Shelley Butler

From Fanlore
(Redirected from Scarlett (ST: TOS fan))
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Fan
Name: Shelley Butler
Alias(es): Scarlett [1]
Type: fanartist, fanwriter
Fandoms: Star Trek: TOS, Professionals
Communities:
Other:
URL: archived art print gallery and archived original art gallery
Pieta back cover First Time #46, (full gallery below). The pose, which is an art classic, was used decades earlier in the drawing by Wendy Pearson accompanying the poem Pieta in Starbase M.T.L. #6. The artist's comment on the work: "The image is a reflection of the glorious sculpture, Pieta. Here, a long-haired Spock lovingly holds an angelic Kirk on his lap. Notice Spock’s hand delicately and gently placed on a vulnerable Kirk’s belly. Kirk’s blissful, sublime expression relates to their intimate relationship, and a soft light seems to shine on him."
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Shelley Butler is a fanartist and fanwriter.

She was co-editor of the long-running Star Trek: TOS newsletter The K/S Press where she continued her prolific, enthusiastic, and encouraging letters of comment that she had begun in The LOC Connection and Come Together..

Butler has been a major force in K/S fandom for her artwork, but also as an organizer and supporter at conventions and elsewhere.

From a fan in 2005:

Shelley Butler needs no introduction.... She’s the co-publisher of The K/S Press. She’s a passionate writer with a slew of stories to her credit. She’s the artist whose incomparable pictures draw oohs and aahs when they are displayed at Shore Leave...or anywhere else. [2]

Awards

Interviews

Meta

Shelley and the TOS Actor Curse

First, I’ll start out with what I like to call “The Curse of Shelley Butler”. For those of you who don’t know who she is, Shelley is a K/S artist extraordinaire, whose work has been featured in many, many K/S zines over the years. She is a tall, thin, very attractive woman with long, curly, flaming red hair and arms that flail wildly when she talks, and who has a weird obsession with both the Gorn and Gary Mitchell. She is also, like so many other K/Srs I’ve met over the years, a wonderful, generous, sweet, funny lady whom I’m very proud to call “friend”. So you’d think someone as wonderful as her wouldn’t have a curse hanging over her head, would you? Well, you’d be wrong. Because whenever this woman gets near any star of TOS, something always goes wrong.

The curse started out mildly enough when Shelley first went to a con to see William Shatner. During the question and answer portion of his appearance, she stood up to ask him something. Before she could say anything, Bill looked at her and said, “My God, what a gorgeous redhead!” The comment so unnerved Shelley that she couldn’t remember what question she asked him or even if she asked him a question at all. For years afterward, whenever we’d all get together for a con, invariably someone would ask her how things were going with Bill and if her husband had found out about them yet. Shelley took all the teasing in good stride... [...]

The next time the curse raised its head was when Shelley first met Leonard Nimoy. He had just published his second book of poetry and Shelley learned that he would be holding an autograph session at a local bookstore near her home. So she decided to go get his autograph. Now even though it was stipulated the only thing people were allowed to bring for Leonard to sign was his new book, as Shelley was not a big fan of poetry, even Leonard’s, she decided instead to have him sign one of her art pieces. So she chose to bring one she did of Spock which was very nice and not at all suggestive (although Leonard has, over the years, seen some VERY suggestive drawings of Spock and when asked one time what did he think of all these ladies drawing naked pictures of him, his response was, “They’re not drawing pictures of me, they’re drawing pictures of Spock.”) Anyway, pic in hand, Shelley went to the bookstore and gets in line. As the line progressed forward, she noticed there was a woman standing near Leonard who was checking to make sure the only thing people were bringing to sign was Leonard’s book.

[...]

The third time the curse rose was when Shelley went to see Gary Lockwood, who played Gary Mitchell in “Where No Man”, was appearing at [Fantasicon in 1996]. After listening to him speak, it didn’t take Shelley and everyone else in the audience much time to realize how condescending and rude this man really was. Finally, during the question and answer session, Shelley just couldn’t take it anymore, so she stood up and told him, “You know, you’re just as much of an asshole as Gary Mitchell was.” To which he replied, “You bet I am!” [4]

[...] [5]

Art

Her Start in Art

Shelley Butler explains that for her “it was Robin Hood who really led me on the path of K/S righteousness! I forget the actual circumstances, but somehow Robin found out that I was an artist and if you know Robin, her eyes lit up with glee and she insisted that I draw some K/S. So I did. But I thought they had to be big artworks so I drew a gigantic Kirk and an equally gigantic Spock.... (I) brought these two pictures to a small [con]] being held near me where I lay the two gigantic portraits on the bed and Robin looked at them, then looked at me, and asked if maybe next time I might do something a bit smaller? I said okay. And it was Robin who was always there with encouragement and support and advice. I count Robin Hood as my inspiration to draw K/S.” [6]

Ages ago, in the dawn of my K/S passion, the singular Robin Hood asked me if I could draw. I said yes. She said, “Okay, draw K/S.” I said, “I don’t know how.” She said “I’ll send you some photos.” No scanning, email, computer, video, DVD things back then. Just a few precious photos and magazine clippings.

