I assume real life is still keeping Bambi occupied since I haven't gotten any new chapters of "Swiss Miss Sissy" in months. For a lack of anything else to contribute at the moment, I thought I could at least share a couple new pieces I completed.
Memory Lane
As an artist, I can be my own worst critic. I can be especially critical when it comes to looking back on artwork that's a few years old. Sometimes I wish I could go back and redo older works. If I did that all the time, however, I'd never get anything new complete, but redrawing something once in a while can be an interesting way of seeing how my style had improved or changed. Recently, I took the setup from a seven year old drawing and an eight year old one and updated them. The first one, "Memory Lane," I didn't think was that badly in need of a do over, but I thought the subject matter was worth revisiting.
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| "Memory Lane" (2016) |
While the response to the new "Memory Lane" has been mostly very good, I have gotten a couple comments from people who seem to prefer the original. I guess you can't please everybody. I actually don't hate the original, but after spending countless hours on every little detail of the new piece, unfavorable comparisons to the earlier version is not exactly what I love to see. Ever seen that episode of Frasier where a focus group rates his show? Although he gets almost unanimous high marks, Frasier can't help obsessing over the one guy (played by Tony Shalhoub) who said they didn't like him. I'm sort of like that; I don't take criticism well and tend to focus on the negative.
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| "Memory Lane" (2009) |
The theme of a male who has been subjugated and/or feminized by the female caretaker in his life (be it a mother or aunt, etc.) finding himself in the same situation with his romantic partner is one that Bea has explored in several stories. I'm certain there are several, but the first one that springs to mind is "Changing of the Guard."
Where is the Love?
This is getting off-topic, but reading "Changing of the Guard" now, I find it interesting that the protagonist's prospective future mother-in-law asks him if he's attracted to her daughter sexually- not if he's in love with her. It may seem like a small detail, but to me it's striking, as one criticism I have about Bea's writing is that it's that love seldom, if ever, seems to enter the picture. It's all about sex. This didn't used to bother me, but having read as many of Bea's stories as I have, I can't help but notice what a loveless world Bea's characters seem to inhabit, in which sexual partners, be they spouses or whatever, are abandoned or swapped or fobbed off on someone else with barely a second thought.
In another story by Bea, "Aftermath," the protagonist finds out he's been living a kinky version of The Truman Show and ends up in the arms of the female detective who was investigating his dominant girlfriend's accidental death. All this occurs the same day as the funeral. The characters make a big deal about how he and his girlfriend had a loving relationship, but I'm not sure how loving it could have been if he's willingly entering a new relationship- even going through with a second faux-wedding ceremony- when his girlfriend is not even cold yet. That story really stood out to me due to the rather macabre setup.
Perhaps it's foolish to nit-pick the logic in these sorts of stories, which are usually pretty ridiculous anyway.
Of course, most feminization stories are a form of erotica, the primary function of which is not to tug at one's heartstrings, but rather stir different parts of the anatomy. However, I think it can do both. I have read a handful of stories that seem to balance the two. One major reason I'm such a fan of Bambi's continuation of "Swiss Miss Sissy" is because of the imbuement of deeper emotions within the characters, though that part of the story is still to come for those of you who don't know the author and haven't been lucky enough to read ahead.
Don't Drop the Soap/Shower Surprise
"The Humiliations of Vicki's Baby" is a story by Bea that's collected in the book On Becoming One of the Girls. It's about a small, wimpy guy who becomes involved with a woman of Amazonian proportions and her two daughters. It's kind of an odd story, even for Bea. If I remember correctly, it may have been commissioned by someone, which might account for some of its oddness. I don't fully understand why it's even called "The Humiliations of Vicki's Baby." Despite the fact that there is some infantalization in the story, it's not a major part of the plot. Bea is also rather inconsistent when it comes to which character enjoys infantalizing the protagonist. It gives me the sense that the story was written off the cuff, without having the plot mapped out ahead of time.
Still, there are some sexy moments in the story that I liked, such as the part in which the protagonist is accosted in the shower by Vicki's daughters, which is what inspired this next drawing.
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| "Do Not Drop the Soap" (2008) |
I was never very thrilled with how this one turned out. The daughters are described as tall and muscular, but drawing muscular people is not my strong suit. It doesn't help that when I look for references, the majority of photos of fitness models I find show them flexing and/or striking some sort of unnatural pose. I like to think I did a somewhat better job the second time around.
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| "Shower Surprise" (2016) |
Shameless Plug
Loath as I am to promote myself in any way, I still may as well mention that I have a Patreon page for my fetishistic artwork now- actually, I've had it for over a year, but I've been mostly neglecting it. However, I'm hoping I can find the time/energy to churn out some more art of this nature on a more regular basis. If you feel at all inclined to support me in that endeavor, I would not be unappreciative, but if not, that's fine, too. Whatever.
Oh, here's one last pic, which I did for one of my Patreon patrons, as part of a monthly art lottery. I've just suspended said lottery, however, perhaps permanently, as the extra work it required was causing me too much stress.
