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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Recruit

Engine 13

Someone once said to me, "You are really talented, but why that subject matter? Have you ever tried something else like landscapes?" Well, I do love landscapes and the way they can draw you into their world. And while I sometimes wish I had the passion to draw them, that's just not me. Being a gay man, there are obvious reasons I draw what I do. But where to draw the line between my inspiration from sexuality and my inspiration from beauty, I am just not sure. However I do know that my art is not all about sex. As much as I may find a sunset, waterfall or glass skyscraper beautiful, I find that same kind of beauty in a shirtless guy. For me, the male body is a true work of art. Perhaps growing up in an atmosphere where it would have been detrimental to my health to be caught ogling a hot guy is why I am so drawn to capturing that taboo eye candy on paper.

I grew up in rural upstate NY. Not the most nurturing environment for a budding gay artist. Due to my conservative surroundings, I always felt the need to include female subjects in my artwork. I felt as long as my paintings featured a busty female, it was safe to include a muscular Adonis. Sometimes I would disguise the hot guys in my paintings behind a science fiction motif, or by doing a series such as "Signs of the Zodiac," where one would feature a hot guy, and the next would be of a female. I did whatever I could to express myself, even if I did have to use the females in my art as a kind of security blanket. But even those women that I felt compelled to draw always ended up being rather muscular and manly looking.

One of my earliest positive experiences as a gay artist took place in my early twenties as an employee at an art supply store. Here I found a close friend in a co-worker named Deana. I was finally able to confide in someone about being gay. The acceptance I received from her was something I had never experienced from anyone in my family. I no longer felt so alone and different from everyone else. After some gentle prodding from Deana, I began to display some of my pieces in the store. I was very pleased when this created interest in my work and even brought me a few commissions. People actually felt I was good enough to be paid for something I loved to do.

Sunday Paper

Soak

Leader of the Pack

So here I was, doing well with the commissions I had garnered. While I was happy that people thought I had talent and wanted me to paint their portraits, I quickly grew dissatisfied with simply painting what others wanted me to paint. I was grateful for the opportunity to earn money at something I loved doing. But it was frustrating not to be able to paint something that made me happy. I slowly began to phase out doing portraits for people, and before long I had all but given up painting. For a few years, I would rarely pick up an art brush or a stick of pastel.

But then I discovered the Internet. I started out by creating a personal website where I mentioned being an artist. That led to people inquiring about my artwork. I soon got the nerve to put up a few pieces. I had been so afraid to share my paintings of nude men with people I knew. But here I was, showing them off to the whole world. It felt so liberating.

In next to no time I started receiving compliments on my style and technique, as well as on the subject matter. I would get emails from other gay men who would tell me how inspiring they found my artwork to be... how refreshing it was to see real artwork featuring nude men, not just more porn on the web. It was around this time that I opted for a change of scenery and moved to Massachusetts. No longer living "back home" where I had allowed my surroundings to stifle my creativity, I was finally able to express myself as I had always wanted. No more hiding behind drawings of women, family portraits or those lovely little landscapes. My passion is the nude male body, and that is what I choose to draw.

 

 

© 2008 Michael Breyette

Michael Breyette is a self taught artist who has been drawing for as long as he can remember. But, it wasn’t until moving from a conservative family and hometown in rural upstate NY that he felt the freedom to express his true self and his true passions in his artwork.

The resulting illustrations of male nudes and gay themed works rendered in soft pastel are what turned his hobby into a career. In 2000 he found a global audience by posting a few of these pieces on the Internet. Three years later he made the decision to quit his secure day job and be a full time self supporting artist.

One of the major rewards of that decision came in 2007 when renowned gay pictorial publishing house Bruno Gmünder of Germany published Summer Moved On, a collection of Michael’s works, followed by calendars in 2008 and 2009. His works also appear in the anthology Stripped and The Greatest Erotic Art of Today Volumes 1 & 2 (for which he won the Viewer’s Choice Award in 2008), as well as numerous magazines including Blue, Manner Aktuel, Unzipped, Gaydar, and [2], for which he earned the distinction of having the magazine’s first ever illustrated cover. His work has also appeared on several book covers

Michael’s works can be viewed and purchased at his online gallery, www.breyette.com, where in addition to his originals; he offers prints, postcards, and magnets and copies of his books and calendars. He is also represented by leading male figurative gallery, Lyman-Eyer, of Provincetown MA.