Sometimes it’s best to leave an artist to explain their relationship with erotic art in their own words. Here are David Shanahan’s:

It’s often said of the arts that they allow us a brief if enigmatic glimpse into someone else's mind, but what’s probably less known, and certainly less talked about, is the fact that many artists are more than happy to confess that they themselves have little or no knowledge of what their work means, or indeed where it comes from. In other words, as far as their concerned, their experience of making the work is often akin to watching something coming into being.
     I had a similar reaction myself whilst going through some of my old work to see if I had anything suitable for honesterotica. Like most artists, I’ve no sooner finished one thing than I move onto the next, and so as time passes so work simply accumulates and gets stored away in some mental or physical drawer, which is a roundabout way of saying that my first reaction on seeing some of these pieces again was one of shock. Why shock you might ask, especially given that I’d painted them, to which I can only reply that seeing them  was rather like meeting a stranger.
     Many artists, whether we care to admit it or not, will produce similar work from time to time, but then why shouldn’t we? After all, this is what artists do, we’re in the business of trying to capture what it’s like to be alive in all its glory. So why should any subject be off limits? The obvious answer is that it has more to do with fear of what others might think, but once I’d managed to calm down I found myself becoming rather intrigued by what I was seeing, and there were several paintings which left me thinking that I’d like to pursue them to see where they might lead.
     When it comes to trying to represent the sexual act, given that pornography has completely cornered that market, there’s little point in trying to compete. Not that I particularly wish to, for it’s the areas where pornography tends to fail that really interest me, and I’m talking here about eroticism. When I think of eroticism I hark back to those early French films of the fifties and early sixties, films which, although steeped in sensuality, left so much unsaid. Taking that idea as my cue, as far as I’m concerned eroticism is more about moods and possibilities, about what may be about to happen rather than what is happening. If I can achieve that, then I also leave space for the observer to inject something of their own.
     Other than that, if you were to ask me who these people are and what their motives might be, I’m afraid I’ve no idea other than I’ve left them  in a frozen moment, suspended in time before something actually happens.

David Shanahan believes that titles for paintings can be problematic; as he explains ‘the painting is the painting, and a title is a poor attempt at packaging’. However, for what it’s worth here are his (provisional) titles for this portfolio:

     Alice can be a bitch who likes to have her way
     Boys will be boys
     Bring in the clowns
     Dance of the deviants
     Get back to your hutch
     Grabbing a handful
     May Queen
     Mother Mary always did enjoy a laugh
     My beautiful boy
     Oh do come again
     Selfies
     She dreams of crows
     The angry king blames Nermain
     The Furies
     The Greek boy
     The haunted one
     The king 1: the new king must die
     The king 2: his last day
     The latest release from Hollywood
     The Morrigan and the uncrowned king
     The muse 1
     The muse 2
     The new king
     The tourist
     We were trying to save them from themselves