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| "She Shames Shy Sissies by the Seashore" (2016) |
Hi Dave
ReplyDeleteFirst off great to see you’re still posting and 5 great pieces to boot.
Nothing wrong with being your own worst critic I think that most people who strive to be the best they can are very critical of their own work and are always looking for ways to improve it. Contrasting the old and new is a marvellous way to see how your style has changed over the intervening years. Regarding Memory Lane I like both but if you were to put a gun to my head I would go for the 2016 version possibly for the sheer detail I also think all three facial expressions seem more natural than the original.
Ditto for “Do not drop the soap/Shower Surprise” the latter figures are more menacing than the first and it is easy to see why the male in the shower would be extremely intimidated by two statuesque women. I’m not sure if I’ve read that particular story but I must look it up although infantilising someone is not a major turn on for me and to the best of my knowledge wasn’t for Bea either so you may be right about the commission.
You make a very good point about the lack of emotional connection that Bea’s characters have for each other but I think this was never a consideration for him, I feel his main priority was to emphasise the feminisation of the male over all else. It probably does make some of the characters very two dimensional and in your example of the girlfriend in Aftermath it maybe borders on the sociopathic. I don’t think emotional content was Bea’s strong point but he certainly made up for it in other ways.
I’ve never heard of Patreon before but I’ll certainly look in on it.
Anything that showcases your stuff is always worth a visit.
Thanks again for sharing your art Dave – your pieces as always are wonderful so don’t be too much of a critic, there are enough of those around already.
Take care
Carrie
Hey Carrie. Thanks for the comment. As you're well aware, it's uncommon for us to get much, if any feedback through this blog.
ReplyDeleteBea may not have been much into infantalization, but it did seem to feature in his stories on a semi-regular basis. I'm not such a fan of that fetish myself, though in small doses, I can sort of see the appeal. I didn't mind when Bea wrote about it at least. However, I'd find that a difficult fetish to admit to liking- it seems a lot more embarrassing than just crossdressing.
In one of their sex documentary programs, HBO did a segment on men who liked being babied and I had to admire the nerve of the guys who allowed themselves to be filmed dressed up like baby girls, though it freaked me out a bit as well. If I'm going to be exposed to that fetish at all, I'd rather read about it than see it.
I actually got in trouble with one or two of my watchers on deviantART for vociferously expressing my disdain for infantalization when I was asked if I was into diapers. Perhaps I was protesting my interest in that sort of thing a bit too strenuously, but I was fed up with this guy who repeatedly left comments telling me that the sissies I drew would look better wearing diapers, so I said that I didn't see anything sexy about a garment used to collect body waste. I just found it rather insulting that this person was essentially telling me that I should change the focus of my art just to suit him. Someone else took issue with my tone and announced they were unwatching me due to my judgmental nature. Though I didn't exactly apologize, I did say that I couldn't blame them for thinking I was a jerk.
You are correct that Bea made up for a lack of emotional depth in his stories in other ways. I meant to mitigate my criticism by saying something along those lines, but I couldn't figure out how to say what I wanted to at the time. Anyway, you put it better and more succinctly than I probably would have. As far as I'm concerned, his writing more often than not served its intended purpose. I'm not aware of any other author in this genre who has written so many stories that I've enjoyed.
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeletebriefly on the emotional content of Bea's stories. Well, yes, as it's been mentioned, Bea's stories have a very specific aim and it's not exploring the depths of emotions within a relationship between a man and a woman.
Regarding the examples you've given - in Aftermath, the hero of the story was not really an equal partner in a loving relationship but rather a slave to his wife's whimsy. The demise of his wife is both a loss as well as liberation to him. His eager acceptance of the new lover reflects that he realizes he doesn't have much choice in the matter. The detective knows his secret. He can either continue the kind of life he has learned to endure (and enjoy?) under his wife's rule, or risk the revealing of his secret life and/or imprisonment.
In Changing of the Guard (and What's in Store, similar thing), these ladies are too old to wait for much longer for their children to start giving them grandchildren to play with. Love is nice, but to breed babies, all you need from the male is an erect penis. Moreover, this also serves to put the males in Bea's stories in their place - their emotions and feeling are irrelevant to the women of power. Instead, it just shows them as servants in their new positions, be it as a maid or as a reproductor.
Then again, it could have just as easily been a convenient way to wrap up a story after all of the good parts have been written down.
Bea's stories have their issues, but I generally find them enjoyable. And your art is ALWAYS a delight!
ReplyDeletecrayle, thanks for the compliment. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rosie. I meant to reply sooner, but I kept putting it off and forgetting. I don't know why I chose to go off on a tangent about the emotional element in Bea's writing or the lack thereof, except for the fact that it's something that has nagged at me for a while and now seemed like as good a time as any to get it off my chest.
I'm a mess of contradictions. I don't usually enjoy femdom stories if the male protagonist is a willing participant or fully happy or comfortable with their situation, but then I often start to feel badly for them, especially when my brain isn't being dominated by my libido. Living a loveless existence in which no one has any consideration for your rights or feelings sounds pretty depressing. However, I realize that picking apart erotica is probably a pointless exercise, like criticizing cartoons for not adhering to real world logic.