Bleck, that Massachusett's gay-nup votes just g-r-o-s-s GROSS!! To quell the burning sensation in our tum-tums, let's take a look at the work of E. Gibbons. We have to admit, we weren't too familiar with Gibbons' work until he sent us an email asking us to check out a YouTube slideshow of his work.

Proponents of shameless self-promotion, we headed on over to look at what we expected to be the typical male nudies, thinking, "Great, another art-fag who relies on a little penis and a provocative pose for their so-called 'art'." Well, we stand corrected - Gibbons' work eschews the banality of overtly sexual position, relying instead on sensual sublties. We asked Gibbons to provide a little more context for his work and he sent us back quite a response, which we've pasted after the jump.

If you'd rather live your life in a haze of ignorance and get straight to the meat of the matter, click here for a little afternoon delight. Oh, and if you're a lover of the ladies, never you fear, he's got a "female" version here.

Artist E. Gibbons expands the male nude into new markets with his classical paintings. The Sensual figures in black and white oil have been appearing in ArtNEWS Magazine, BLUE+, and Bruno Gmunder's New Book "Stripped". His work is on exhibition in Paris, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Hope, Asbury Park, Princeton, Palm Springs & Fort Lauderdale. (He paints a few ladies too ;-)

For many years the male figure has been avoided by contemporary artists, for fear of being labeled gay, or a strictly gay artist, yet the male nude has been the subject of great works of art like Michaelangelo's David and many works by Leonardo Da Vinci. Gibbons' re-introduction of the male nude as fine art is just one part of a larger re-surgence of the male figure. His works are based on Biblical, Mythological, and Societal themes and though sensual, they avoid overtly sexual references. Any work by Gibbons could be hung in the home and not need to be covered when mom comes to visit.

His work to has become something of an investment for buyers. Just 10 years ago his figures were selling for $600 to $800, to mostly savy gay collectors of art. Now his life-size paintings sell for $3000 each and are considered undervalued in the market, so sales are strong. As he closes in on a large museum exhibition, his prices are expected to surge in the next 10 years into the $10,000 to $15,000 range.

Gibbons created a slide show of his male figures for YouTube, in less than a a couple days it has gotten over 2000 viewers and been featured in the Arts & Animation section. Stop by and give him a 5 star rating.