Art4Men - Drawings by R. Paul Tompkins

> home <

the drawings > >

R. Paul Tompkins
tompkins@pobox.com

For the past two decades, I have lived in the San Francisco Bay area. Originally from Washington State, I received an art education at a private college in Seattle. In the early 90s, I attended the Conceptual Design program at San Francisco State University. Until recently I worked as a computer programmer, graphics and multimedia developer. I also served as a consultant and collaborator for a number of regional artists.
(See résumé.)

I grew up with expressionist paintings in my home, which has influenced my loose and colorful style. Over the years I have always enjoyed drawing the male nude. I first started drawing nudes as a teenager when I attended a life drawing class at my local community college. After moving to San Francisco in 1985, it was a revelation when I began attending gay men's drawing groups. I could finally experience the freedom of depicting men with an uncloaked erotic energy one could not express in a traditional academic setting.

More Recently, I have been developing a style that better invokes the warmth of skin tones in a naturalistic manner using pastels and other media. By definition, these works are drawings. But, through a technique that I have refined, which involves the application of multiple layers of color, these compositions have a depth and translucency that is generally only achieved in painting.

I have a deep interest in erotically representing natural looking men. I currently create works from live models as well as from photographs. I am inspired by, and often use as subject matter, the wealth of amateur photographs posted by men online.

Creating Art4Men has been a joint venture between my lover, Dwight Stevers, and myself. For the past year or so we have been conceptualizing and developing ways to feature my artwork, as well as to express our love of the "bearish" form. This Web site is the result. We hope you enjoy it!