I'm sure that it is a common experience for people that when you have somebody close to you who has been diagnosed with a particular illness you come across a number of other cases of the same illness within a short space of time. In the cancer series of paintings that I am doing I have been amazed by how many times this has happened and it applies equally to men and women.
My most recent painting is on the theme of testicular cancer which is one that obviously applies only to men but is particularly prevalent among young men. Fortunately I have only come across a few cases of this type of cancer among men that I know in the last few years and my experience has been that each case has been an active, healthy, young man. I have limited knowledge and experience of the different forms of cancer but this is one that really tends to be deadly and fast acting. Not wishing to be alarmist it is a form of cancer that really requires immediate attention and action. There is no time for being embarrassed or shy in bringing attention to this as soon as a young man becomes aware of a problem.
In this painting I have depicted a healthy young man who seems to be shy in terms of exposing his body to the public gaze and I have deliberately put his facing away from the viewer to convey the sense of finding it difficult to comes to terms with cancer of the testes. His hand is strategically placed to cover his 'manhood', to give the viewer the sense that he finds it difficult to engage with this illness. It is hard for him to face up to an illness that attacks his manhood. I have given him a well toned body and fine physique to show a young man at his prime in life and at his peak of physical attractiiveness. His head is tilted slightly downwards and he has a frown on his face to show his anxiety and how difficult it is to cope with this cancer. There are dark shadows around the eyes and mouth to show how challenging it is for a young man to look at and talk about his changed physique due to surgery.
Would a painting showing him with only one or no testicles reduce his attractiveness and how would it affect his confidence as a man? Would it be an invasion of privacy to depict a young man in such a way?
As an artist I feel that it is a very sensitive subject and I don't want to be voyeuristic by invading such personal and intimate space. As an Irishman I feel that there are boundaries that I must observe and respect, and in spite of the modern times I feel a certain inhibition - because of my middle-age and the generation that I come from - in painting the male genitalia, penis and testicles.
Once again in painting a male nude I have opted for a blue picture because it is the colour so strongly associated with maleness and blue is used a good deal for painting nudes in art (Picasso). Blue is a great colour to use because it has a great variety of shades and can be both soft and hard, gentle and/or harsh. Blue is also a very moody colour associated with different emotions, calmness and tranquility or depression and sadness. The different shades of blue mean that you can have great variety in a painting and can show strength and depth through the use of the range of shades and brush strokes.
Perhaps even to a greater extent than mentioned in my painting about prostate cancer, dealing with this part of a man's body goes to the heart of maleness and virility. Testicles and penis are the defining male organs and when cancer strikes in these organs it goes to the core of manhood. As mentioned already, the treatment can present great challenges as removal of one or both testicles is the first part of the treatment. The people I know who have publicly acknowledged that they had testicular cancer have shown great courage and have done a great deal of good in removing the fear and stigma of being diagnosed with this form of cancer.
It is hugely important for all men and particularly young men to take care of their sexual organs and to be aware as to how you detect testicular cancer at the earliest possible stage.
Thankfully nowadays there is far less inhibition in talking about bodies and sex so that hopefully young men will feel less inhibited or embarrassed to talk to people who can support and help them deal with illnesses or problems with their sexual organs.
My most recent painting is on the theme of testicular cancer which is one that obviously applies only to men but is particularly prevalent among young men. Fortunately I have only come across a few cases of this type of cancer among men that I know in the last few years and my experience has been that each case has been an active, healthy, young man. I have limited knowledge and experience of the different forms of cancer but this is one that really tends to be deadly and fast acting. Not wishing to be alarmist it is a form of cancer that really requires immediate attention and action. There is no time for being embarrassed or shy in bringing attention to this as soon as a young man becomes aware of a problem.
Would a painting showing him with only one or no testicles reduce his attractiveness and how would it affect his confidence as a man? Would it be an invasion of privacy to depict a young man in such a way?
As an artist I feel that it is a very sensitive subject and I don't want to be voyeuristic by invading such personal and intimate space. As an Irishman I feel that there are boundaries that I must observe and respect, and in spite of the modern times I feel a certain inhibition - because of my middle-age and the generation that I come from - in painting the male genitalia, penis and testicles.
Once again in painting a male nude I have opted for a blue picture because it is the colour so strongly associated with maleness and blue is used a good deal for painting nudes in art (Picasso). Blue is a great colour to use because it has a great variety of shades and can be both soft and hard, gentle and/or harsh. Blue is also a very moody colour associated with different emotions, calmness and tranquility or depression and sadness. The different shades of blue mean that you can have great variety in a painting and can show strength and depth through the use of the range of shades and brush strokes.
Perhaps even to a greater extent than mentioned in my painting about prostate cancer, dealing with this part of a man's body goes to the heart of maleness and virility. Testicles and penis are the defining male organs and when cancer strikes in these organs it goes to the core of manhood. As mentioned already, the treatment can present great challenges as removal of one or both testicles is the first part of the treatment. The people I know who have publicly acknowledged that they had testicular cancer have shown great courage and have done a great deal of good in removing the fear and stigma of being diagnosed with this form of cancer.
It is hugely important for all men and particularly young men to take care of their sexual organs and to be aware as to how you detect testicular cancer at the earliest possible stage.
Thankfully nowadays there is far less inhibition in talking about bodies and sex so that hopefully young men will feel less inhibited or embarrassed to talk to people who can support and help them deal with illnesses or problems with their sexual organs.