So I drew a Kirk and I drew a Spock. They were huge. I had thought, well, this is art and art is big. So I drew a gigantic Kirk and a gigantic Spock. My very first.

I brought them with me to Escapade (a slash con not known as slash those eons ago) and, glowing with pride, I laid these two gigantic portraits out on the bed for Robin’s perusal.

She said, “They’re beautiful, but maybe you want to work a bit smaller.”

I said oh, okay.

Robin has been such a big influence on me (and many, many other K/Sers over the years) and she was responsible for enormous encouragement to me for my artwork. Besides, she was famous for having all those K/S artists under her sink.

There’re too many experiences over the years of doing K/S art to relate here—going to Shore Leave, participating in the art shows; going to the art auctions (and being so nervous each time my art would come up for auction that I had to have emotional support on both sides!); doing zine covers and interior art; and first and foremost, loving to draw Kirk and Spock.

From those earliest, first-blush days, I’ve loved drawing them. I got to know Kirk’s face so well—and he is so difficult to draw! All artists say so. His features are not strong or well-defined—they are rather delicate. Also, he’s got this indefinable quality—strong yet sensitive with a very changeable face according to his moods and the cameraman’s lighting!

Spock is easy in comparison with his definite features. Put upswept ears on him and everyone knows it’s a Vulcan. His hair is one of my favorite things to draw—I do layers and layers until it reaches the thickness and glossiness of that beautiful head of hair.

Kirk has that errant lock that we all love and that prominent vein on his forehead that I love. And those eyelashes. I discovered that the eyelash shadows on his cheeks are not just an invented fan thing—they really exist! [7]

Some Inspiration and Photo References

Inspired by other fan's work:

... not only had Shelley seen other K/S art, but she had been pretty impressed with it, she recalls. “I was so blown away by it. I loved it all, although I had my favorites. One of the very first covers I ever saw was a Marilyn C. showing a winged Spock lying at the bottom of a cliff with a waterfall. I was so amazed by that, and so excited that I bought the zine without knowing or caring what was in it! And I forget who did the artwork, but it was a cover that showed Spock on a horse and Kirk on a leash with a collar and a tent with a L’Matya. I thought that was the most amazing thing I had ever seen and I’d stare at it endlessly.” Oh, how that takes me back to my own early fannish days and how I was so fascinated by drawings of Kirk and Spock, how I’d stare at them, think about them, dream about them—sigh! [8]

About source material and photo references:

Boy! Has that changed over the years! When I first started drawing K/S there were only videotapes, but no way to capture any of the still images unless you took a picture from the TV screen! For bodies, I haunted the gay bookstores for photo cards and photography books that were usually too expensive to buy. When I did buy them, I had to sometimes take a photo of the photo page because I didn’t want to rip up the very expensive book!

Then there’s the matter of finding the right Kirk or Spock face to go with the right Kirk or Spock-type body. This is still difficult even with all the technology available like scanners and digital everything. It is an ongoing difficulty that can never be made easier unless the drawing could draw itself! Because what might be fine for a CGA is often not at all fine to draw.When I do my K/S art, I have to actually draw the face and draw the body. There are times when I can visualize exactly what I want in my mind, but then I have to draw it.

And computer images are only so good for me because most of the time, what you see on the computer screen might look beautiful, but when you print it, the image resolution that looked so great on the screen, looks like a bunch of little squares. Or the trading card with Kirk’s face on it that looks so good on the card until I go to draw it and discover the face image is subtly distorted. Or the gay porn websites that I gird my loins and search through despite my fear of being traced or something and finding huge 3-D penises instead of romantic photos.

