Mike Stead: Out of the Shadows

Mike Stead (aka Mike Bliss) was born in Hartlepool in 1976 to an army family. He inheritedfrom his Mother & Father a strong work ethic and morality that has produced a prolific and dedicated artist. He spent his childhood in places like Bangkok, Hong Kong, London & Germany. He has always drawn & painted. He was a painfully shy child who invented his own world to escape into, drawing beautiful people to be his play mates.

 
''Happy'' by Mikesbliss (acrylic)

( more pics )

He moved to London in the summer of 2002 after a serious gay bashing incident in Hartlepool. He decided that he could either be a victim or refuse to allow the brutality of the attack to dictate his future. He bought a one way ticket and got off the bus in Victoria with £50 in his pocket and nowhere permanent to live. This was nearly seven years ago. From then to now Mike has managed to exhibit all over London from Cork Street to Covent Garden as well as at the Adonis Art Gallery. He works on his portfolio as well as undertaking private commissions - a testament to his dedication, hard work & self belief.

Mike studied fashion in Edinburgh and this design background is evident in the illustrative nature of his work, also providing him with an ability to understand that being a good artist is rarely enough to be successful: you also need to be able to sell yourself and know your audiences' tastes and needs.

Mikesbliss first exhibited at the Adonis Art Gallery in 2006. That exhibition explored very different themes to this one, such as happiness, love, hope & well being. The last exhibition was the exact opposite, dealing. with grief, loss, heartbreak & hopelessness.

The seeds of this radical departure was what can only be described as a nervous breakdown. The shift in subject matter was necessary to visualise the battle to regain his mental health. His life was drained of colour so he extracted it from his palette too.

https://adonisartgallery.3dcartstores.com/Mikesbliss_c_148-1-0.html

http://www.mikesbliss.com/

More Artists at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Warning :-)

I'm migrating from one server to the other so for few hours (I hope, I really hope it will be not days), the images that I usually host on my website will be unavailable. Don't worry, as soon as the migration will be completed, they will come back as usual.

Warning :-)

I'm migrating from one server to the other so for few hours (I hope, I really hope it will be not days), the images that I usually host on my website will be unavailable. Don't worry, as soon as the migration will be completed, they will come back as usual.

Defining Right: The Page of Pentacles by Kara Larson

The story of Amiri is basically a coming of age, even if it starts when Amiri is already 18 years old. But more than a passage between is young and adult years, it's a passage toward his independence and the path that will lead him to be a man comfortable with his sexuality.

And the important word is "man" since, truth be told, Amiri as young boy is already comfortable with his sexuality, but only considering him and himself. Amiri has no doubt, he is gay, and he is also enough self-confident to be able to find and share his sexuality with boy of his same age. But Amiri is not comfortable with the society where he is living.

Amiri is the son of divorced parents, and at first he lived with his mother; when his mother found out that Amiri was gay, she sent him living with his father. I didn't feel as his father didn't approve him, but probably he was not able to raise a kid (even if Amiri was already 18 years old) and decided to send Amiri to leave with his aunt, Moana. The passage from a small town to a bigger one is probably the best for Amiri, but it was also destabilizing. Amiri has also to leave behind his childhood best friend, Tane, a boy that probably, if they had the chance, could have been Amiri's true love.

Due to his missing basis and support, at first Amiri falls in a not good relationship for him with Jacob; it's not that Jacob is not good, it's that Amiri is not considering himself worthy of something more. After Jacob, Amiri falls for Joe, a straight guy; it's obvious that again, Amiri is choosing the wrong man, not since he is unlucky, but since he is not still at ease with himself. Only when Amiri has the chance to grow and gain confidence in himself, only than he will find the right man, Graeme.

The story is not very long, less than 30 pages, but it has really the feeling of something longer. Despite the few pages, Amiri's character has the chance to develop, and from the start it was already deep and good. Defining Right is a classical discovery journey of a young man in searching of himself.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2073

Amazon Kindle: Defining Right - Page of Pentacles

Reading List:

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

Bad Angels: Falling by Belinda McBride

I'm not usually drawn by menages stories, but I read and re-read the blurb of this novel, and was so attracted by it. A beautiful fallen Angel, Rion, new-born to the world like a baby after his fall; the farmer sidhe who takes care of him, Rex. A story sets in Scotland, a land I visited and loved... it was too tempting to not read, and I'm very happy to have surrendered to temptation.

It's true, there is some menages inside the story, and probably a female character who has a small role in this book, will take a main role in the continuous of the series, but Falling is basically a manlove book. Rex is a creature of earth, he is bonded to the land he takes care of, and while he nurtures it, he is nurturing back. It's centuries that he is living in the Lowlands, him a creature from the North, and he doesn't know why his People sent him there till the day he finds Rion, a Fallen Angel. Rex knows that he has to take care of Rion as he took care of the land the People gave him, but it's not a simple task; a Fallen Angel can gone mad, and if it happens, the sidhe who takes care of him has to kill his protege.

