paintings while also continuing to render objects and ephemera that are in constant orbit in my life. Painting those iconic little poppers bottles was an obvious choice. I like to use poppers on occasion for sex, and they’re so ubiquitous in queer culture as to become considered totems of gay sex, or at least a must-have accessory for the sexually active gay man. I’m also drawn to the fact that these cute little bottles viewed by themselves can trigger memories of sexual experiences or simply be evocative of the sexual energy and pleasure they’ve come to symbolize. Each painting is made on a postcard sized 4 x6 inch gesso-ed Birch panel.
