Pride 2023 Art

This is something new for me in every respect. 2023 is the first time I felt “free” to do art like this and the first year I considered myself part of the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month. That latter part is something I’m still in the process of revealing so if you’re among my friends and family and this is the first you’re aware of it, feel free to reach out if you wish. It’s taking me awhile as I’d rather go one on one with this news rather than a blast to all at once. You can also read about my journey understanding and accepting myself on my personal blog. I had been “figuring myself out” for awhile now. Well I mean, most of my life, but in earnest since the pandemic started in 2020. At the same time I was caring for my Mom who has dementia. In 2022 I finally had to accept I could no longer provide the care she needed and I had the space and time for myself.

As it turned out my art was appropriately a key element of that. A follower on Mastodon seeing one of my romantic colorful rain prints that featured a man and a woman commented they’d like to see one with two guys instead. It was something I had thought about before but being asked to do it was the freedom I finally needed. When I finished in March of this year, the hard part was including the disclaimer when I shared it that I’d been asked to do it. Even though I was teetering on the edge, I hadn’t told anyone and I felt like I still needed to explain “why” I had done art that was clearly gay themed. I mean, in an ideal world, it simply wouldn’t matter and shouldn’t. Regardless of my orientation, I shouldn’t need a reason to do art of any theme. But when you’ve spent so much of your life holding an aspect of yourself at a distance, it was hard to let go of that feeling of needing permission. Ultimately that feeling of wanting to say I did this because I wanted to do it was part of the puzzle. It wasn’t much longer before I was resolved to start coming out to friends.

The Cowboy pop art which is my most recent work was done especially in honor of my first Pride Month. It’s something fun and I hope others enjoy it as much as I did working on it. I will certainly continue to do a wide variety of subjects in my art as I always have, but for those who enjoy the art featured here, it won’t be the last of its kind.

Trouble using the above gallery to shop? Or maybe you want to see the other products that are available? You can open my Pixels shop directly to these images with the button below.

The last three images in the above collection were done in 2023 but not specifically for Pride Month. The first two were in response to requests but the last one was more or less for me. It was partly inspired by a friend’s photo of her husband with the birds swirling overhead. The man on the beach isn’t intended to be anyone specifically but the sense of being “carefree” was a response to my finally feeling like a weight had been lifted. There’s very much symbolism in this one for me which is why I’m including it in this post for my Pride 2023 Art.

I’m also offering the Cowboy Pop Art on T-shirts over at Zazzle where you can customize your shirt by choosing various styles as well as adding text. If there’s anyway I can help you customize one for an event or for you individually, just drop me a note. I’m happy to help.

Please note that Zazzle links are affiliate links. When purchasing after following this link I will get a small commission from the price you pay whether you purchase my designs or the designs of other artists on Zazzle. This does not impact the price you pay.

I’m also offering digital downloads that are formatted to display well on mobile devices, cell phones etc. A couple of the ones currently available are Gay themed. So if your walls are full, etc. and you’d like to support what I do, I hope you’ll take a look. As you’ll see in the footer, I have a Ko-Fi account if you’d like to support that way but the thing I love about the digital download option is that you get something you can enjoy every day in exchange!

Thanks so much for taking a look at what I offer. If you have questions or comments, etc. please don’t hesitate to send a message or of course you can leave a comment down below.