PHOTO: Instagram/@RegardsCoupables

@Regards_Coupables (499k followers)

Regards Coupables, Paris, France

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 ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. 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 anti-obscenity rules. Is there anything you do to get around the community guidelines?
My first Instagram account 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.

PHOTO: Kasper Mandrup (Left: Instagram/@tinamariaelena)

@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.

PHOTO: Instagram/@dvrkshines

@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 anti-obscenity 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.