Tag Archives: portraiture

Drawing NYC fire performer Sage Sovereign at last!

Sage Sovereign for Distanced Drawing by Suzanne Forbes Jan 15 2021 flowersI met Sage Sovereign on the street outside a nightclub in East Berlin.

It was a couple years ago; we were both crossing Warschauerstrasse from Monster Ronson’s to the U1 station and landed on the curb simultaneously. Then I stared at her, because she is one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen. We looked at each other, recognizing some deep New Yorker affinity and a clear aesthetic convergence.

I babbled, as I do when I first see someone I desperately want to draw, introducing myself, asking her name, offering my card. We agreed we should certainly collaborate the next time she was in Berlin (I think she was off to do fire performance on a glacier in Iceland, right then).

Sage Sovereign for Distanced Drawing by Suzanne Forbes Jan 15 2021 gobletWe got connected on Instagram and I saw pictures of her amazing performances.

She came back to Berlin at least twice, but we couldn’t sort out the scheduling. And then the pandemic began, and I tried to draw her during a video stream of an extraordinary performance piece she did at twilight early last summer. But the video quality just didn’t give me enough visual information. So when she messaged me to let me know she was modelling for terrific woman-run NYC life drawing group Distanced Drawing, I was thrilled!

I still long to draw her in person, but this was a wonderful opportunity to begin collaborating. I am so grateful to Sage for her fantastic modelling work and to Distanced Drawing for making it viewable to me in the middle of the night in Berlin!

You can follow Sage on Instagram here and her website is here.

I am incredibly grateful to my Patreon Patrons, whose monthly financial support makes it possible for me work safely at home, documenting amazing performers.

Archiving 2006 drawings!

Lady in a Dark Garden corset Sept 23 2006 Folsom by Suzanne ForbesI found a bunch of 2006 drawings that had never been archived!

The 2006 album on my flickr has always been oddly scant, although I was documentary-drawing quite a bit already that year (though I was painting much more). For some reason, these drawings were scanned, but they were never posted. Now they are out in the world!

The top drawing is a lovely woman in toe shoes and a Dark Garden corset I drew at Folsom St. Fair that year; her partner bought it so I no longer have the original. I was working incredibly hard in September of 2006; you can see my drawings from the Folsom Eve party at Kink.com’s original headquarters here.

Eva at Folsom 9 24 2006 9x12 by Suzanne ForbesThis is the first picture I ever made of my Never-Muse!

I met Little Miss Never for the first time when she stopped at my booth at Folsom 2006. She was wearing a white rose in her snakes of black hair and one of her grandmother’s negligees, and I instantly knew that I must know her and paint her, at depth and breadth, for all time. This sketch was made with black acrylic paint, from memory, shortly after meeting her, then touched up with pen later.

In 2006 my second ex-husband was living in Los Angeles, working at a studio down there, and I went down to LA at least once a month.

I hated LA with a passion, and our marriage was on the rocks. It was horrible going down there. The upside of it was going to the wonderful LA goth clubs. I loved Bar Sinister at Boardner’s, where in September of 2006 the premiere party for Ernest Greene’s Story of O film was held.

Ernest Greene and Nina Hartley at O premiere Sept 14 2006 by Suzanne ForbesErnest Greene and Nina Hartley, legendary LA BDSM power couple, at the “O – Power of Submission” premiere party!

What a great event this was, and what a good time! I had a press pass and all the access I could dream of. I was of course dressed up in a pvc corset and lots of fishnet, black lace and fancy hair feathers. The crowd was pure Hollywood adult film royalty, in their finest latex and leather!

Nina Hartley at Story of O premiere Hollywood Sept 19 2006 by Suzanne Forbes

What a thrill! Holy cow it was an exciting night.

Nina Hartley, the iconic adult film director, performer, sex educator, feminist, and author, was a star of the movie as well, and kindly posed for me.

Nina Hartley at O Film premiere by Suzanne ForbesI even painted a quick portrait of Ms. Hartley.

I stood there at my portable easel painting while latex-clad porn stars squeezed past me in the crowded courtyard of the club and the band played. Ms. Hartley’s eye had been injured, so she was wearing an eye patch; I really liked the rakish effect. I donated this painting to a benefit, I think for SF Citadel, and it was bought by one of my clients, so I no longer have it, sadly.

After Ms. Hartley I painted a great portrait of the film’s star, Carmen Luvana, but I do not have a picture of it! I loaned it to a show in San Francisco, and there was some confusion and I was never able to collect it. It’s a shame because it was very cute, like a ’70’s Playboy cover, all blonde and tan.

Evan Stone O premiere 9 14 06 by Suzanne ForbesI also did a quick painted sketch of Evan Stone, another of the film’s stars.

I was, um, familiar with him from his work 😉 He was completely kind and surfer-dude friendly as he posed and I feel like I got a good likeness.

Ava Rose at O Premiere 9 14 06 by Suzanne ForbesAva Rose, a very hot young starlet, posed for a drawing.

She was utterly vamping me as I drew her, and she was so beautiful.

Performers at O premiere Sept 14 2006 by Suzanne ForbesHere are some young ladies posing for photos!

This was the era of Lip Service fetish wear and everyone was wearing pleated vinyl micro-minis, which I love! You can see another drawing of the guests at the event here. I’m so glad I was there documenting these sexy moments.

Audience at DNA Halloween 2006 by Suzanne ForbesI also made a lot of drawings at DNA Lounge on Halloween in 2006.

Most of them were published already, but I found the ones above and below in the “lost” file.

Fluffy parts DNA Halloween 2006 by Suzanne ForbesAnd I found several more orphaned drawings, including one I can’t share here from the Caligula party at SF Citadel in December of 2006!

Sleeping girl in corset Nov 4 2006 Revised 9x12 by Suzanne ForbesI went to the Vampire Ball, in Alameda, that year.

I drew this beautiful girl sleeping in her corset in the powder room. I sold the original years ago, to a fellow artist who recognized what a goddam banger of a figure drawing this is!

Guests at Kink dot com's old HQ Nov 4 2006 by Suzanne Forbes

Here are some young ladies at Kink.com’s original HQ (known as The Porn Palace)!

This drawing is from November 4, and I remember we were all up on the roof at the hot tub at sunset, and I really couldn’t believe the life I was leading. My marriage was ending, and that was so very painful and terrifying.

But I was surrounded by amazing people, making art about sexuality, and I knew I would survive.

None of these art scans had ever been published; until now, no record of them existed outside our home – if we had a fire or flood they would just be gone forever.

I am incredibly grateful to my Patreon Patronswhose monthly financial support makes it possible for me to take time to document my art archives.