Escape by Michael Breyette
The Lyman-Eyer Gallery, 432 Commercial Street in Provincetown, is pleased to present ‘ESCAPE’ by Michael Breyette. You may peruse his wonderful pastels by visiting http://www.lymaneyerart.com/. Someone once said to me, "You are really talented, but why that subject matter? Have you ever tried something else like landscapes?" Well, I do love landscapes and the way they can draw you into their world. And while I sometimes wish I had the passion to draw them, that's just not me. Being a gay man, there are obvious reasons I draw what I do. But where to draw the line between my inspiration from sexuality and my inspiration from beauty, I am just not sure. However I do know that my art is not all about sex. As much as I may find a sunset, waterfall or glass skyscraper beautiful, I find that same kind of beauty in a shirtless guy. For me, the male body is a true work of art. Perhaps growing up in an atmosphere where it would have been detrimental to my health to be caught ogling a hot guy is why I am so drawn to capturing that taboo eye candy on paper. I grew up in rural upstate NY. Not the most nurturing 
environment for a budding gay artist. Due to my conservative surroundings, I always felt the need to include female subjects in my artwork. I felt as long as my paintings featured a busty female, it was safe to include a muscular Adonis. Sometimes I would disguise the hot guys in my paintings behind a science fiction motif, or by doing a series such as "Signs of the Zodiac," where one would feature a hot guy, and the next would be of a female. I did whatever I could to express myself, even if I did have to use the females in my art as a kind of security blanket. But even those women that I felt compelled to draw always ended up being rather muscular and manly looking. One of my earliest positive experiences as a gay artist took place in my early twenties as an employee at an art supply store. Here I found a close friend in a co-worker named Deana. I was finally able to confide in someone about being gay. The acceptance I received from her was something I had never experienced from anyone in my family. I no longer felt so alone and different from everyone else. After some gentle prodding from Deana, I began to display some of my pieces in the store. I was very pleased when this created interest in my work and even brought me a few commissions. People actually felt I was 
good enough to be paid for something I loved to do. So here I was, doing well with the commissions I had garnered. While I was happy that people thought I had talent and wanted me to paint their portraits, I quickly grew dissatisfied with simply painting what others wanted me to paint. I was grateful for the opportunity to earn money at something I loved doing. But it was frustrating not to be able to paint something that made me happy. I slowly began to phase out doing portraits for people, and before long I had all but given up painting. For a few years, I would rarely pick up an art brush or a stick of pastel. But then I discovered the Internet. I started out by creating a personal website where I mentioned being an artist. That led to people inquiring about my artwork. I soon got the nerve to put up a few pieces. I had been so afraid to share my paintings of nude men with people I knew. But here I was, showing them off to the whole world. It felt so liberating. In next to no time I started receiving compliments on my style and technique, as well as on the subject matter. I would get emails from other gay men who would tell me how inspiring they found my artwork to be... how refreshing it was to see real artwork featuring nude men, not just more porn on the web. It was around this time that I opted for a change of scenery and moved to Massachusetts. No longer living "back home" where I had allowed my surroundings to stifle my creativity, I was finally able to express myself as I had always wanted. No more hiding behind drawings of women, family portraits or those lovely little landscapes. My passion is the nude male body, and that is what I choose to draw.
environment for a budding gay artist. Due to my conservative surroundings, I always felt the need to include female subjects in my artwork. I felt as long as my paintings featured a busty female, it was safe to include a muscular Adonis. Sometimes I would disguise the hot guys in my paintings behind a science fiction motif, or by doing a series such as "Signs of the Zodiac," where one would feature a hot guy, and the next would be of a female. I did whatever I could to express myself, even if I did have to use the females in my art as a kind of security blanket. But even those women that I felt compelled to draw always ended up being rather muscular and manly looking. One of my earliest positive experiences as a gay artist took place in my early twenties as an employee at an art supply store. Here I found a close friend in a co-worker named Deana. I was finally able to confide in someone about being gay. The acceptance I received from her was something I had never experienced from anyone in my family. I no longer felt so alone and different from everyone else. After some gentle prodding from Deana, I began to display some of my pieces in the store. I was very pleased when this created interest in my work and even brought me a few commissions. People actually felt I was 
good enough to be paid for something I loved to do. So here I was, doing well with the commissions I had garnered. While I was happy that people thought I had talent and wanted me to paint their portraits, I quickly grew dissatisfied with simply painting what others wanted me to paint. I was grateful for the opportunity to earn money at something I loved doing. But it was frustrating not to be able to paint something that made me happy. I slowly began to phase out doing portraits for people, and before long I had all but given up painting. For a few years, I would rarely pick up an art brush or a stick of pastel. But then I discovered the Internet. I started out by creating a personal website where I mentioned being an artist. That led to people inquiring about my artwork. I soon got the nerve to put up a few pieces. I had been so afraid to share my paintings of nude men with people I knew. But here I was, showing them off to the whole world. It felt so liberating. In next to no time I started receiving compliments on my style and technique, as well as on the subject matter. I would get emails from other gay men who would tell me how inspiring they found my artwork to be... how refreshing it was to see real artwork featuring nude men, not just more porn on the web. It was around this time that I opted for a change of scenery and moved to Massachusetts. No longer living "back home" where I had allowed my surroundings to stifle my creativity, I was finally able to express myself as I had always wanted. No more hiding behind drawings of women, family portraits or those lovely little landscapes. My passion is the nude male body, and that is what I choose to draw.
posted by Lyman-Eyer Gallery @ 7:30 AM
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