The first of drawings for this series were sketched at a bondage performace party called "Black Xmas." They are comprised of life drawings depicting scenes of Japanese style rope bondage known as Kinbaku or Shibari.

"Flesh Impressions"

The title alludes not only to the distinc rope marks that are left on the skin of the bound body, but also to the Impressionist movement. This is my virgin foray into Impressionism. Drawings such as these are not so much accurate renderings of art models as they are 'impressions' of life. The models for these drawings, though bound, were in constant movement. My impressions were captured with great speed and later refined at my leisure. I feel the subject matter at hand returns to the original subversive spirit of Impressionism embodied in the work of Edouard Manet. Moreover, it harkens back to "Japonisme," a strong current in Impressionism and other Fin de Siecle art movements.

*This title, "Flesh Impressions", was an early name for the the Shibari Sketch project. The writing above reflects refers to the earlier title.

These are life drawings of a model in Japanese bondage, Kinbaku. Master rope artist, Arisue Go, holds an occasional life drawing session at the studio of painter, Hideyuki Usuki, in the Kagurazaka neighborhood of Tokyo. I had the good fortune to attend in January 2012 and make these sketches.

These drawings, or, more accurately, brush sketches, were made using a Sumi UV light box and black light paints during a full moon bondage party in Berlin. The subjects, engaged in rituals of bondage and various sex acts were never still. These fleeting impressions were superimposed on one another over the course of the night.

These drawings were executed at rope artist Mike West's 40th birthday party which was a lively display of rope bondage acts performed by a bevy of beautiful models and the indefatigable master of ceremonies, Mike West. It was an exciting, fast paced evening and it was all I could do to scrawl out rough sketches. I've selected three and polished them, "post production" to a presentable state.

I was invited to "Threshold: Display Case" to act as an officially sanctioned voyeur, there to document in sketches the "kinky exhibitionists showing off their best nasty acts" (quote from their website). It was a dark and busy environment, but I did manage to make the drawings above.

As this was the fifth installment of drawings in this series, I began to see it take shape as a documentation of BDSM events, practices, and people in different cities (Berlin, Tokyo, and, naturally, my home town; San Francisco). My favorite subject matter is still rope bondage, particularly if done in a Japanese style.

After these drawings were made in 2012-13, I have occasionally returned to making drawings at rope events, and many more drawings have been added to the collection which I intend to post at a later date.