VERY full frontal: An Interview with Avery Hornn
I cannot stress how lucky I am to have connected with this month’s featured artist, Avery Hornn.
Her gorgeous BDSM-inspired oil paintings, charcoal drawings, and adult videos have gained her an online following that could never exist in the gentrified Tampa Bay Area galleries that provide "glass crafts for boomer corvette owners".
We talk about her relationship with Instagram, running several online stores (now you see why I’m so lucky to get some time with her), and her goal of one day being the Norman Rockwell of illustrating porn.
I hope you enjoy this interview with the multi-talented Avery Hornn.
Who are you? Introduce yourself!
The name I paint under is Avery Hornn. I'm from the Hudson Valley in New York, currently living in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
I've been making art for as long as I can remember. As a child, I would sit at the table with my dad and my grandmother and we would take turns making drawings to entertain each other. Often they were VERY silly (a witch escaping from prison, an airplane with a face) and we made each other laugh.
By the time I graduated high school I was already selling my artwork. I naturally thought that art school was the next step for me. However, after 3.5 years at a private art college, I dropped out, having realized that as a senior painting major I had yet to take a painting class that taught me a single new technical skill. I did however enjoy classical training in drawing while there (the painting department was just woefully behind at the time I was attending).
I would say I'm self taught and classically trained at the same time. I would also say that I have my BFA even though I dropped out, because I did all of the work and earned it (and of course will be paying my student loans until I die). My drawing skills may have been enhanced there, but I taught myself how to paint.
How do you structure your creative time?
I keep myself on a pretty regular schedule, as I work under two artist names and have entire bodies of work for both pages/stores. I have to make sure I fit in the time to make art for both, maintain both stores, ship all orders from both stores, update both social media pages, etc.
I keep a home studio and a warehouse studio to make this easier. Having been a working artist my entire adult life, I learned very early the importance of keeping a schedule. That being said, it's also super important to make time to be outside, rest, be with loved ones and be fully present, etc. It's doable with discipline and consistency.
I'm inspired constantly, so I keep notes on my phone, a notebook near my bed, and notebooks/sketchbooks in my studio filled with ideas so that when I sit down to work I already know what I'm going to make. With the amount that I already have written down, I could draw everyday until I die and I still wouldn't get through all of them.
How would you describe your local art scene to anyone unfamiliar with it?
I would describe the gallery scene where I live specifically as "glass crafts for boomer corvette owners", although we do have some fantastic museums. Since the area has been gentrified by wealthy northerners the interesting art spaces have closed or been sold.
As more and more old buildings are torn down for high rise condos, the city becomes less and less interesting. The last time I participated in anything locally was 8 years ago. I do not fit into it, and I do not care to, as the recent transplants are not my audience. I often fantasize about showing my own work (and work like mine) in my own space. Maybe someday.
How did you first become interested in fetish art?
I've been making erotic art since I was permitted to, when I turned 18. I became interested in fetish art, erotica, and BDSM having seen photographs from Irving Klaw; Bettie Page in stockings, women wrestling, women in bondage, gagged women, and always Bettie's beautiful smile. It snowballed from there.
I met my husband because he was selling vintage Irving Klaw photographs at an event- he was friendly with Irving's Nephew who at the time still ran Movie Star News (the company Irving Klaw owned). He didn't let me buy the photographs, so I married him 2 weeks later to get all of them.
He encouraged me to keep making my fetish/erotic themed artwork, and to make even MORE of it (something that was frowned on in art school at the time). First we took my work out to sell at conventions, I had a few solo gallery shows, participated in several group shows, etc. But the travel was exhausting.
In 2012 I began posting my work online, where it sold quickly to my collectors. I enjoy making my erotic art more than the work I do for my "vanilla" art store under a different name. This year (2023) I'm self publishing an erotic comic book series titled "Clementine", which I am VERY excited about.
As someone who makes erotic artwork, how do you handle comments and critiques of your work?
My audience is wonderful and supportive. I've received only a few unpleasant comments over the last 18 or so years, and I just ignore it. I got used to being criticized for the content in my work while in art school, so I literally do not care what anyone has to say about my art. Criticisms say more about the person giving them than the person receiving them.
Do you collaborate with other artists?
I don't collaborate with other fine artists (not necessary for my work) but I do collaborate with the models and actors who make a lot of my work possible, and they are artists. Often the reference images I use are from films I produce for my adult studio (Hornn studios) so I have my hand in the styling, posing, and composition of every frame even before it becomes reference for my paintings.
Who are your influences?
I'm influenced by every piece of art I've ever seen. But if I had to say what my goal was for my erotic art, I'd like to be Normal Rockwell if he was illustrating porn.
How do you promote your work?
Social Media has been the cornerstone of my art sales. It has been a complete game changer. Social media, for all of it's faults, is an incredible tool for selling art.
Unfortunately galleries are becoming obsolete- an artist absolutely does not need to put their work in a gallery to sell it. Social media removed them from the equation.
All of that being said I do occasionally show in gallery events that I think will be fun, but if it's not fun I'm not doing it, because I can sell it myself.
I have a tricky relationship with Instagram, I experienced alot of censorship on Instagram (having lost my account 6 times, even having censored the work and not posting the really dirty stuff) so I mostly moved it to Twitter where there is no censorship. I deal with it by adapting. I've watched social media platforms come and go, and they will continue to come and go. The censorship is annoying but I am like a cockroach, I'm never going away.
What has been your experience with the selling of your artwork?
I do occasionally enjoy setting up my work at very specific events to sell in person, but they are few and far between. I sometimes enjoy meeting my supporters face to face, talking about art, seeing my other artist friends, and getting out of the house. They can be lucrative, but they are also a lot of work. Hauling original artwork and prints sometimes states away can be expensive- travel expenses, booth costs, hotels, gas, etc.
It is much easier to run my online store. Much like showing in galleries, this is another one of those "if it's not fun i'm not doing it" situations. But even outside of all of that-my work is VERY full frontal, I can't just set it up at any art fair or street fair. Many people seeing it will just see pornography. I also wouldn't put that out on a table at an event where people are not expecting to see that kind of work.
Do you have any advice for artists who are just starting their journey?
My advice to young artists is to just do it, go for it and do it fearlessly. Do not pander to what's popular, if you do this you will burn out and your success will be short-lived. Make YOUR art consistently and post it consistently. There's easier jobs out there, if you don't enjoy making art, don't bother.
Be kind to your audience, supporters, and your buyers.
What’s next for you?
For me, I'll be here drawing my drawings, painting my paintings, and illustrating my new comic series.
Where can people find you?
You can find me at:
https://www.instagram.com/acfetishart/
https://twitter.com/averyhornn
and www.averyhornn.com