Anyway, not complaining (well, maybe a bit) because despite the difficulties, drawing Kirk and Spock has been enormously rewarding or I wouldn’t have put myself through this for so many years. I’d just draw dogs and cats or flowers or something. [9]

Eroticism and Her Evil Twin: The Pseud

... when the sexy muse inspires her pen she blames her evil twin Scarlett. I’ll let her explain: “I’ve done few really explicit K/S drawings, but for those I use the name Scarlett. People laugh and say ‘but we know this is you!’ I know they know, but hopefully those who have no business knowing won’t know. Clear? And about really explicit K/S art—I much prefer the suggestively erotic to the ‘in-your-face’ K/S art. Not so much because I’m adverse to seeing Kirk and Spock explicitly getting it on, mind you, but because we all love the romance ideal, don’t we? It’s not that easy to show them really doing it and at the same time suggest this wonderful, passionate romance that they have. Having said that I rather like some of the explicit pieces I’ve done. That is, the ones that Scarlett has done! When I first drew Kirk and Spock’s genitalia... I loved drawing them as well-endowed as possible! But my favorite was to draw Spock’s double ridges which I’ve only gotten to do a few times. In one piece, ‘Spock By The Pool,’ no one except us ever notices that he has those double ridges!” [10]

My favorite explicit piece I did using the pseudonym of Scarlett is “In Ecstasy” because it’s so explicit and so uncommon for me, I mean Scarlett, to do that! Scarlett is not a secret to us, just to those on the outside — you know — those people! [11]

The Challenges of Art Reproduction

“...when I first started drawing K/S, I hadn’t a clue how to reproduce my artwork. Those were the days way before scanners or digital anything. So even finding some place that you could walk into with suggestive and erotic artwork and not fall down in mortal embarrassment was hard to do! As it turned out, the medium that I knew best, graphite pencil, was and is difficult to reproduce because of the subtle gray shadings. And when I’ve done color pencil, that’s posed its own challenges too because of pixels and dots and colors and all those things. So when I try to make my own prints these days, it’s still not easy or very good because the size has to be right and my scanner is kind of old and funky. This question just reminds me how complicated this fan art can be! It’s one thing to even draw it, then it’s another to get it printed. Then it’s still another to have the publisher reproduce your art properly. That’s a whole other challenge!” [12]

On The Differences Between Drawing Captain Kirk and Mr Spock

"From those earliest, first-blush days, I’ve loved drawing them. I got to know Kirk’s face so well—and he is so difficult to draw! All artists say so. His features are not strong or well-defined — they are rather delicate. Also, he’s got this indefinable quality — strong yet sensitive with a very changeable face according to his moods and the cameraman’s lighting!

Spock is easy in comparison with his definite features. Put upswept ears on him and everyone knows it’s a Vulcan. His hair is one of my favorite things to draw—I do layers and layers until it reaches the thickness and glossiness of that beautiful head of hair.

Kirk has that errant lock that we all love and that prominent vein on his forehead that I love. And those eyelashes. I discovered that the eyelash shadows on his cheeks are not just an invented fan thing — they really exist!"[13]

Fanart and Profit

Let’s put it this way — for the amount of time and effort it takes me to draw some K/S art, I’d have to charge at least a thousand dollars! I’m still not complaining (sort of), but many times the effort is not at all commensurate with the income.

For a number of years I’ve been able to finance my trip to Shore Leave by selling my art, but that has become more difficult.

And the depiction of licensed characters (as portrayed in K/S specifically) has been fine except for two times—one a long time ago at a World Con, and more recently with my interview in Trekkies 2 which was taken out by orders of TPTB. I’m certain if I had depicted Kirk and Spock separately and in uniform (ha!), there wouldn’t have been a problem. Isn’t that sad? [14]

A Distressing Incident at the 1996 Worldcon

Butler's art was the subject of intolerance and hypocrisy at the 1996 Worldcon. See her comments about that incident.

Favorite Art of Her Own

Do you have a favorite piece of your own?

My number one most favorite is “Pieta”—the back cover of First Time 46 because of what it portrays — a vision of Kirk in absolute trust with Spock. He’s completely vulnerable and I like the spiritual overtone of the piece.

Of Kirk and Spock individually, I like “Black Leather” for Kirk — the front cover of First Time 39 because of the come-hither look and the leather (synthe-leather, thank you!) jacket.

Calendar Vulcan” the front cover of T’hy’la 20 because of the sexy ease that Spock has in this piece.

Spock by The Pool” — the cover of First Time 41, because of the mystery of what Spock might be feeling.

Kaleidoscope Kiss” — the cover of Kaleidoscope 3, a very early piece, because of the difficulty and then success of showing Kirk with his head back.

Swimming With Spock” (AKA “Wet Dreams” thanks to our making up titles at Shore Leave!) because of the difficulty of portraying Kirk and Spock under the water.

