I'm Kenney Mencher. I'm an artist who left a tenured professorship in 2016 to pursue making art full time. This blog is about art, art history, with a emphasis on human rights. I make homoerotic art featuring bears, otters & other gay wildlife.
This an alla prima painting that was completed in a 12 hour session.
Alla prima refers to a direct painting approach where paint is applied wet on wet without letting earlier layers dry. In Italian, the term alla prima means “at first attempt”.
Paintings created in this approach are usually completed within a single session. This made it popular with the Impressionists, as they were able to more easily capture the fleeting light and color of the environment.
I like to experiment and bounce back and forth between different kinds of techniques and styles as I work in my studio. I think he keeps me fresh as a painter and I don’t slavishly create the same kind of painting over and over again.
One of the things that my new batch of paintings has in common is the fact that I’m trying to incorporate a little bit more of an environment around some of the figures to create a little bit more of a story or a bit of mystery about who the character is and what they’re doing. Another thing that I’ve been incorporating into some of my new work works is a little bit more the use of blues and a fuller spectrum or palette of colors.
This painting still has a lot of the main themes that I like to work with such as,older hairier men and the idea of appreciating different body types. I like to represent everyone rather than just a tiny cross-section of humanity.
This was painted on a canvas panel, which is a very sturdy ground or surface for a painting. It won’t flex a lot and is less likely to be damaged in shipping then stretched canvases. Although I tend to be really good at boxing and packaging the paintings I ship. This is a standard size and you won’t have much trouble finding it’s called an “open back” painting or framing kit on the web or at a local art store.
This painting is based in the tenets of the “body positivity” movement. Body positivity refers to the assertion that all people deserve to have a positive body image, regardless of how society and popular culture view ideal shape, size, and appearance. This is on gallery wrapped canvas so there won’t be a need to frame it. For years I had trouble accepting my body as I aged. So I began to paint and draw people who looked more like me and I realized I wasn’t alone when I discovered other bears and the concepts behind “body positivity.” Some of the goals of the body positivity movement include: Challenging how society views the body Promoting the acceptance of all bodies
Helping people build confidence and acceptance of their own bodies
Addressing unrealistic body standards
In gay culture, a bear is a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity.
Many straight folks are unaware of the bear subculture. Hardly a surprise, since a powerful majority rarely concerns itself with the doings of a marginalized minority. When, three or four years ago, I first mentioned bears to my straight colleagues in the English Department at Virginia Tech, none of them knew what I was talking about, though by now at least one of them calls me “The Bear.” Similarly, my heterosexual students, as expert as they might be on current media, seem equally ignorant about this topic.
Most GLBT folks, however, by now seem to know the basics. A “bear” is a hairy, bearded, brawny-to-bulky gay man, usually displaying aspects of traditional masculinity. A cub is a younger version of the same; a wolf is a lean, hairy man; an otter a young version of that. “Woof!” is a lustful expression, meaning essentially: “Tasty! I’d like to climb all over that!” “Grrrrr!” means much the same. As you can see, after twenty-some years of development, the bear community, like any subculture, has its own jargon, sometimes called “bearspeak” or “vocabulary.” It also has its own values, its own style, and its own commodities. There are bear-oriented bars, festivals, music, movies, magazines, and books. There are regional clubs for bears not only in metropolitan centers, where the communities first developed, but also in rural areas.
The paint on this is super thick and it took several days to make the painting. Recently I moved from California, where I had a pretty cramped small studio, to a larger house where I’ve taken the entire basement as my painting studio. This is allowed me to experiment and try out new things that I have never been able to do because I have a lot more space and places for things to dry and services to work on. I can work on paintings over several days or weeks rather than have to rush through them and work on only one painting at a time.
This is one of a group of paintings that were worked on over the course of a week or two in a more layered approach. It began more as a rough sketch on the canvas panel that I worked out a little bit more with crayon and worked out the shading and environment using my imagination. Over the next couple of days the painting was developed more.
The next couple of days were spent working on an underpainting that began his thin washes of oil paint and ended up with thicker more opaque layers.
The finishing day that I worked on this painting I attempted to build up the surface is more and enhance the textures so that the paint textures matched a little bit more closely the physicality or textures of the figures and the environment they are in. Some of the paint is almost 2 to 3 cm thick and applied with plastering knives and thick bristle brushes which I think gives the surface and almost skin like quality.
