I wanted to draw something about this to better express my feelings on the subject, but by the time I get around to it, it won't be as clear in my mind as it is right at this moment. A journal will have to do, even if less people will ultimately read it.

As I journey gradually further into this bizarre rabbit hole of drawing and sharing and dealing with fetishes, I think about how it affects me, my audience, and their opinion of me. Although I don't think I'll ever come to terms with it, I will ultimately never conclusively or completely know what my entire fanbase thinks of me and my work at any given time. While it is certainly something that concerns me, I need to establish my own boundaries regarding the lengths I've gone (or could go) to in order to mitigate the damage I'm dealing to the size and level of investment of my fanbase, by going in this direction. At this point, I've done all I can to set up my accounts in as usable a way as possible, while still being reasonably able to focus on my work.

The fact is that I personally find almost every single fetish to be, at the very least, intriguing. There are very few that genuinely squick me and, as an artist, I like to consider that a strength; something that I can use to accommodate a more varied audience. It also lets me experiment with lots of different elements and factors in my artwork that I wouldn't normally have to consider if I only dealt with one or two specific "themes." Granted, there may be some distinction between those fetishes that I have a vested interest in and those that I'm just curious about or comfortable with - but I'm confident that with time, I can do just about any theme or subject a fair amount of justice.

The unfortunate problem with this is pretty obvious; fetishes are extremely polarizing with very many people. This is an issue that I think about very frequently, and have gone to great lengths to try and mitigate. Unfortunately, certain platforms that I am more reliant on than others (coughfuraffinity) make this a greater problem than it needs to be. In spite of this, I believe there is a very real element of fragmentation in my audience that is probably only going to grow further in future.

There are two things that I want to say about this; the first is a justification, the other, an appeal.

The reason I am doing this is to ultimately be more inclusive and reach a broader audience. I don't want to paint myself into a corner (heh) by only focusing on any single theme, and given that one of my main goals is to arouse and excite as many people as I can, this feels to me like the best way to go about it. I understand that having fresh content from a favorite artist renews that excitement, but regardless of what I'm working on today, the art I've already created will still be around (especially if you save a copy of it) to go back to whenever you want to indulge. Diversifying my subject matter will mean that I spread my efforts out a little, sure, but my aim is to work on a bit of everything, so that my gallery has at least a little something for everyone.

At this point, if you like my work, then I ask of you to share it around as much as you can, especially whenever I add a new fetish to my gallery. The reach of my social network is unfortunately very limited, and I rely on word of mouth to grow my audience, since I don't really know a huge amount of people who are into a great variety of fetishes.

If something I post resonates with you, it would help me tremendously if you link it to a like-minded friend; even more so if you encourage them to do the same. I'm aware that some people would sooner unfollow and forget about my work if something I post doesn't sit well with them, but if I can get 2 new followers back for every one I lose because of posting a new fetish, then I have no reason to change my path.

Thanks. <3