A good thing with a bad thing. The nude and the virus.

You’re most probably facing the same thing I am. The invitation of your (local) government to stay home as much as possible.

Yes. It’s annoying, depending on where you are. In many places of the world you’re simply forbidden to go outside unless there is a strict need, like grocery-shopping, medical attention, walking the dog, etc.

Here in the Netherlands it’s not that bad yet. We can still go outside for a breather. Groups are not allowed, and people have to stay 1.5 metres / 5 feet apart. I understand that.

Nude, coffee, sunshine

I’m making the best of it. Since there is no one in my home who complains about me not wearing clothes, I go nude as soon as the temperature is nice in the living room. (We’re having quite some night frost lately, which isn’t usual for March any more.)

And so I enjoy the morning sun, drink my coffee and do my work.

Yes, the restrictions that are in place aren’t the biggest joys ever, but doing it this way, it’s not a punishment for me.

It’s also interesting to notice that, for me, not very much changes in this pandemic virus situation. Of course, I don’t drive to work every day, which is different, but not being a very social person now has it’s benefits. I don’t have the need to meet many other people on a daily basis. Actually, meeting so many of them during a normal office day is very draining for me, so in a way this is a great relief! I’m fine with being alone – I’ve been doing that most of my life.

Working nude on the couch
Working on the couch. It’s a great experience, definitely when you can do it naked!

How are you coping with the lock down, if that’s applicable for you? Are you bored? Going crazy? Desperate to be around dozens of people, even from a distance?

I’m very curious how long all this will go on. China reports fewer cases and people can go out again. It took them 2 months of rigorous lock down. Let’s hope we can get through that with less strict rules, but we’ll see!

Have a good day, everyone, and stay naked if you can. Let your skin breathe.

A virus gets in the way of a vacation

Nude on roof Fuerteventura

This is me, this morning. Trying to catch a few of the early rays of the sun.

I’ve been on my vacation address since last week Friday. The first days were awesome, with nice weather and lots of plans for places to go.

And then… lockdown. We all know the problem. Covid-19, also known as the Corona virus.

That put a stop to all the fun. Spain went in lockdown, meaning no one is allowed to go outside any more, except for food, medical attention or when you have important work that needs to be done on the spot.

Yesterday we went out for food. It was great to be outside for a while, to walk around. A queue at the supermarket wasn’t a big surprise. People had to stay a metre (3 ft) apart. No more than 6 people were allowed inside the store at any moment. We had to wear plastic gloves. Some shelves were empty already (not the stuff we needed, luckily).

This is such an odd situation. So far it still looks like I can fly home again on Friday. That’s good. Let’s hope it stays good.

Take care, naked friends and acquaintances. Don’t overhype this virus, just be smart about it.

A nice break is coming up

Yes. A break. From work and the normal world

Next Friday I’m heading off for a 1 week vacation. One of the Canary Islands holds a special appeal to me, as some of you know.

Canary Islands Map

It’s where my girlfriend lives, and I’m going to see her there for a whole week. The weather is so much nicer there. Naturist style nice.

It’s been a while since I’ve been away for a break so I (and she too) think I deserve it. And even if I don’t, I’m going for one!

A relationship is rough, being 4000 km apart most of the time.

At the beach. Clothing optional.

Feel free to be jealous of me when you see this image. I don’t mind, hahaha! There is a risk that there’s no blog post next week – I’ll be away and my mind might not be with the blog – but I’ll be back. I am, however, not focussing on that ‘back’ part yet since I still have to leave!

One thing is already certain: we’ll have a lot of fun!

Naked and that almost temperature.

The almost safe temperature

temperature

Today, for me, is one of those almost okay to be nude outside days. It’s almost nice, not very rainy. Unfortunately it’s not just right. There is a bit too much wind, and I think it’s coming from the wrong side. Out of the wind it’s pretty good, but once the wind hits, the wind chill factor gets to me.

Walking in the rain

I’m usually fine walking in the rain when the temperature is nice. Nice for me starts at 23C / 73F. Lower than that, the wind will quickly chase me inside when I’m naked. Maybe I’m a wimp, maybe it’s my age starting to show but I’m for warm place. Otherwise I’d have been a polar bear or a penguin.

Different people, different thermometers

I love how there are so many people and so many opinions about when it’s good enough to be naked outside. I remember from many years ago (make that a lot of many) when I did a naked walk in a nearby German forest when the air temperature was about 5C / 41F, and that was fine. Because it was a walk in a forest. The dense trees kept the wind away and also, after walking for a while, my body was producing heat to ward off any chills. That was a cool walk and I would love to do it again.

Walk in Germany

I tried it, not that long ago, but the shivers got to me to the point where I decided it wasn’t worth trying to go on until I got warm. I could have persisted, because shivering is movement too and that can warm you, but that prospect just didn’t do it for me.

Next month I will be off to a warm island for a week. I’d be surprised if I can’t get some good walking done there!

Nude art, the affordable way. For those who are interested in owning art.

Nude Art? Affordable? Doesn’t that sound good?

Part of “Vision de Faust”, as available on FineArtAmerica.

Yes. Today I want to focus on nude art for your (and my) home, but not the stuff that will require you to sell your house. Or mine.

We all know that art is an expensive game. Some pieces go for a mere $10.000, others for a LOT more. That’s out of most people’s range.

So how does affordable nude art work?

Basically it’s quite simple. The image above comes from FineArtAmerica. They have lots of replicas that aren’t insanely expensive. A basic print or poster starts at $16. Follow this link and see for yourself. You can also go crazy and order stationary of it, or even a beach towel.

Nude Girl Print

Maybe you’re more into this style, which I also found on FineArtAmerica. (Note that I don’t get commissions, it is just a site I found that has good stuff for very nice prices.)

There are loads of styles for nude art, probably too many to list here, so hop over to there if you feel like browsing of just to get an impression.

Another fine place for nude art is Saatchi.com.

Saatchi is where I bought one of my Susannah Martin prints, and I’m overjoyed with it.

Here is a sample of the art I found at Saatchi.

I have the feeling that Saatchi is more expensive than FineArtAmerica but the print I got from them is more than worth it. If you follow this blog or my twitter-feed, you have probably seen the name Susannah Martin quite often. She’s (in my opinion) an exceptional artist who creates amazing painting that are incredibly lifelike but has lots of fantastic/fantasy elements added to them.

Susannah Martin

You bet she deserves her own section in this post. I love the work of Susannah Martin.

Nude art
Butterfly, by Susanna Martin

Print of her work are more expensive (count on $60 to $100+). It might be because it’s Saatchi – they have high quality standards and expensive paper, but compared to original prices, that is still very acceptable, I think. If you want to own something special and you can afford it, then you get something amazing that looks fantastic.

Of course, there are many other places where you can find nude art, like 1stdibs.com, but I will leave the search for those other places to you.

If you read this far, you are probably interested, and as we all know, Google, Bing and Ecosia are our friends in finding interesting material.

Thank you for your interest. I hope you will find some wonderful art prints. It exists, and as you saw: you don’t have to sell your first-born for a good print.