Kept- "the crushed lotus blossom"

|| Bloodclaim ||

You know they're doin' it

2nd-Jun-2005 06:00 pm

velvet_virago

Artist:

velvet_virago
Rating: not work-safe
Pairing: Spike and Xander
Feedback: yes please!
Disclaimer: This image is of the characters, *not* the actors who portray them. Said characters spring from the fertile mind of Joss Whedon, and belong to him, Mutant Enemy, and various other corporate identities... not to me, alas. No money, just for love.
Warnings/Squicks: full nudity
Summary: Inspired by the ficlet "the crushed lotus blossom" in

jans_intentions's poetic series Kept; in the moonlit garden, Xander makes love to Spike for the first time.
Copyright: This is an original artwork, and is not yours to take. Copyright rests solely with the artist (that's me). You may not download nor use in any way without my express permission. Want? Ask.

Notes: Xander's hair all in tiny braids, twinkling with small bits of abalone shell. Moonlight, garden, love.

medium: prismacolour pencils on Canson mi-teint paper, with small touches of chalk pastel.

Comments

2nd-Jun-2005 10:19 pm (UTC)

...I think this is my new favorite picture of yours.

I love the highlights from the moonlight, and the rough paper it's done on- makes it look duskier, more like nighttime. Spike's face is the best I've ever seen you draw it- you can see the emotion in it, and it's a very spikelike expression (smiling, but almost a little...sly. His default look.) Also love the hands on Xander's back- can't really explain why very well, except somebody told me once that in a picture, the face shows the most emotion, but the hands show almost as much. You know? And I like these hands.

And also, yummy! And Xander's hair! So ends my coherency. I think I want to be you when I grow up.

ranga

2nd-Jun-2005 11:00 pm (UTC)

Thank you! What a wonderful critque... um, if this doesn't sound too geeky, I really appreciate (well, adore actually) the way you've analysed the pic and expressed yourself. And...

I think I want to be you when I grow up.

-Made me smile all wibbly. You totally made my day. *snif*

velvet_virago

2nd-Jun-2005 10:26 pm (UTC)

Oh that's simply gorgeous!

This is definetly one of your best. I love all the little touches including the crystals in Xander's hair.

Just lovely.

sueworld2003

2nd-Jun-2005 11:06 pm (UTC)

Well thank you!

And may I just offer a big, heartfelt "likewise"... your most recent manip for "Kept" had me scraping my jaw from the floor; so incredibly beautiful!

velvet_virago

2nd-Jun-2005 10:32 pm (UTC)

Oh, my GOD. That is the loveliest piece of art I've seen in a very long time. It is sweetness, tenderness, beauty and grace, communion and GOD the best Spike depiciton EVER. Heavenly.

I am completely and utterly FLOORED.

Thank you for sharing this GIFT.

beanbeans

2nd-Jun-2005 11:07 pm (UTC)

Wow... well, thank YOU, and you're most welcome.

I'm touched and very, very complimented. *melty*

velvet_virago

2nd-Jun-2005 10:49 pm (UTC)

I'm going to have to come back later and reply properly.

I'm in tears.

Did you have "create something sacred" on your calendar today? :P

I think anyone who has read the last two chapters which gutted me will understand why I feel this way. This...just took me back full circle.

Oddly, when I saw it, I recognized that while I was writing it, I was writing this scene for you, VV. I didn't remember this until I saw it up. But I remember thinking that if ever there was a scene that I could see you capturing it was the tenderness of the lovers in the secret garden.

Thank you, I'll leave what is simply LOVE and come back later. I don't want to clutter up the page here and others should be allowed to enjoy in their own way it without hearing from me.

jan

jans_intentions

2nd-Jun-2005 11:10 pm (UTC)

Gosh, Jan... kinda fumbling for words here... "glad you like it" doesn't seem to quite get the job done.

In truth, today I was struggling with getting a dress cut and sewn and needed a break, and this was my break. And I guess it was really meant to happen, because the drawing came together very quickly and I even got a decent scan of it, and the author likes it, and all is well.

