WHEN LOVE BECOMES ART.....WOAH!

This morning when I was scanning the wire for some news to write about, I couldn't stop my eyes from being attracted to this story. Was it the two almost naked girls holding each other covered in paint that drew me in? Or was I fascinated with fact that a New York City artist came up with an idea to have people make love on a canvas to create art? I guess both reasons were more than enough to make want to know more about this story.

So, thanks to 30-year-old artist Alexander Esguerra, New York City couples can now make love and art at the same time. Esguerra spent the last two years inviting couples to create their own masterpieces by making love on a paint-covered canvas. The Parsons' grad states, "Love is a powerful, creative force, and it really makes everybody feel like artists."

Esguerra started "Love & Paint" back in 2010 after a particularly powerful night of lovemaking saying that he wanted to 'artistically capture those moments through the act of sex that our bodies interacted and affected the space around us without bringing the whole played-out porn spiel.' Esguerra has since helped nearly 50 couples do the 'dirty' in various colors of nontoxic, water-based paint. He states, "Sex is basically the great equalizer. You look at these paintings and you can't tell if the couple is gay or straight or old or young or married or cheating."

Esguerra enjoys exploring the power of sex and has even created his own sex painting, but he's no voyeur. After covering the floor in plastic, setting up the canvas on a heated surface, pouring carafes of paint, and lighting candles for mood, he leaves the couples to their own devices, telling them to take the paint, lay on top of the canvas, and pour in on each other. He also tells them to have fun with the paint, but not to make it all about the paint.

One New York City couple in their 60s were so intrigued by the opportunity to participate in Esguerra's project, saying that they found it very relaxing, pleasurable, and freeing. They also thought that it was cool to use their bodies as a paintbrush calling the experience, "Adult Finger Painting." Can I say "Ew" now? The thought of my parents doing something like this just popped into my head.

The art project has proven so successful that Esguerra recently turned it into a business, and now sells "Love & Paint" packages starting at $2500, in which couples can experience making their own sexual masterpiece in an upscale New York hotel. I think this whole experience would be awesome for a couple to do! Think about the cheating couples who do this and buy the painting for the person they're cheating on. Now, that would be a slap in the face, huh? If you'd like more into on this, log onto Alexander Esguerra's website, loveandpaint.org.