9 Women Instagrammers Making Ridiculously Sexy Erotic Art
When you think of the word erotica, it’s entirely possible you still picture romance novel covers with Fabio shirtless by the ocean. And that totally counts! But fortunately, the medium has become a little more adventurous than that. Beyond its power to titillate, good erotic art can make powerful, sex-positive social statements. Just look at how the genre has flourished on Instagram: Tons of artists with hundreds of thousands of followers have, for the last few years, been showing their huge audiences new ways to think about love, sex, and intimacy—often at the risk of getting their accounts deleted for being in violation of Instagram’s intense, decidedly antinipple community guidelines.
We decided to talk to the women behind the profiles, seeking out nine of the best-known erotica artists on Instagram and asking them about the statements they want to make, the art they’re creating, and how they’re able to showcase it in front of such a big audience without getting their profiles suspended. These nine artists may come from all over the world and have a lot of stylistic differences, but they all share an ability to make really sexy art—and promote sex and body positivity in the process.
Just a heads-up though: Some of what follows is NSFW.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Regards Coupables Paris Tell me about your background as an artist. Are you selftaught or did you go to school for…
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@Regards_Coupables (499k followers)
Regards Coupables, Paris
Tell me about your background as an artist. Are you self-taught or did you go to school for it?
As a kid, I got an art education from my parents. My mom had tons of cool comics from the sixties, seventies, and eighties. I spent my youth watching these super-sexy, badass girls like La Femme piège, Valentina (Guido Crepax), L’Incal (Moebius), Paulette (Wolinski), Le Déclic (Manara), and Alef Thau (Arno).
How do you describe the style of work on your Instagram?
I like to call it “Erotic & Romantic Art.” I’m exploring emotional closeness and sexual intimacy between lovers.
What’s your preferred medium to work in?
As Regards Coupables I’ve spent a whole year finding my own style. I found a super-efficient process using a graphic tablet on my computer, and for the last year I’ve drawn and posted on my social media every single day. I’m actually exploring big canvas acrylic painting, as I’m getting prepared for my next exhibition in Los Angeles in 2018 at Allmost Gallery.
Instagram has some pretty stringent antiobscenity rules. Is there anything you do to get around the community guidelines?
My first Instagram account was deleted because it violated the Instagram community rules! I decided to censor my own art: I stopped drawing nipples and too many close-up things. But I feel like all these rules and algorithms are evolving in a good way. In the last couple months, I’ve posted more than 10 illustrations containing women’s nipples, and they’re still not deleted. To prevent any more problems with social media’s stupid rules, I decided to create a profile on Patreon and offer uncensored contents to my most precious fans.
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@tinamariaelena (149k followers)
Tina Maria Elena Bak, 32, Odense, Denmark
What do you think makes for good erotic art?
I love art the focuses on the beauty of sensuality in life. There’s so much erotic art and so many variations on this theme. I feel that good erotic art is when a painting or drawing touches something in me. When, just by looking at it, it sparks my imagination. If I remember that painting or drawing weeks later, then I know it has made an impact. Art should never be forgettable.
Are you inspired by any other erotic art?
I started following Alpha Channeling on Instagram a few years ago, and I think he was one of the reasons I dared to share my erotic art too. I love his magical Erotica Utopia. But I’m constantly inspired by multiple things: By art I see on Instagram and in books, by photos I see, and by my own feelings, experiences, dreams, and ideas.
What kind of opportunities have you gotten from Instagram that you wouldn’t have had without it?
I’m very grateful to have Instagram as a visual portfolio of my work. In July of 2016, I had around 2,500 followers on Instagram, and then something happened and I suddenly got a lot of likes and new followers and people started to share my profile. Eight months later, I have over 100,000, so things can really escalate with an Instagram profile. I get to show my work to anyone who is interested. People from all over the world are buying my art because they can watch as soon as I post it. I can now live full-time as an artist. I don’t think this would have been possible without Instagram.
What’s next for you?
At the moment, I paint two to five watercolor paintings a week and I love this constant flow. I feel very blessed to work like this. I hope to be part of an awesome exhibition somewhere in 2018. I’ll continue on the path I’m already on.
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@dvrkshines (77.1k followers)
Coco, 25, Austria
How’d you get started making art?
I’ve been drawing my whole life; it was always a big passion of mine. When I was young, I used to draw a lot in my free time. I don’t remember if there was something that made me wanna start drawing. I guess it’s just one of those things that you try as a hobby and instantly enjoy.
Throughout the years, I tried several different styles and materials—like using watercolor, ink, pencils, markers, drawing on canvas or paper—but nothing really felt 100 percent right for me. It took me years to figure out my own style, and I completely agree when other artists say the same. Now I can draw without even having to think about what technique I want to use. It just comes naturally and that was always my goal.
How would you describe the style of the pieces you put on Instagram?
I’d say my drawing style is simple but still detailed. I like using black and white and only hints of color every now and then. I feel like it gives my art more depth and makes the theme of the image more clear by taking away unnecessary information and reducing the whole image to the parts that I want the people to see.
People also probably recognize my work by the way I draw lines. They are quite thin and precise, something I’d struggle with if I on paper or canvas, for example.
How’d you get started on Instagram?
I started DVRKSHINES around February 2016. It took me about a year to get where I am now—a lot of it was hard work, constantly trying to improve myself, but also some luck because I got featured by a few bigger accounts and was lucky enough to reach more people that way. The response was always good. I love the fact that I recognize quite a few fans (it’s still weird to me to put the word fans in my mouth when I talk about my own art!) who stayed with me since the beginning. I keep trying to change the themes because I don’t want to be seen as an erotic artist only. I like to switch it up. I still see drawing as a way to channel my emotions, even though not all of my art is automatically about me or how I’m feeling at the moment.