I'm *really* glad it complements your vision. (Didn't mean to make you cry though!)

velvet_virago

2nd-Jun-2005 10:54 pm (UTC)

OMG, this is so gorgeous, I can hardly express in words. Love pastel touches... body highlights are beautifully done. LOVE IT!!!!!!1

elizabeth_cs

2nd-Jun-2005 11:12 pm (UTC)

Thank you very much! *beams*

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 12:17 am (UTC)

Oh, coming home from vacation is always nice when you have this kind of stuff waiting. This is absolutely lovely!! I adore the rough texture and the way it gives the picture a grainy look that makes me feel like I'm peeking through some camera lens. The white highlights give it an ethereal look, and the way you focused all the detail on the boys just makes this an absolute perfect focus. As usual, you are my goddess!!

lit_gal

3rd-Jun-2005 03:19 am (UTC)

Aw... *blush* thank you so much!!

I love that it has a kind of voyeuristic quality that is being picked up on... not in a creepy exploitive way, but rather a "happily stumbled into a secret moment" way.

It's the first time here that I've used a coloured paper, but it was a fun exploration and I'm really happy that it's well recieved.

(And welcome back- missed you!)

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 12:35 am (UTC)

i must say that i think you are a very talented artist. thank for all the lovely spander art you do.

*

strchsr

3rd-Jun-2005 03:21 am (UTC)

Thank you very much. I feel so lucky to have found such a welcoming community!

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 12:38 am (UTC)

Beautiful and a love the angle

cleeaz

3rd-Jun-2005 03:23 am (UTC)

Thank you. That arched back and lovely ass was a treat to draw. *g*

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 02:09 am (UTC)

Wow. Amazing, VV, just beautiful. Spike's face is absolutely perfect. Xander's body, so strong and also beautiful. I love the cornrow braids with the blue abalone. This is really just fantastic. I am in awe.

altyronsmaker

3rd-Jun-2005 03:24 am (UTC)

Thank you! Xander always looks good to me, but in this fic he strikes me as particularly beautiful- an utter pleasure to draw. And I am so delighted that y'all are happy with Spike in this one, too.

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 02:17 am (UTC)

This is absolutely stunning. The quality of the paper makes it seem as if it's nightime, which is a great effect. (BTW, are the words at the top the paper brand? Just curious) Spike's right leg is marvelous. The play of moonlight on the curve of the calf, the ball of the knee......amazing.

This seems private. I don't know if it's the paper or the muted quality of the work, but it seems as if it is happening in secret...or far away from everything.

Beautiful.

lunabee34

3rd-Jun-2005 03:27 am (UTC)

Yeah.. sigh... I happened to choose the bit of paper with the watermark on it, and by the time I noticed the drawing was way too far along to abandon. It says "canson mi-teints", but upside down. (Canson the brandname, and mi-tennt the name of the paper type: "half-tint" I guess)

I'm SO glad that the privacy of the moment comes across, and that my gamble about using a dark paper translated correctly to "nighttime"!

Thank you for the lovely comment.

velvet_virago

4th-Jun-2005 02:37 am (UTC)

You know what I think? I like the watermark and I'll tell you why. It makes me think of an illuminated manuscript or a tapestry. It really seems as if it's part of the picture. That's why I asked. I haven't read the fic and didn't know if either of those options were plausible.

lunabee34

4th-Jun-2005 08:48 pm (UTC)

Wow! Very much liking your take on the lettering!

That's actually one of the coolest things about posting here and getting comments: it is extremely, viscerally satisfying to see the work through other people's eyes. Some of you see things I hadn't even thought of on a conscious level, but there it is anyway, and I'm grateful for the chance to see it from other viewpoints.

Also, you just generally rock.

velvet_virago

6th-Jun-2005 02:50 am (UTC)

Awwww....you rock too!

It is gratifying to see the subconcious parts of your work admired isn't it?

