Max Markham is the author of Indigo Bird – An Erotic Novel. For more information on the author and his work, please visit Max Markham’s Section on this website.
This article is part of a series of posts about my favorite top ten gay Englishmen.
Unlike the other famous gay Englishmen whom I have so far celebrated, David Hockney is still very much alive and working as a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer. He is also one of the most popular artists in the UK today. It is not hard to see why: his art, while sophisticated, is actively enjoyable by, and intelligible to, the average man and woman. He has yet to pickle a sheep or a shark in formaldehyde or to subject his public to the sight of his unmade bed: heaven forfend! He is a very serious artist. Hockney is unapologetically gay.
A student of the Royal College of Art, Hockney moved to the USA: initially to New York, where he met, and was influenced by, Andy Warhol. Later he lived in California for some years. It was in California that Hockney executed his series of paintings of swimming pools, some of which have an overtly gay content. He came to prominence in the highly representational Pop Art movement of the 1960s and has since developed in several directions, including as a photographer, as a portrait painter, and most recently as an English landscape painter in the tradition of Constable and Turner, although he uses a far brighter pallet than either. His double portrait “Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy” is considered one of the finest twentieth century portraits and is visibly influenced by Gainsborough.
Hockney is widely travelled. In addition to living in America he has sought inspiration in other countries; including China, which he visited with the late Stephen Spender. He has not however become an expatriate or cosmopolitan: he remains true to his Yorkshire roots. Born in Bradford, Hockney is now again based in Yporkshire, at Bridlington, on the coast, while keeping a base in London. His 2012 exhibition at the Royal Academy, “A Bigger Pictures” concentrates heavily on rural Yorkshire landscapes. Unpretentious, despite his enormous commercial success, Hockney has refused a knighthood or other title, but has accepted the Order of Merit and is a Companion of Honour: neither of these illustrious orders confers any title or precedence on the holder.
In his 2001 television programme and book, Secret Knowledge, Hockney posited that the old masters used camera obscura techniques, using a concave mirror, which projected an image of the subject onto the surface of the canvas. Hockney argues that this technique migrated gradually from Italy to the rest of Europe, and is the reason for the photographic style of painting we see in the Renaissance and later periods of art. There is some historical evidence suggesting that he may well be right about this. Given his many interests, Hockney is arguably a Renaissance man himself.
Hockney was born with synesthesia: he sees synesthetic colours in response to musical stimuli. This does not usually show up in his painting or photography. It is however a common underlying principle in his construction of stage sets for the ballet and opera, where he bases the background colours and lighting upon his own seen colours while listening to the, usually recorded, music of the opera or ballet.
It is hard to predict what Hockneye will do, or discover, next.
The Indigo Bird
An Erotic Novel by Max Markham
James Graveney, a young Major in a respectable regiment, is outwardly conventional. In private James is bisexual, with a strong urge for his own sex. Gay sex, however, is illegal in the Army, so he is discreet about this.
James’ world is turned upside-down when he meets Lieutenant Richard Finch. Richard is intelligent, charismatic and exceptionally handsome. He doesn’t mess around. He gets what he wants, and is completely unscrupulous about how he gets it. Richard will stop at nothing to achieve this, including Machiavellian deception and a cunning and brutal murder. James starts responding to Richard, cautiously at first, then gets swept along on the great love affair of his life.
The Indigo Bird is a rollercoaster of surprises set against backdrops varying from the jungles of Belize to London, the English countryside, and Ireland, and the scene is set for more shocks and adventures. [Read more...]
The Indigo Bird is available through Amazon.Com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords.com, Amazon Kindle US, Amazon Kindle UK, and any other good bookstore.
