Hang a Shining Star by Ashlyn Kane

Evan is a nice high school teacher. He always liked Christmas season above all when he had a partner by his side to share it. But Mark died one years before soon after last Christmas, and Evan dreads the idea of the next Christmas. On Christmas' Eve he realizes that he can't postpone no more to buy the Christmas tree, if he doesn't want to disappoint his nephews, and so he drags himself to the last tree lot open in the city.

Eric is sadly preparing himself to spend his first Christmas alone; his parents are on a winter cruise, and his sister will spend Christmas with her husband's family. He has to work till Christmas' Eve on the tree lot and then he will go at home alone with his Christmas tree. When Evan, his former high school teacher and big crush, enters the tree lot alone on Christmas' Eve is almost like a sign.

Evan's story is a bit sad, the reason why he is alone is much worst than Eric, but all in all they are two lonely soul who meet on Christmas, a pretty classic scenario, but that works well. The sad part is relegated on Evan's past, for the rest the story is nice and sometime also funny, when everytime someone ring the bell on Evan's door, they find Eric's in various status of undressing (always for a good reason that is not sexual!).

Maybe it's the Christmas season, maybe it's time to Evan to move on, but the two main obstacles on their relationship, Evan's mourning his lost lover and Eric being a former student, are soon overcame, and the nice feelings lead the story to its obviously happily ever after.

Another nice discovery of a new author.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/advent.htm

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Hang a Shining Star by Ashlyn Kane

Evan is a nice high school teacher. He always liked Christmas season above all when he had a partner by his side to share it. But Mark died one years before soon after last Christmas, and Evan dreads the idea of the next Christmas. On Christmas' Eve he realizes that he can't postpone no more to buy the Christmas tree, if he doesn't want to disappoint his nephews, and so he drags himself to the last tree lot open in the city.

Eric is sadly preparing himself to spend his first Christmas alone; his parents are on a winter cruise, and his sister will spend Christmas with her husband's family. He has to work till Christmas' Eve on the tree lot and then he will go at home alone with his Christmas tree. When Evan, his former high school teacher and big crush, enters the tree lot alone on Christmas' Eve is almost like a sign.

Evan's story is a bit sad, the reason why he is alone is much worst than Eric, but all in all they are two lonely soul who meet on Christmas, a pretty classic scenario, but that works well. The sad part is relegated on Evan's past, for the rest the story is nice and sometime also funny, when everytime someone ring the bell on Evan's door, they find Eric's in various status of undressing (always for a good reason that is not sexual!).

Maybe it's the Christmas season, maybe it's time to Evan to move on, but the two main obstacles on their relationship, Evan's mourning his lost lover and Eric being a former student, are soon overcame, and the nice feelings lead the story to its obviously happily ever after.

Another nice discovery of a new author.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/advent.htm

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Rain and Whiskey by B.A. Tortuga

This is one, I believe, of the first book by B.A. Tortuga; it's a clear example of the style that made so popular this author, fast scene, few words to describe the setting and a lot of sex. And it's not even a short book, more than 270 pages fit fit of words. But it's not only sex, there is actually a story behind all the sex.

Galen is a former professional football player who hung up his shoes and now is enjoying an early retiring in the warm Florida. He is easy and friendly, but a bit cautious when it's time to allow someone inside his life for more than a night. Shane is an happy-to-go bartender: he arrived in Florida some here before during a college break holiday and stayed when his friends went back; since that days he gains his day money and prefers his life to be easy and without commitments; probably it will arrive the day when he will realize that it can be an holiday all year around, but for now it's not time.

Galen and Shane's relationship begin as a one night stand, prolonged to a week end long affair to easily slip on a full time relationship, without both men even know how it happened. Galen like it a bit rough, the type of rough that leave bruise but that doesn't break bones, and Shane is not at all shy when it's time to let go during sex, and it's not scared by the forceful in Galen. Don't get me wrong, there is no really violence, maybe a passionate bite or a strong grip more than usual.

As I said, almost all the chapters begin at the same way, Galen and Shane in a new setting, a restaurant, a week end trip, a night on the beach, and then finish at the same way, with Galen and Shane doing it more and often. But the idyllic situation can't go on forever, and the real life makes his appearance, letting know to Galen and Shane that it's time to take a serious decision.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=494

Amazon: Rain and Whiskey

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Rain and Whiskey by B.A. Tortuga

This is one, I believe, of the first book by B.A. Tortuga; it's a clear example of the style that made so popular this author, fast scene, few words to describe the setting and a lot of sex. And it's not even a short book, more than 270 pages fit fit of words. But it's not only sex, there is actually a story behind all the sex.

Galen is a former professional football player who hung up his shoes and now is enjoying an early retiring in the warm Florida. He is easy and friendly, but a bit cautious when it's time to allow someone inside his life for more than a night. Shane is an happy-to-go bartender: he arrived in Florida some here before during a college break holiday and stayed when his friends went back; since that days he gains his day money and prefers his life to be easy and without commitments; probably it will arrive the day when he will realize that it can be an holiday all year around, but for now it's not time.

