Wrestling

July 18, 2023

by GymDreams

Gladiators wrestling in the arena. Paintings with Midjourney

Gladiators wrestling in the arena. Paintings with Midjourney

When you watch a wrestling match, sometime it‘s hard to tell if the men were fighting or hugging. I observe this in wrestling events, on TV, but also experience this first hand. I don’t know if you‘ve ever dated a guy who asked if you’d like to wrestle, I sure have had plenty of them. I always thought that it’s silly but I admit that I enjoyed it every time — this particular duality between violence vs romance is so blurred, but quite possibly also why I liked it so much. I never understood why I’m so drawn to it, and but I found that I gained a better understanding of it after exploring it visually.

These are some of my earliest works of men using AI. In the beginning, I made many paintings featuring gladiators fighting at the beach. I posted those works to DeviantArt, and a few wrestlers on DA commented how much they love those works, and asked if I would be open to making some for wrestling. For proper research, they have also sent me a few recommendations for studios with the best matches. I thought that it’s worth giving a try since it’s a subject matter that I can relate to.

There are three main sets posted here.

Illustrations: finer articulation of lines, of gladiators wrestling at the beach
Paintings: more epic and painterly expression, of gladiators wrestling at the Colosseum
Contemporary Paintings: fierce colors showing the energy of men wrestling

There’s a bit of romance in wrestling — it’s hand-to-hand combat without weapons. It’s violent but not deadly. It’s a pure show of strength yet the most muscled and strongest men do not always win because agility and flexibility play a huge role in this form of combat.

Text prompts in Midjourney, with selected artists.

P.S. I’ve been working on some fairly complex projects at the moment that‘s taking quite a bit of time. For a few of them, they have been going on for more than two months now. I don’t want to rush them because I know that I would regret it if I don’t perfect them. In the meantime, I will be posting some smaller works, or works that I haven’t published before.