Do you ever get nervous about your art violating the site’s community guidelines?
To be honest, I think Instagram’s antiobscenity rules are ridiculous. They just don’t make sense. I get it when they want to keep it a somewhat safe place in case kids use the app, but to remove art or photos where you can see nipples, for example, is just beyond me. I really don’t care about those rules. I draw what I feel like drawing and will keep doing that.
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@kliuwong (127k followers)
Kristen Liu-Wong, 26, Los Angeles
What do you think makes for good erotic art?
It can’t just be vulgar for vulgarity’s sake, but it also shouldn’t be afraid of being overtly sexual. I think erotic art needs to reflect something of the artist’s own sexual tastes, and it should also attempt to explore human sexuality through its depiction.
When did you start showing your work on Instagram? What was the early response like?
I got an Instagram account once I got an iPhone, and that was after I graduated in 2013. So I’ve had one for about four years now! Most of my early followers were friends or people who had followed me already from Tumblr, so everyone was already into my work. It’s once I started getting way more followers that I started to get negative feedback.
Is there anything you do to get around the community guidelines?
I’ve actually been flagged a couple times, so now if I show straight vagina or penis, I’ll censor it. Which sucks. But since I rely on my IG account for a lot of my jobs, I feel like I have to do it, unfortunately.
What kind of opportunities have you gotten from Instagram that you wouldn’t have had without it?
So many! International people can see my work now, and bigger brands will reach out to me because they see that I also have a bunch of followers which works in their favor too. I’ve gotten gallery shows from Instagram also. Honestly, the Internet has completely changed the amount of exposure a young artist can get, so that’s awesome! Of course, there are downsides to putting your work on the Internet, but nothing is perfect, and I try to be careful and focus on making good work. Instagram is just a tool for me, and hopefully, my paintings can speak for themselves regardless of how many followers I have.
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@fridacastelli (162k followers)
Frida Castelli, Milan, Italy
How do you like to describe the style of the works on your Instagram?
I like to define my art as eromantic work, in the sense that eroticism is just an indispensable aspect of my love story, but it’s not all there. There is a world, a subtext behind every design, a secret story that helps me not forget the perfect feeling of being in the right place in the world.
How did the response to your Instagram change over time?
I published the first drawings in April 2016 to keep them in order. I never paid too much attention to the growth of the fan base or the viral power of certain images, but at one point I realized that what I thought was just my space became a space for everyone. This thing has changed my approach slightly, and I began to care more about the page’s appearance, but more for the respect for visitors than out of self-respect. With a more cautious organization, I got the storytelling of my relationship.
Is there anything you do to get around their community guidelines?
I do everything so that those who visit my profile can feel comfortable. I do not talk about sex as an excitement and voyeuristic performance, but as a moment of pure and sweet intimacy. That’s why sometimes I cover the nipples with graphics, even though it makes me smile that someone can think that a drawing of a small pink circle is obscene.
What else are you working on right now?
I’m ending the latest phases of my third illustrated book, which will be called hotelrooms. It will be an emotional investigation into 12 hotel rooms with the man I love.
6/9
@milliemoonhouse (71.1k followers)
Luna Noone, 22, Toronto
Can you talk about how you learned to make art?
Almost everything I know about art, my mother taught me. She taught me all about mediums, technique, how to do figures and landscape art.
What inspires the work you show on Instagram?
I am inspired by my own mind. The content of my art is, in a sense, my expression. I’m inspired by the way I feel while working on a piece. Any stroke I add must make me feel better and better, and closer to what I’m trying to say but can’t.
What was the early response to your art like on the site?
The response at first was cruel. Many people thought I must’ve been a man, I was accused of being misogynistic. Then when they learned I was a woman, I was thought of as dirty and called a whore. For a split second, the negativity did hurt, but then it became funny. Now it’s more balanced in my favor and there are so many people who support it. I’m grateful for all the lovely people who see what I do in a positive light.
Have you gotten any opportunities that you wouldn’t have without Instagram?
Sharing my work was the best decision I’ve ever made. I get to work with international companies as a designer and artist, featuring my art on much more than paper and canvas. The most exciting opportunity was the launch of my MillieMoonhouse merch.
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@eroticwatercolor (89.5k followers)
Noomi, 25, Russia
What do you think makes for good erotica?
It should definitely be sincere and should come from the heart and be mindful. I don’t support tasteless art or plagiarism—both are very common in this genre. Also, it should promote only consensual sex. There is a very thin line, but nobody should cross it.
What inspires your work?
Considering I make erotic art, I’m inspired by Kink.com movies and base many of my paintings on them. Also, I’m inspired by Brecht Evens and his use of color and his visual language. Lorenzo Mattotti is quite an inspiration too—figures, color, body shapes.
Is there anything else you’re working on at the moment?
Currently, I am working on my erotic graphic novel and different small side projects to submit to several contests. I am still quite a young artist, and I’m aiming to organize my solo exhibitions in Russia or elsewhere and maybe get a residency somewhere.
How’d you start on Instagram?
I started in March 2017, when I was greatly fed up by my final major project in university, and I instantly got quite a lot of positive responses—100 to 200 likes on those first drawings. I also asked a few art pages on Instagram to repost my works, and some of them agreed to do it for free. That’s how first one to two thousand followers came. After that, people just followed me naturally.