Galen and Shane's relationship begin as a one night stand, prolonged to a week end long affair to easily slip on a full time relationship, without both men even know how it happened. Galen like it a bit rough, the type of rough that leave bruise but that doesn't break bones, and Shane is not at all shy when it's time to let go during sex, and it's not scared by the forceful in Galen. Don't get me wrong, there is no really violence, maybe a passionate bite or a strong grip more than usual.

As I said, almost all the chapters begin at the same way, Galen and Shane in a new setting, a restaurant, a week end trip, a night on the beach, and then finish at the same way, with Galen and Shane doing it more and often. But the idyllic situation can't go on forever, and the real life makes his appearance, letting know to Galen and Shane that it's time to take a serious decision.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=494

Amazon: Rain and Whiskey

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (1 of 6)

When I started to prepare this post I spent a lot of time browsing George Quaintance's paintings to choose what to post, giving that there are more than 60 pictures available (without considering his works as photographer) and that they are almost all stunning. And then there is his life, so fascinating, and almost a testimony of a past era, with all the glittering of Hollywood who often hid something of not so glitter. In the case of George Quaintance, I have found that his real life was, for what I read, as fascinating as his paintings, and only a sudden and early death interrupted it.

So in the end I decided to post all the material I found on George Quaintance, dividing the post in 6 part, everyone following a different period of Quaintance's life. As biographal reference, I will use the bio posted by John D. Waybright on GLBTQ; Waybright is also writing an official biography of Quaintance coauthoring with Ken Furtado.

1940 - 1951 (1 of 6)


The Crusader, 1943

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

Although now obscure, George Quaintance was one of the most influential figures in a unique American style of art and one of the most flamboyant and interesting gay characters for four decades of the twentieth century.

Though few people outside the gay world know it, Quaintance was a pioneer of male physique painting. This genre heralded a new American gay consciousness in the early 1950s.

Born June 3, 1902, in the tiny rural community of Page County, Virginia, Quaintance left home to study art in New York City in 1920. At age 18, he began studies at the prestigious Art Students League, which counted Georgia O'Keeffe among its graduates. His teachers included Ashcan School founder Robert Henri and the Polish-born American expressionist Max Weber.

( to read more )

1952 (2 of 6)

1953 (3 of 6)

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (1 of 6)

When I started to prepare this post I spent a lot of time browsing George Quaintance's paintings to choose what to post, giving that there are more than 60 pictures available (without considering his works as photographer) and that they are almost all stunning. And then there is his life, so fascinating, and almost a testimony of a past era, with all the glittering of Hollywood who often hid something of not so glitter. In the case of George Quaintance, I have found that his real life was, for what I read, as fascinating as his paintings, and only a sudden and early death interrupted it.

So in the end I decided to post all the material I found on George Quaintance, dividing the post in 6 part, everyone following a different period of Quaintance's life. As biographal reference, I will use the bio posted by John D. Waybright on GLBTQ; Waybright is also writing an official biography of Quaintance coauthoring with Ken Furtado.

1940 - 1951 (1 of 6)


The Crusader, 1943

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

Although now obscure, George Quaintance was one of the most influential figures in a unique American style of art and one of the most flamboyant and interesting gay characters for four decades of the twentieth century.

Though few people outside the gay world know it, Quaintance was a pioneer of male physique painting. This genre heralded a new American gay consciousness in the early 1950s.

Born June 3, 1902, in the tiny rural community of Page County, Virginia, Quaintance left home to study art in New York City in 1920. At age 18, he began studies at the prestigious Art Students League, which counted Georgia O'Keeffe among its graduates. His teachers included Ashcan School founder Robert Henri and the Polish-born American expressionist Max Weber.

( to read more )

1952 (2 of 6)

1953 (3 of 6)

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (2 of 6)

Since Anne (annecain) asked, I will post part 2 and 3 tonight, and 4, 5 and 6 next week!

1940 - 1951 (1 of 6)

1952 (2 of 6)

"Rancho Siesta," Quaintance's idealized Western abode, was neither a ranch nor did it allow much time for an artist's siesta. It was a busy center of the artist's new obsession, the classic male physique. Located in the Aztec Park residential subdivision of Phoenix, "Rancho Siesta" was where the artist created his now-prized paintings--some 60 oil-on-canvas works--in fewer than six years.


Idyll, 1952

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

Quaintance taught Garcia the fine points of capturing discreet male nudes on film. At the same time, he began painting the series of large oil paintings depicting robust cowboys, well-muscled Indians, and male nudes from classical antiquity and myth. The paintings show naked and near-naked men, all exemplifying Quaintance's "ideal physique" in dramatic settings.

