Paul Richmond Blog

Here's a peek in my studio at my new painting in progress. This is the second piece for my show in July at the Lyman-Eyer Gallery , and the handsome model is my partner Dennis.

Here's a sneak-peek at the entire Coppertone-inspired sketch for my new Cheesecake Boy painting, Beach Bum, Starring Alan Ilagan .

Here's a pic of my painting "Size Matters, Starring Jack Mackenroth" in progress: Many thanks to Jack for the awesome photo reference that has made my job especially easy on this one! "Size Matters" and a host of other Cheesecake Boy paintings will be on display in Chicago this June in my solo exhibit "Cheesecake" at the Center on Halsted. The show opens June 11 from 6:30-9:30 pm. Click HERE for more information.

My studio is turning into a bit of a freakshow thanks to my latest Cheesecake model, James St. James. Here's a sneak-peek at the painting in progress:

Here's the sketch for my Cheesecake Boy painting of James St. James:

I'm working on my Cheesecake painting of artist Michael Breyette and wanted to share a progress pic. I'm having so much fun re-creating some of his amazing artwork for the background, including the sexy, gas-pumping fellow below. Michael's a big inspiration, so I hope I did his work justice! The only change I made was to adjust the figure's eyes so that he could better enjoy the view.  Here's the sketch so you can see what's left: After Michael, I have some other exciting pin-up prospects on the horizon. Jack Mackenroth and Bobbie Burlesque both recently sent me reference pics for their paintings, and I must thank them for making my job very easy! These photos are amazing!! Jack Mackenroth (fashion designer, Project Runway alum) Bobbie Burlesque (burlesque performer) If you would like to be first in line to see the completed painting of Michael Breyette, and all of the other fabulous Cheesecake Boys to come, sign up for my e-mail newsletter HERE . ...

I just finished a new sketch for my Cheesecake exhibit. This one features Del Shores, the talented man behind one of my favorite movies/tv shows: Sordid Lives . With his help, I concocted this scenario in which he is shown filming a sexy scene from the tv series and suddenly becoming the center of attention himself as his loose pants plummet to the ground.  Many thanks to Del for providing photo references and input along the way. I can't wait to start painting this one! Meanwhile, I have two other pantless celebs in the works, musician Ari Gold and comedian Alec Mapa. Here are some pics of the progress on those: And to recap, the finished paintings to date are: In Hot Pursuit, Starring Jesse Archer Say Cheese...Cake, Starring Mike Ruiz Blast from the Past, Starring Darryl Stephens If you would like to be the first to see Del and all of his Cheesecake Boy comrades in full painted glory, sign up for my e-mail newsletter here . 

Here's my Cheesecake sketch of Perez Hilton, getting his pants yanked down by Lady Gaga's dog while spying on her. Amazingly, he is all for this idea -- thanks, Perez!

I'm working on my Cheesecake painting of Darryl Stephens (from the series Noah's Arc ), and the concept is a  twist on Marilyn Monroe's famous scene from The Seven Year Itch . He provided some great reference photos, and I'm enjoying how this one is turning out so far. Watch out for those subway grates if you're wearing something with the potential to billow! Here's a peek at the work in progress:

I just finished the sketch for my Cheesecake Boy painting of the amazingly talented artist Michael Breyette. Here's a sneak-peek: Michael was kind enough to provide a reference photo, and I think he did a fabulous job of capturing the pin-up girl spirit! I am honored that an artist whose work I greatly admire was willing to be a part of my Cheesecake show. If you're not familiar with his collection, I highly suggest you head over to his website and check it out.  And if you would like to be the first to see Michael and all of his Cheesecake Boy comrades in full painted glory, sign up for my e-mail newsletter here . 

I've been busy cooking up some new Cheesecake today, including making good progress on my portrait of photographer Mike Ruiz , which is titled Say Cheese...Cake, Starring Mike Ruiz . I like this second photo because it makes it look like Jesse Archer is squealing at the sight of Mike's ass, or, as they would say in art school, "the pieces are having a dialogue." I also finished my sketch for the Darryl Stephens Cheesecake Boy, which is inspired by Marilyn Monroe's famous scene in The Seven Year Itch . Many thanks to Darryl for providing some amazing reference photos for this. 

