Agnostic.com deleted the most beautiful reclining picture. Click on the link below to see it.
By Catherine Hiller
"Mark and I went to our bedroom to take off our clothes. Slowly, shyly, we walked back to the study.
"I have come to an age when dignity should reign. As an elder, I should be a model of wisdom and restraint — rather than a nude model for a body painter. Whatever possessed me?
"Adventure was the main attraction. How would it feel to let my body be a canvas? To be nude before an artist ― a total stranger ― for a couple of hours? To do something entirely new?
" Love was also a reason. My husband and I were going to get painted together. The artist, Andy Golub, would incorporate the two of us into one unit."
"For a couple of hours, Mark and I would be nude against each other in a single position while Golub covered us with paint. This felt like a lovely way to celebrate our closeness. After 22 years of marriage, this would be a first!"
"I must admit, I was also hoping to impress (perhaps scandalize) my friends and acquaintances. I’m not physically courageous, but I try to be otherwise brave. In the cause of aging boldly, I’m often drawn to things perhaps unseemly for my age, such as the red cowboy boots I’ve taken to wearing.
"So when the chance came to model for the man who more or less invented body painting as art (as opposed to body painting as ceremony and ritual), I didn’t think twice. Mark, though more conservative than I, also agreed without hesitation — as a triathlete, he has little body fat! I, older and less athletic, have a little more, but I’m OK with my old body and was pleased at the prospect of its being both the inspiration for and the actual material of art.
"Here's how it felt...."
I'm having trouble believing that they are 75 years old. They look between 55 and 60.
The husband competes in triathalons. The wife exercises regularly but not as much as her husband.
I will be 69 on September 3. Do I look like it? This photo was taken in May 2022.
A healthy diet and lifelong exercise gets results.
Since age 26, I have protected my skin from the sun. I wear daily sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. Never smoked and don't like alcohol. Have been a lifelong athlete.
My father died of colon cancer at 51. I was 24. Immediately I stopped eating cancer-causing preserved and processed meats (bacon, ham, deli meats, etc.), beef, fast food and deep fried food, donuts, pizza. All the crap Americans love. I don't miss it.
Intead I cook at home from scratch and avoid processed foods. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
@LiterateHiker that's you. Everyone isn't you. And I still have trouble believing they are 75 years old.
Nope, no ageism or sexual repression in our culture. If this couple had been 50 years younger (and as fit as they are) it would be viewed by many as lewd. I have been in museums and seen people become shocked by nudes that were beautiful and not at all erotica or porn. To the credit of a wise museum curator I have also seen antique Japanese erotica, it was in a display that one had to make an effort to see, there were warnings of the content, and it was placed high to prevent children from viewing it. That erotica was beautiful.
You should do this, Kathleen. Have someone paint a mountainscape on you. Your face is the sun and it shines down on a beautiful landscape from neck to feet to represent the places you like to hike.
You'd look amazing!
Thank you.
I have a beautiful nude photo on top of Mt. Townsend, WA at age 25.
My boyfriend John was a wonderful photographer. We hiked to the summit. A steep four miles with 4,000' of elevation gain. Soaked with sweat, I looked around for people. Nobody.
I stripped and stood to air dry before changing into dry clothes. Gazed into the glorious Olympic mountains.
"Hold it!" It was John. "Turn slightly to the right. Hold it." Click.
My artist mother said it was art. She wanted paint it.
@LiterateHiker Sounds great! Message me a copy.
You had to know I was going to try.