It's been a while since our last We Want Your Art. What better time to reintroduce our gallery of our creative reader's creations than after that inspiring interview with Matthias Herrmann? (See below, silly.)

This here photo comes to us from San Francisco-based photographer Matt Baume. When asked to describe his work, Mr. Baume told us:

I like photos that elicit feelings of well-worn comfort; so my best pictures have a sense of used-uppyness, where things look a bit weatherbeaten. One of my obsessions is the peculiar, eccentric thing that makes you feel content - it's always something different and totally unpredictable for each of us, and for some folks it's a secret, but we all have one. My favorite pictures are of boys doing weird things that make them happy.

Check out Baume's Flickr page and see where your mind takes you...

This isn't the first time Stuart Sandford's popped up here. You may recall him from The Narcissist Issue, in which he said:

I see sexuality as fluid. I don't define myself as gay, but I’m definitely far more attracted to men than I am to women. I don't think it's always important to define yourself as one of the other. It's a societal construct and the main reason we do this is to get sex. So let's keep experimenting, not just in our youth, but also throughout the rest of our lives.

As for Sandford, he took these shots during an artist residency in Rotterdam. Sounds like a lovely place. Take a look at some other snaps, after the jump...

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This is a special installment of We Want Your Art. You see, we first contacted Michael Marcelle back in The Narcissist Issue. While our collaboration didn't come to fruition, we've been exchanging emails with the New York-based homo-photog: checking in to see what's cooking.

Now we're happy to announce that MM's been selected for Pinned Up: a Humble Media/My Open Bar project featuring 24 emerging photographers.

Marcelle's shots come from a 2005 collection called Wilderness, which he says:

[D]eals primarily with the role of fantasy in the physical world. The idea of fantasy in this project is expanded to represent any form of escapism from the banality of the physical, mass-produced world, whether it be through things such as video games, tattoos, physical violence, or simply looking at the world long enough for it to become strange and altogther new, and hopeful.

Pinned Up's showing from December 11-16 at The Gallery at 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237) with a closing reception on the 16th. Head on over and ch-ch-check it out.

This fresh installment of We Want Your Art comes to us from Sacramento-based photography student, Tony De Lucci.

At first view we saw a figure restrained by some outside force: pressing against bonds, seeking release. (Kind of dramatic, yes, but our minds were in The Power Issue's despotic gutter.) The title, however, also suggests a struggle: "Coerced Beauty". Coercion requires resistance - or, at the very least, reluctance. It seemed like an open and shut case. Then something changed our minds.

There were no long debates on the origins of repression, nor did we mull over long-forgotten art history. The challenge came, quite simply, from the title of De Lucci's MySpace page: "EuphoriaPhoto". Could there be something blissful in "Coerced Beauty"? Perhaps seductive? Is the figure in control of the viewer? What lies under the shroud? Are we just blowing air up your ass?

Only De Lucci knows for sure...

While we're on the subject of politics, we'd like to offer a bit of a We Want Your Art/The Power Issue crossover. To be fair, we intended on posting this last week but got distracted. What can we say? We've got a lot on our collective mind...

Above you see "Election Day 2004 - Blood and Red Ink", a painting sent to us by David Castle. Here's what he had to say: I spent most of election day in November, 2004 working on this painting in my studio in Denver. I was thinking about big bloody tongues spitting out hard, carbon-like cubes of lies."
Pretty dark, no?

Below, we have "Elementals - New Day", Castle's watercolor representation of this year's midterm elections. Far more cheery, although we can't help but notice the distinct boxes. We can only assume they represent the American people, segregated from one another, color by color, vote by vote. But, of course, that's just us. Feel free to share your own feelings...or, of course, you can repress them. It's up to you.

You may recall that as part of The Power Issue, we've asked a few artist friends to submit their depictions of power. For today's offering, we'd like to share this piece by New York-based graphic designer, Stephen Sunderland.

We weren't exactly sure what to make of it. It sort of looks like some sort of gay super-hero charging up. Of course, Sunderland's not as nerdy as us, so we thought it best to call for a bit of explanation.

It seems that Sunderland intentionally chose a male figure as a commentary on the ways men have historically been granted power. At the same time, the man stands in the middle of various symbols, from which he draws his power. The male power figure, then, is a mere sum of his parts: powerless at his core, forced to draw on the things around him to survive. Sunderland says, "Power cannot rely on one thing, it needs other things."

It's worth noting, we think, that the man's crowned by a bomb: one of the most effective tools of false power. While more passive symbols of power revolve around him, it is the bomb that stands out, a reminder of male violence in power relations.

It's been a while since the last installment of We Want Your Art. We got a little caught up with The Power Issue and all. Sorry.

Speaking of The Power Issue, we think artist John Webster's offerings makes a perfect cross-over. You see, the image above, entitled "Take Me for a Little While" sprang from Webster's broken heart. It seems he had a bit of a crush - okay, a lotta crush - on an unresponsive man. Rather than posting his tale on craigslist, Webster channelled the pain of unrequited love into a recent show, "Love is a Waste of Time".

Webster took control of his life and made something positive, transfering the man's power over him onto his work. After finishing the pieces, Webster covered them in thin layers of glaze. He explains:

The final glaze I used- covering more than half of the paintings in this show- is destroying them. Bit by bit my images are cracking and breaking, being transformed, out of my control.