At first Rion is like a baby, he has no knowledge of his past and neither of the life on Earth. Everything is a discovery, but it's simple enough since they live in a secluded farm. And when Rion finds out that also Rex is a special creature, it's even simpler: Rion is no more alone in a stranger world. But Rex realizes that he is beginning to feel for the beautiful angel, and while for him it can be a choice, Rex has experience of world and different lovers, for Rion it's not. Rion has to make experience and if he will decide that he wants to spend the rest of his immortal life with Rex, then he will do it judging in full cognition of the facts.

The story is basically simple, and the legends involved are ancient, so there is nothing new, but nevertheless it's a very good story. I feel the myths, and the love for them. Rion and Rex live far from reality, but from what little hints I read here and there, I believe the time is middle-late XIX century; the strange thing is that it's not important when the story is set, since it has an immortal feeling: the same story could have been taken and moved at our time, and it would have been the same.

It's also pretty sexy and naughty, the sex scenes between Rion and Rex are always light but good, sometime even kinky, since Rion always maintain his "angel" look, complete with long white feathered wings, and Rex sometime is in his sidhe form, with little colorful wings and a tail. Despite this, the sex is nothing strange or icky, there is only the added bonus that Rex's tail is one more appendage that can be useful... Since I'm talking of the sex, maybe it's right to also spend some word on the het sex scene: as I said there are women in the story, and not only one. Both Rion than Rex, before starting their relationship, have het sex experiences with other sidhe, willingly or unwillingly; there is also a menages a trois, but it's really very short. As I said, all the het aspect of the story are so uneventful that you can really almost forget them.

There are many factors that drew me to this story, the cover (yes I liked it), the Fallen Angel (I'm a bit naught, sex with an angel...), the magic, Scotland... all of them are masterfully blend in a very nice story. So nice that I'm quite interested in reading also the second book in the story, even if it seems from the blurb that it's more an F/F story, and it's not usually my cup of tea.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1135

Reading List:

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

Bad Angels: Falling by Belinda McBride

I'm not usually drawn by menages stories, but I read and re-read the blurb of this novel, and was so attracted by it. A beautiful fallen Angel, Rion, new-born to the world like a baby after his fall; the farmer sidhe who takes care of him, Rex. A story sets in Scotland, a land I visited and loved... it was too tempting to not read, and I'm very happy to have surrendered to temptation.

It's true, there is some menages inside the story, and probably a female character who has a small role in this book, will take a main role in the continuous of the series, but Falling is basically a manlove book. Rex is a creature of earth, he is bonded to the land he takes care of, and while he nurtures it, he is nurturing back. It's centuries that he is living in the Lowlands, him a creature from the North, and he doesn't know why his People sent him there till the day he finds Rion, a Fallen Angel. Rex knows that he has to take care of Rion as he took care of the land the People gave him, but it's not a simple task; a Fallen Angel can gone mad, and if it happens, the sidhe who takes care of him has to kill his protege.

At first Rion is like a baby, he has no knowledge of his past and neither of the life on Earth. Everything is a discovery, but it's simple enough since they live in a secluded farm. And when Rion finds out that also Rex is a special creature, it's even simpler: Rion is no more alone in a stranger world. But Rex realizes that he is beginning to feel for the beautiful angel, and while for him it can be a choice, Rex has experience of world and different lovers, for Rion it's not. Rion has to make experience and if he will decide that he wants to spend the rest of his immortal life with Rex, then he will do it judging in full cognition of the facts.

The story is basically simple, and the legends involved are ancient, so there is nothing new, but nevertheless it's a very good story. I feel the myths, and the love for them. Rion and Rex live far from reality, but from what little hints I read here and there, I believe the time is middle-late XIX century; the strange thing is that it's not important when the story is set, since it has an immortal feeling: the same story could have been taken and moved at our time, and it would have been the same.

It's also pretty sexy and naughty, the sex scenes between Rion and Rex are always light but good, sometime even kinky, since Rion always maintain his "angel" look, complete with long white feathered wings, and Rex sometime is in his sidhe form, with little colorful wings and a tail. Despite this, the sex is nothing strange or icky, there is only the added bonus that Rex's tail is one more appendage that can be useful... Since I'm talking of the sex, maybe it's right to also spend some word on the het sex scene: as I said there are women in the story, and not only one. Both Rion than Rex, before starting their relationship, have het sex experiences with other sidhe, willingly or unwillingly; there is also a menages a trois, but it's really very short. As I said, all the het aspect of the story are so uneventful that you can really almost forget them.

There are many factors that drew me to this story, the cover (yes I liked it), the Fallen Angel (I'm a bit naught, sex with an angel...), the magic, Scotland... all of them are masterfully blend in a very nice story. So nice that I'm quite interested in reading also the second book in the story, even if it seems from the blurb that it's more an F/F story, and it's not usually my cup of tea.

http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1135

Reading List:

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