A preview of my commission from artist Avery Hornn

Since shelter-in-place orders went out across the country back in March, I have heard a great deal about the negative impact it has had on many people's income. This series of posts (I plan to have two or three total) is going to focus on recent purchases I have made from artists of various mediums. All of these buys are things about which I have told myself "one day I will buy that..." but had yet to follow-through with because I felt I could not justify the cost.

Seeing so many artists lose their main source of income, either because of lay-offs from day jobs or being unable to work in their medium if it requires direct client contact (like dancers and photographers), made me feel lucky to have a job that operates whether or not there is a pandemic, and paid me for being out two weeks when I contracted COVID-19. I realized there would never be a better time to justify those purchases than right now, and the first artist that came to mind was Danni Doll of Horribly Eclectic and her bunny mimic.

just a bunny

I had first come across Danni's art at Monsterpalooza 2018. Her table was right next to Olivia de Berardinis's table, so there was no way I could have missed her. I instantly fell in love with the mimic she had on display and I really wanted one, but I had already spent most of my con money by that time and had to leave without one.

eeee a very cute bunny

At Monsterpalooza 2019, @Kommienezuspadt actually introduced me to Danni who I didn't even realize was the artist at first. As we were walking away, I asked him, "Wait, is she the one who makes the bunny mimic??" And I think he said something like, "Oh, yes! Do you want to ask her about it?" because we ended up turning around and I did indeed (nervously) ask her whether she had any mimics for sale. Unfortunately she did not have any at her booth, but she told me I could message her anytime to order one after the con.

oh...not a real bunny....

Well, after the con turned out to be almost a year later, and when I contacted her she told me she had just enough materials left to make one mimic! She was so gracious and sweet, and she made and shipped my little mimic in just a couple days - complete with display stand and info sheet! The sculpted and painted mouth and teeth are the most impressive part.

I love reading creature lore (it must be the ecologist part of me - learning the natural history of a species is always fascinating).

Overall, super duper cute and neat and I am glad I was able to indulge myself while also supporting an artist. Danni Doll sells original art at her etsy shop, and although the bunny mimic is not currently in stock, you can find beautiful framed watercolor originals, hand-sculpted brooches, and painted wooden ornaments.

The next purchase I made took a little more time, but was well-worth the wait:

An artist I have been a fan of for a couple years, Amber Carr began painting erotic art under the name Avery Hornn last Spring. I love the art she creates under both names, but her erotic art is definitely my favorite. She also occasionally does commissions, and since the shelter-in-place orders went into effect she has been doing a lot more of them. And I snagged one.

One of the progress shots she sent me. I was seriously so, so excited.

It took about two weeks from the time I secured my commission spot to the time she notified me that she was starting to work on mine. After that, I didn't have to wait even a full 24 hours before she messaged me late the same evening to tell me she "may or may not have finished..." accompanied by the first look at the finished product:

I didn't check my messages until the next morning, and it was a wonderful surprise to see this in my inbox!

There isn't much else to say about this other than she did a phenomenal job making me look like a sweet, sexy badass. It was her idea to include the gloves and the harness (I was wearing a harness in one of the reference photos I sent her) and I am so glad she asked about it because I love the fetish touch they add to the portrait.

She sent me another photo later that day, revealing even more amazing detail (like my freckles!)

You can find her art in a few places. First, her original online store can be found here. She sells both originals (oil, acrylic, ink, pencil, charcoal) and prints, as well as banners and screen-printed t-shirts (she does the screen-printing herself), of her incredible artwork. I highly recommend checking out her Zodiac series - seriously amazing (like, really gorgeous) interpretations of the zodiac signs.

Her other shop here is where you can find her erotic art under her Avery Hornn name. There is a much heavier focus on fetish imagery and depiction of explicit sex acts, which I am 100% into - she just does it so beautifully. Both shops also have sections where you can purchase fine-art giclee prints of some of her works.

This post, as usual, took a lot longer to write than I originally intended...like a LOT longer! So I am ending it here. Let me know in the comments if you check out either of the artists mentioned above :) I will have a couple more in the coming weeks. Until then, thanks for reading!

Supporting Independent Artists during Quarantine: Part I - Bunny Mimics and Erotic Portraits