JC Washbourne is a pseudonym for my male nude artwork.
I am a gay 72-year-old male, living in Sedona, AZ. I have a great career as an award-winning artist and may I dare say, with my real name, I am the best-known artists in all of Arizona.
This website showcases my art which has stayed private for many years. Only a few close friends have had the opportunity to peek in my art closet filled with paintings of nude men. I can always sense if strangers are going to have an open or closed reaction to these paintings and I stay as far from closed minded people as I can get. Like most gay men I am a liberal and I have little patience with bigoted conservatives. I was raised on a farm in northern New Mexico. It was mostly Mormon oil/coal community. I have never gotten over the harsh and ugly attitude I suffered as a gay child. Leaving my childhood home and moving to Taos, New Mexico in the 1970's was the best thing I ever did. I learned I was not broken, and loving men is not a sin. I have now lived in Sedona for many years. My art has given me invitation to several museum shows, and galleries and I feel extremely fortunate to have my work in several museum collections. My art has opened doors I never thought possible, and I am looking forward to the day when I can showcase my male nudes in a public exhibition.
I have a large conte drawing "Timmy" 40x30 hanging high my studio. Strait men stare at it with wide eyes only when they think no one is watching and gay men smile with approval. I understand that religion and society has forced upon us a narrow understanding of the male nude as a subject, but I have always found it compelling. I was eager for life experiences and in collage modeled nude for a life drawing class. In a large classroom, surrounded mostly by other students, I was a 'form and shape' and viewed and that way.
I remember trying to not get aroused as Greg was intently sketching my cock. It was exciting to see my body in the drawings but walked away with a bit of disappointment; for those two hours, except for Greg, I could have been an apple and the students would all have been happy. In my studio I try to get to know the personality of my models, I want more than just 'form, shape, and values', I try to find an emotional connection with my models.
I wish I had done more modeling when I was younger. I wish as a young man I had modeled for private sessions or private drawing groups instead of the large classroom. We all should decide to stop listening to the nonsense our mothers put in our heads, and believe our bodies are beautiful. I understand that stripping in front of a stranger is fearful, but modeling nude can be one of the most exhilarating experiences you can ever have.
It is a wonderful feeling to have your body admired and interpreted by an artist, especially a good artist. My models run the gamut of sexuality. Some are totally strait, and some totally gay. I have discovered that the bi-sexual models are the most comfortable posing for me. I never reveal the many secrets that the models have shared with me. There is no embarrassment or judgment in my studio.
My studio is in my home, but the entire property serves as a backdrop for the models. I have grown very fond of all the men that have worked for me and most of them have returned several times to model.
Real names of the Models have been changed or not used in the titles when requested by the model.