*smooch*

lunabee34

3rd-Jun-2005 02:27 am (UTC)

This is so beautiful! Your best Spike face ever, I think. Being a very olfactory-inclined person, esp in intimate situations, I immediately saw Spike as deeply immersed in the scent of his lover. He has the face I feel on my face when I am in that place: immersed, enveloped, and deeply, deeply connected in, by and to my lover. It brings forth emotions in me that I otherwise find hard to reach: a level of intense completeness and comfort, and a happy, almost giddiness. I see these things in Spike's face, that almost-smile he has even though his features are otherwise relaxed.

The bodies are breathtaking and Xander's hair with the bits of shell is so gorgeous and brings back the merman artworks that have been posted recently.

::sigh::

Gorgeous. I'm so happy you came to Bloodclaim and share you talent with us.

outsideth3box

3rd-Jun-2005 03:32 am (UTC)

I love that take on it! Scent is extremely important to me, as well: when my then-boyfriend first asked me out on a date, I took one sniff and asked him to please never wear cologne around me again: I couldn't tell if he smelled right for me. He did, as it turned out, so I married him. And I swear his scent is getting better and more attractive to me.

I don't wear commerical perfumes. Sometimes I have on a custom-blended oil, but only that. I demand that our soaps, shampoos, and cleaning products be unscented as much as possible. Real scent is too important to be hidden with industrial replacements. So I absolutely understand what you're saying... and I'm right there with you.

Thank you so much for the lovely comment, and I am thrilled to be part of such a wonderful polite, yet totally pervy community!

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 02:38 am (UTC)

Oh! The love, the tenderness... and yet the strength of the two men. Spike is so happy and gentle.
And... lovely Xan ass, my dear! I like the mmonlight shining off it.
Wish I could come upon this scene hidden away somewhere. :)

fanbot

3rd-Jun-2005 03:34 am (UTC)

Omigod YES can you *imagine* strolling through a nighttime garden, and stumbling into such an ass all gleaming in the moonlight? GUH! "Coming across" is *exactly* what I would be doing.

The tenderness and strength and love, that's just what I hoped to capture- delighted beyond the telling to hear that it's there for you here.

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 02:45 pm (UTC)

Verrry nice....

trepkos

3rd-Jun-2005 05:04 pm (UTC)

Thank you!

And *dude* I just checked out your LJ and userinfo (cuz I'm ~~nosy~~ curious that way) and wow, you lived in York!? So did I! Loved it huge, but there wasn't enough work. Love it still. Want to go back. And curiously, now live a one-minute stroll from York Street in my small Canadian city.

(PS I loathe housework too, and am terrible at it. But I'm a damn good cook, and also am down with crazydiamondsue's method of dealing (ahem!) so... we get by. Heh.)

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 07:14 pm (UTC)

That's what user info is for!
I left York for the same reason - still want to live there every time I go back.
Canada is cool too though, the bits I saw - Vancouver and Enderby.
Yes, if only I could stop doin' it for free...

trepkos

3rd-Jun-2005 03:46 pm (UTC)

Do you know how much I adore you?
You're here and you're sharing your talent with us and it means a lot :)

This is soooo one of my favourites!Everything is perfect,love the colours and uhmm...I want that ass!...... I wanna squeeeze it.......
And by the way, Spike looks A LOT like Spike, one of the best you've ever made. His face...I say it's love <3
Love the hands that are holding Xander's back!

I propably should go and read this fic. Everybody seems to be talking about it.

Anonymous

3rd-Jun-2005 05:09 pm (UTC)

Thank you, Anonymous! Now that you mention, I am indeed feelin' the love, and it's very gratifying (and inspiring).

Yes... I made that gorgeous ass as squuezable-looking as I could. As a French painter once explained when asked how he arrived at the exquisite skin tones in his work: "I just keep painting and painting until I feel like pinching, and then I know it's *just* right!"

I'm really delighted that folks are grooving on the Spike resemblance, also the expression of tenderness in his face and hands.

velvet_virago

3rd-Jun-2005 06:01 pm (UTC)

Wow...This is possibly the best one you ever drew. Xander's hair is beautiful and the look on Spike's face is wonderful. They look like they're about to keep moving any moment now ::is in awe::