As an artist, I am so excited to celebrate World Art Day on April 15th. It's a day where we recognize the power and importance of art in our lives, and I encourage everyone to take some time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Whether it's admiring a breathtaking painting or listening to a moving piece of music, art has a way of touching our hearts and souls in a way that nothing else can.
But there's something else I want to talk to you about that's equally important to me as an artist: buying directly from the artist. When you buy a piece of art from a middle-man website, you're not only paying for the art itself, but also for the costs associated with the sale of the work. This can add up to 35-50% of the total price, which means that the artists sometimes receive half of what you pay to the middle-man. However, when you buy directly from the artist, you not only get a one-on-one experience, but you also save that extra money. It's a win-win situation!
So, this World Art Day, I encourage you to not only appreciate the art around you but also to support artists by buying directly from them. It's a small gesture that can make a big impact on an artist's life, and you might even discover a new favorite artist along the way!
Image description: The ring of trans joy & power. A graphic where anti-trans political violence is at the center, and different manifestations of anti-trans political violence branch out. These manifestations are: bathroom bans, forced outing bills, healthcare bans, drag bans, curriculum bans, sports bans. This center week is surrounded by a wheel of text that reads: ring of trans joy & power. Elevate initiatives that center authentic trans voices. Educate your people. Demand lawmaker accountability.
As the only art museum dedicated to LGBTQIA+ art and artists in the world, we are intimately familiar with the targeted hate and violence our communities experience. Recent years have seen a proliferation of trans narratives and stories, and a corresponding wave of backlash that is currently taking the form of legislation that seeks to actively harm trans people and youth and restrict access to gender-affirming care. We are all about celebrating our communities' daily moments of triumph, beauty, and joy, but we also know that authentic visibility, representation, and education calls for action. We’re incredibly proud to uplift LLMA Board member Raquel Willis’s Trans Week of Visibility and Action, which was organized in collaboration with ACLU attorney Chase Strangio.
“With Trans Week of Visibility and Action, we're encouraging our community and those who care about us to remember our power and that we deserve safety, healthcare, education, and to pursue our dreams like everyone else,” Willis told them. “We don't just want to be seen; we want to be heard and considered as well.”
The imperative to support trans-led organizations and advocate for more inclusive policies and legislation is ongoing. We encourage you to donate to trans-led organizations and learn more about how to directly support and impact trans lives and futures.
Image description: LLMA staff prepare images shot by Lexi Webster for the installation of the facade on the exterior of the museum.
The Black Trans Femme Art Collective is one of the organizations highlighted in the Trans Week of Visibility and Action campaign, and we’re very proud to partner withBTFA Collectivefor Trans Day of Visibility. BTFA will activate the facade of the museum with a window installation from March 31 through April 23. The installation will highlight work by visual artistsLexi Webster andGatekeeper Adrian in the collective.
BTFA creates spaces for the production and preservation of Black trans art and culture by building community with Black trans femme artists and providing them with the resources and support necessary to thrive.
To support BTFA, visit btfacollective.org and follow them on social media at @btfacollective and come check out the windows at Leslie-Lohman! Or, donate directly to the collective to directly support a Black trans femme led organization.
Image Description: A graphic advertising a free strength training class with Coach Tray on March 31 at 6pm. Coach Tray is a masculine-presenting person who smiles warmly at the camera. Register via outboxgym.com
We want to take a moment to shine a light on our partnership with Outbox this month for TDOV. Through our partnership we sponsored 20 free classes for queer and trans community! Outbox is a Boxing and Fitness club that aims to make working out fun and accessible. Trans-owned and operated, they openly welcome all members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. Your first class is always free. We love embodied queer and trans joy
Head over to Instagram to learn more and book a class!
The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (LLMA) is the only art museum in the world dedicated to artistic exploration through multi-faceted queer perspectives. With a collection that includes over 25,000 objects spanning three centuries of queer art, LLMA embraces the power of the arts to inspire, explore, and foster understanding of the rich diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences.
The Museum is generously supported, in part, by public funds from the Mellon Foundation, the Ford Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. Programmatic support is also provided by the Achilles Family Fund, Booth Ferris Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, John Burton Harter Foundation, and the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation. Individual support is proudly provided by the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees and Global Ambassadors.
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