Here's the sketch for my Cheesecake portrait of the incredibly talented artist Jason Driskill : Jason's work focuses on self-portraiture which led us to concoct this reinterpretation of Norman Rockwell's classic self-portrait (with the random addition of myself and my partner Dennis as a mailman and milkman in the background). This piece is officially a collaboration with Jason - I'm thinking of it as the "Islands in the Stream" of my Cheesecake exhibit. After all, every album needs a good duet, right? I suppose we'll have to fight over which one of us gets to be Dolly and who gets stuck being Kenny Rogers though.

I just realized that I've been so busy depantsing celebrities lately that I haven't shared any of my latest novel cover illustrations. For shame! So here's a great big old round of catch-up, all of which are being published by Dreamspinner Press : And next up on the drawing board:

I've made some more progress with the Jesse Archer painting for my CHEESECAKE show. Here's the latest: The exhibit was also the subject of a post on Elisa Rolle's site earlier this week, which included additional pics of the work in progress, and quotes from a few famous Cheesecake Boy models. Check it out HERE , and I'll include the quotes below: "I've never been painted before and its an honor because Paul is so talented. I also love his concept for me. I can't think of anything better than an homage to female slasher victims who can't keep their clothes on!" ~Jesse Archer "I met Paul thru Facebook I believe and then he emailed me asking me if it would be OK to paint me as a Cheesecake Boy. I took a look at his work and I really liked it so I was flattered to be included. I love the arts in all forms and do anything I can to support them. He's very talented and I am looking forward to the final piece." ~Jack Mackenroth ...

I' ve decided to change the name of my exhibit in June at the Center on Halsted to be more reflective of the work. Instead of Gay Day at Paulyworld , I'm going with CHEESECAKE . Here's a little promo (photo courtesy of the talented Allison Grimes): I also wanted to share a sneak-peek at one of the pieces in-progress, In Hot Pursuit, Starring Jesse Archer: Ok, now I need get back to work painting some clothes for that boy (or at least the shredded remains of them!)...

I was able to work on my new painting "Naughty or Nice" today. Here are some pics of it in progress: This is one of my last nights working in my current studio. Dennis and I are getting ready to move to a wonderful new apartment this week, so I'll be busy settling into a new place soon -- complete with a fabulously gigantic finished basement that will be my new studio space. I can't wait! Plus it will be nice not to be surrounded by a million boxes. I'm going to close for now because I'm busy working on some interview questions that Antonio Capurro sent me for his site Gay Like You. That could be why this post isn't brimming with my usual witty banter -- I need to save all of my charm for his incredibly thought-provoking list of 30 questions. Whew! I hope I'm interesting enough to talk about that long...

Here's what's on the drawing board...have you been naughty or nice this year?

I was honored today to be a guest blogger on Elisa Rolle's website. Check out my "Behind the Cover" post HERE . We used this as an opportunity to introduce my " Uncovered " contest, and the entries are pouring in. So far, the votes are pretty evenly divided between the three covers, so this could be a close call. I'm excited to see what happens! I also shared a little bit about my process for developing cover illustrations. I'll include an excerpt below, and I invite you to check out her site for the complete article. ...This is the point when I start trying to envision the image. If I can convince Dennis to put down his textbook long enough to pose for me, that’s my first choice. Unfortunately, I’ve kind of burnt that bridge thanks to some of the ridiculous scenarios I’ve concocted in the past for my Cheesecake Boy pin-up series. I can’t imagine why my Jewish honey would find it slightly undignified to pretend that he’s putting a star on top of a Chris...

I'm working on some illustrations for imfromdriftwood.com , a site which publishes a fascinating collection of true stories by gay people from all across the fruited plains. Mine is by an author pretty close to home (from Granville, Ohio), and I'm creating a couple of pieces to accompany his story. Here's a portion of one sketch (showing his childhood crush on G.I. Joe) that I'm especially enjoying working on. Check out the site on July 7 to read the story and check out the final art.