In all his western paintings, the blond cowboy strongly resembles the artist himself, an egotist who kept in excellent physical shape even after his dancing career ended. When his thinning hair failed to match his standard of grooming perfection, Quaintance took to wearing elaborate wigs, often with comic results for those who detected the ruse.

For example, a neighbor of the artist's mother wrote in a daily journal on September 13, 1938 when Quaintance was home for a visit: "I wonder whether he knows I study his wig so closely. It is a wig; the hair is reddish and getting thin. I can see the cloth base, like burlap or something; anyone would know those hairs didn't grow in flesh."

1953 (3 of 6)

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (2 of 6)

Since Anne (annecain) asked, I will post part 2 and 3 tonight, and 4, 5 and 6 next week!

1940 - 1951 (1 of 6)

1952 (2 of 6)

"Rancho Siesta," Quaintance's idealized Western abode, was neither a ranch nor did it allow much time for an artist's siesta. It was a busy center of the artist's new obsession, the classic male physique. Located in the Aztec Park residential subdivision of Phoenix, "Rancho Siesta" was where the artist created his now-prized paintings--some 60 oil-on-canvas works--in fewer than six years.


Idyll, 1952

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

Quaintance taught Garcia the fine points of capturing discreet male nudes on film. At the same time, he began painting the series of large oil paintings depicting robust cowboys, well-muscled Indians, and male nudes from classical antiquity and myth. The paintings show naked and near-naked men, all exemplifying Quaintance's "ideal physique" in dramatic settings.

In all his western paintings, the blond cowboy strongly resembles the artist himself, an egotist who kept in excellent physical shape even after his dancing career ended. When his thinning hair failed to match his standard of grooming perfection, Quaintance took to wearing elaborate wigs, often with comic results for those who detected the ruse.

For example, a neighbor of the artist's mother wrote in a daily journal on September 13, 1938 when Quaintance was home for a visit: "I wonder whether he knows I study his wig so closely. It is a wig; the hair is reddish and getting thin. I can see the cloth base, like burlap or something; anyone would know those hairs didn't grow in flesh."

1953 (3 of 6)

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (3 of 6)

1940-1951 (1 of 6)

1952 (2 of 6)

1953 (3 of 6)

Taking advantage of the new burst of gay consciousness in post-World War II America, Quaintance and Garcia began marketing black-and-white photographs of his near-nude models and color prints of the paintings. In 1953, he wrote a friend that "business has grown to fantastic proportions in the last few months and truly I'm practically out of my mind trying to keep up with it."

 
Moonlight, 1953

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

The works he sold by mail offer no display of genitals except in the tight confines of Levi jeans, an image first popularized by Quaintance, or through filmy materials in strategic positions. The apparently innocent surfaces in surrealistic bright colors seethe with homoeroticism.

In 1953, Quaintance painted a series based on bull-fighting with a dark, handsome matador. The model was Angel Avila, one of several swarthy Latinos who became the artist's lover outside of his continuing relationship with his first love, Victor Garcia. In a letter to a friend dated April 27, 1953, Quaintance wrote that the paintings "were done in turmoil, in passion--I might even say in emotional agony."

This trio of paintings--Preludio, Gloria, and Moribundo--may have reflected the course of the love affair from its prelude to its physical fulfillment to its death-like ending. The paintings are among the best in the Quaintance oeuvre, rising above the almost cartoon-like depictions of cowboys and Roman slaves.

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)

George Quaintance: A pioneer of male physique painting (3 of 6)

1940-1951 (1 of 6)

1952 (2 of 6)

1953 (3 of 6)

Taking advantage of the new burst of gay consciousness in post-World War II America, Quaintance and Garcia began marketing black-and-white photographs of his near-nude models and color prints of the paintings. In 1953, he wrote a friend that "business has grown to fantastic proportions in the last few months and truly I'm practically out of my mind trying to keep up with it."

 
Moonlight, 1953

( more pics - WARNING: a lot! )

The works he sold by mail offer no display of genitals except in the tight confines of Levi jeans, an image first popularized by Quaintance, or through filmy materials in strategic positions. The apparently innocent surfaces in surrealistic bright colors seethe with homoeroticism.

In 1953, Quaintance painted a series based on bull-fighting with a dark, handsome matador. The model was Angel Avila, one of several swarthy Latinos who became the artist's lover outside of his continuing relationship with his first love, Victor Garcia. In a letter to a friend dated April 27, 1953, Quaintance wrote that the paintings "were done in turmoil, in passion--I might even say in emotional agony."

This trio of paintings--Preludio, Gloria, and Moribundo--may have reflected the course of the love affair from its prelude to its physical fulfillment to its death-like ending. The paintings are among the best in the Quaintance oeuvre, rising above the almost cartoon-like depictions of cowboys and Roman slaves.

1954-1956 (4 of 6)

1957 (5 of 6)

Afterword (6 of 6)

Source:
http://www.glbtq.com/arts/quaintance_g.html (Biography)
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/ame/ame02/330.html (Images)