Nudes. We’re all aware of what they are, heck some of us may have even sent them. But have you ever thought about getting them made into a piece of art? It’s an interesting concept right? We chatted with a digital illustrator who does just that, with the consent of those involved of course.
U: First off, do you want to give us a little intro into who you are and what you do?
I’m a nurse based in London. During the pandemic, as my background is children’s intensive care nursing, I quickly ended up in adult intensive care. I found this really stressful and being creative on my days off is what has kept me (somewhat) sane for the last year and a half. There isn’t room for mistakes in nursing and being in a speciality outside of my own, my anxiety was through the roof. I love that there is no “right” way to be creative.
U: Your insta profile says you turn nudes into art which is why we thought you’d be a perfect match for our latest issue as it’s about sex. How did you start getting into doing erotic illustrations?
I started off just trying to make a little collection of pictures for my boyfriend in lockdown 1, based off of pictures I had of us. We’ve always involved other people in our relationship, so I just started moving through all the photos I had been sent. Once I had a little collection I’d posted online people were very keen to get involved. So I’m never short of a nude to work from.
U: When you hear the word ‘sex’ which of your pieces come to mind first?
Anything from my unkink.ed collection.
U: We love a bit of self promo!
U: We love your piece titled: She’s a freak in the sheets. Do you want to tell us a bit more about that piece and what inspired you to create it?
She is “princess” and features in a lot of my work. You can usually spot the hair. She’s in a dominant/submissive relationship and enjoys being with women. The couple have always been very open with their relationship with me in terms of pictures and videos. They keep this quiet otherwise, so I enjoy bringing to life their alter egos. This is based on one of many pictures and videos I received from that night. With the consent of everyone involved.
U: Of course, consent is always essential.
U: We also spied that you do custom erotic art pieces on your Etsy shop. What’s been your favourite custom piece?
Good girl! Hands down. It was originally a birthday card for the woman’s partner and has progressed into my best selling piece. She’s featured throughout my work too. Plus, I’m now good friends with the couple!
U: I love that, mixing work and pleasure quite literally.
U: If it’s custom, how does that process work, are you sent photos? Do you have people come to your studio?
I work from photos. Occasionally I’ll take the photos myself and work from self portraits if someone wants a very specific pose.
U: Speaking of real people featuring in your work, we spied you also have another insta @Unkin.ed based off real erotic moments. Do you want to tell us a bit more about that?
This is how it all started (and stopped very quickly after Instagram banned me.)
U: Damn instagram and their nipple bans! #FreeTheNip
The concept of unkink.ed is to give a platform to our hidden lives. There’s a lot of shame and stigma around sex still, especially kinks and fetishes. I wanted people to be able to find comfort in my work that they were normal. It’s not porn, it’s not staged. It’s just real people having fun. My DMs were quickly full of people wanting to share their photos and stories.
U: Do you have any dream people you’d like to collaborate with?
I’m really obsessed with @gracelandlondon at the moment and would love to work with her.
U: Immediately follows them on instagram. Their work is so cool, I can see why you’d love to collab, I could see that working so well.
Any top tips for our readers wanting to strip off and get painted?
(My work is mostly all digital) However, I’d say just be yourself. Authenticity is what I base my images on. I love finding people online who are unapologetically themselves. It’s these people I find the most inspiring and they make me want to create.
U: And finally, any fellow queer friendly, erotic arists who we should be following also?
(Not always erotic, but always incredible!)
(focuses a lot on the male form and his work is stunning).
Thank you so much for including me.
U: Thank YOU so much for chatting with us! If you want to check out more of @a_littlebitsketchy’s work, or maybe even slide into their DMs for a commissioned piece, then you can find their work here. They are also doing Pay It Forward prints to help raise money for the Crossbreed tickets. Find out when they’re next doing a batch to help out the community here.
