Something you don't see every day

So, in this day of rampant photo thievery, we video performers (I still hate the word "model") figure we're going to see our stuff floating around in the picture blogs and other places. One thing that's especially annoying is when we see that one (or sometimes several) of our pictures have been pinched on FetLife and posted on someone else's profile -- usually without credit. So we all act as each other's watchdogs and look out for these rip-offs. Granted, however, a lot of the time, the posters have no idea where the pictures are from, since they found them somewhere else where they'd been posted uncredited.

On Friday, I was scanning the feed on FetLife and my eye was drawn to a thumbnail of a photo, which I instantly recognized as mine. My first reaction was to sigh in annoyance and wonder who was posting it, and whether or not they were claiming it as their own (sadly, people do this). So I clicked on the thumbnail.

Much to my shock, my picture didn't come up. Instead, I saw a painting of my picture. Oil on canvas, 12 x 12, the caption read.

I know what you're thinking -- Photoshop. Some of those image changers are amazing, and can mimic just about any look and style. But upon closer observation, I could see it wasn't an exact duplicate of my photo. Some things were changed, altered slightly, and not in a Photoshoppy way. It looked authentic to me. 

Wow. Someone liked a photo of mine enough to render it in oil????

Many of you have seen this before. It's from 2004, from the first video shot by Spanking Epics, "The Schoolmaster's Revenge." It takes place in 1912, hence the bloomers, and yes, it was that video where I had a brief topping scene. (shudder) But it was well worth it, considering I got to bottom to the wonderful Keith Jones in the finale.

I made myself known to the artist on Fet -- turns out he had posted this picture over two years ago, but I never noticed it. He claimed that he'd found the photo somewhere, liked it, and decided to recreate it, having no idea who his inspiration was or where this came from. Considering how these photos end up all over the place, with no credits attached whatsoever, I believe him. When I asked him for the photo so that I could blog about it, he kindly supplied it.

So, kids... what do you think?

Original:

And painting:

I told the artist thank you, that I was very flattered, and that I hoped the painting went to a good home. He said it did. The artist name he uses is James Dean Taylor, and he has a Flickr gallery, if you'd like to look at it, here. You'll be asked to sign in, however, so you need to have a Flickr account. 

Like I said, this sort of thing doesn't happen every day. I'm still quite speechless. :-)

In other news, I have a follow-up question from Friday's blog. An anonymous commenter posted this:


A couple questions for Erica and other experienced bottoms. Since the new

top has to learn technique somewhere on a live person, beyond practicing on

pillows, do you ever play with such a newbie if they seem to have the right 

attitude and are capable of listening to you and adjusting accordingly? How 

would that apprentice top move on?


Very valid question, and I am happy to answer it. Yes, I do, I have, and I will. If a top and I have good chemistry, and I can sense he has a genuine eagerness to learn and make it fun for both of us, then I will work with his learning curve. I think any "apprentice" top can find willing play partners if he/she admits they're new at this, proceeds with caution, and listens carefully to feedback. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all. And more practice equals more confidence, and more opportunities for play with others. Maybe start out at some small parties/gatherings?

Anyone else want to chime in on that?