For more of John Webster's art, click here.

As part of The Power Issue, we asked a few of our artistically-inclined chums to submit their visual representations of power. It's sort of like We Want Your Art, only more powerful.

Above you see our friend Naveen Kumar's contribution. While we asked the 24-year old Brooklynite for a bit of explanation, he'd rather you draw (ha!) your own conclusions. So, why don't you guys go ahead and post your thoughts below.

We also asked Kumar for a bit of bio. He's pretty mysterious, but here's what we found out: he's from Ann Arbor, Michigan, he studied literature at Vassar College, and to fulfill his life-long dream of meeting Tim Gunn, he studied design at Parsons. Unfortunately, he's yet to meet Tim Gunn. Poor thing.

While Kumar doesn't have a website, we hear that he's prone to cruising the loo at Rawhide in Chelsea. Yee-haw!

We were just taking down a trip down memory lane and got to thinking about Gay Speak. Remember Gay Speak, our mission to chronicle all the gay-inspired vernacular we love so much? Well, it turns out Gay Speak's got a more visually-minded cousin: Yeah, Spray It!

Above you see a pretty timid variation of Yeah, Spray It!: those sometimes nice, sometimes - er - not so no nice graffiti aimed at the gays. So, we have a mission for you: we want you guys (and gals, as well) to take as many photos of gay-inspired graffiti and send them our way.

Yeah, it's a bit of a tough one, but we know a lot of you guys have cameras, stalk the streets and generally loiter in shady places, so we've got high hopes. We'll do the same (that is, next time we're allowed out of the house).

Oh and if you're wondering why we posted the picture above, it's because we have a friend named Justin. He likes boys. Thus, it's funny 'cause it's true.

We were just checking our brimming inbox when a particular subject caught our eye: "Shameless Self Promotion". Obviously we were intrigued, but were especially piqued by two words: "Sam" and "Hatmaker".

Remember Sam Hatmaker aka Just Sam: one of our illustrious We Want Your Art contributors? Well, we certainly haven't...

Anyway, the email comes from Dan Avery, who sat down with Hatmaker to get the inside scoop on Hatmaker's collection of Wonder Woman figurines, of which he's got loads. Seriously, it's insane. He's totally obsessed. (And that's putting it lightly.)

Avery writes:

His most prized possession...is a 1967 Wonder Woman doll from Ideal Toys, still in its original packaging. “She cost me $4,000. I wiped out my savings account for her,” Hatmaker admits. “I was saving to buy an apartment, but in 15 years of collecting I’d never seen one in that good condition.”

Sure, there are tons of things we like, but we can't imagine spending our apartment fund (if we had one) on a doll. We don't care how wonderous this woman may be, we're not sure she's worth it.

Although, looking at that picture of the happy Hatmaker hugging his WW almost makes it worth it. Watching the article's accompanying video, however, definitely convinces us. (Of course, we didn't pay $4,000, so I guess it doesn't really matter.)

If The Power Issue were to have a cover, it'd be Philadelphia-based photographer CM Eckenrode's "Hands Closed". Looking at the picture, it seems as if the subject has been violently restrained. Taken with the title, however, one gets the impression that the constriction's self-inflicted. True explanation remains a mystery, much like the definition of power.

It may help to know, however, that Eckenrode's work revolves around his coming out period. Like another We Want Your Art contributor, namely Eric Sizemore, Eckenrode's images address the struggle between exterior and interior control, exploring the contradictory dynamics of self-acceptance. While most of the coming out series, appropriately called "Untied", takes place in shadows, the final image explodes with blinding light. Still, the male figure (Eckenrode) hugs his naked body, curled up as if waiting for attack. While he's escaped the straps of the closet, new power struggles await.

If you think "Hands Closed" speaks loudly, head on over to Eckenrode's website to see the 33-year old artist's new series, in which he reconstructs the body through layered and pieced together images.

While Francisco Santos's hating Kate Moss, we're loving all the art submissions coming in for our continuing We Want Your Art series.

"He Didn't Notice", a comic book (and Roy Lichtenstein?)-inspired lamentation of unequited homo love, comes to us from a reader named Just Sam. He gave us no last name, so this is what we've taken to calling him. Just Sam also failed to divulge the illustrated character's name, so we've taken to calling him "Trauttie" after our favorite homo-journo, Jesse Trautmann - who, we must say, has not returned our last email. We think he's pissed about our post about his break-up. Sorry, Jesse, we couldn't help ourselves.

Okay, back to Just Sam...

When he's not doodling away, Just Sam works in the Marvel Comics Toy Division. Pretty fucking cool, right? Not surprisingly, he's also a member of the Gay League, which he claims is a bit nerdy (which it is), but still earns him our undying love.

While Just Sam doesn't have a personal website, he does illustrate a bi-weekly comic strip for the cats over at Espirituality. Also, if you want to drop him a line, send him a piece of electronic mail: lostsleep@yahoo.com.

Don't worry, we've got more art coming your way. But, of course, we're always looking for more, so send it our way! Who knows, you could end up like Eric Sizemore and get an entire feature!

(Update: Sam's surname's Hatmaker. We're still going to call him Just Sam, though.)