On The Bridge” cover of T’hy’la 17 because of the complexity of the picture.

My favorite explicit piece I did using the pseudonym of Scarlett is “In Ecstasy” because it’s so explicit and so uncommon for me, I mean Scarlett, to do that! Scarlett is not a secret to us, just to those on the outside—you know—those people!

There are some that seem to be “best-sellers” like “Spock's Bouquet” — the cover of First Time 44; “Spock On A Harley” because it was so fun drawing that motorcycle. “Kirk On A White Bed” interior art in T’hy’la 19 because of Kirk’s feet in the sheets — I don’t know why that excites me!

I won’t say which ones I hang my head and wish they were in Mr. Atoz’s vault because they’re probably someone’s absolute favorite! Weirdest one: Sexy puppet — one of the Thunderbirds characters — not K/S, but definitely one of the most unusual themes I’ve ever drawn. [15]

Has Lost Track of Her Art in the Wild

Oh, please tell me if you have the original or a print. I have totally lost track of where most of my originals are! I remember trying to make lists, but it became too overwhelming. [16]

Online Gallery: 2002

Butler created a online gallery for her art in November 2002. [17]

From a announcement on a mailing list:

I'm happy to announce Shelley Butler's new art website. She's the foremost artist in K/S today, and the luscious images on this site show why. More than twenty prints are available for purchase and just plain viewing pleasure, and six original works of her special art are showcased. Shelley draws with love and skill in both black and white (graphite) and in color. The site is interactive so anyone who's inclined towards a special holiday present for themselves or others can order with the click of the mouse.

But the site isn't just for ordering: it's meant as a showcase for Shelley's talents. An art gallery. I hope you'll take some time to check it out, because her work, heretofore seen only in zines, is worth sharing with everybody.

The site is at www.beyonddreamspress.com/Butler, and it's also accessible straight from the Beyond Dreams Press website.

Some acknowledgements:

This whole website thing would never have happened had it not been for my brilliant, wonderful, extraordinary friend and PP (publishing partner) Jenna Sinclair from whose website, Beyond Dreams Press, I am taking up a page or two. She has been so important to me for so many years—not only with publishing The K/S Press, our K/S newsletter—but for all the joys and sorrows we’ve shared; all the inspirations I’ve received; all the pleasures I’ve gotten from her friendship; and most of all, all the happiness that has come into my life from this woman.

She is my treasured friend.

But, also, this never would have happened except for a delightful woman I’ve never met! Isn’t technology strange? We’ve only met via emails as she lives in Sweden! This talented woman, kira-nerys, has designed these pages and guided me through a very complicated process. It’s not a cliché to say: without her it would not have been possible. [18]

Zine Contributions

Against All Odds | Amazing Grace | Beside Myself | Between Friends | Beyond Dreams | Bondmates | The Celebration Zine | Charisma | Covert Action | Devotion | Fever | First Time | In the Shade | KaleidoScope | KiScon | The K/S Art Project | Legacy | Legends | Morpheus Rising | Naked Times | No Holds Barred | Otherwhere/Otherwhen | Playfellows | The Prince | Promises to Keep | Scattered Stars | Setting the Course | Somebody New | T'hy'la | To Catch a Unicorn | Way of the Warrior | Where Angels Fear | Within the Mirror | Worlds Apart

Fanfiction

Some other stories: Their Hearts' Revenge, Untouched, The Gorn Story, Food for Thought in Against All Odds, The Passion of Their Destiny, Deepest Secrets, Say My Name, Human... and from the Stars, Stranger than Fiction Getting What You Wished For, Ravage, A Second Chance, Mirrored Passion, The Crystal God, Mirrored Passion Redux, Through Erebus and Beyond, Dragon's Chimera, A Love Found in Time

Sample Art

NOTE: The illustrations below are sorted by the date they first appeared in a zine, not necessarily the date they were completed. Fans and/or zineds often bought art specifically for zines that may have taken a year or more to finish.

Some illos were never in zines, and are sorted by the date (if present and/or decipherable) on the art itself.

Star Trek

Unknown Date

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2016

2017

2023

Other Fandoms

Mysteries, Descriptions Without Images (yet)

  • [unknown illo from "First Time" #41]: "MORE MORE MORE. Give me more, pardon me. Give US more. A sleek panther and a wicked nipple peeking around a smooth corner. Miauw.[39]
  • [unknown illo from First Time #35, page 110a]: "Wow! - What a wonderful Spock! He looks so vivid, that I'd like to touch him! I love this picture!" [40]
  • [unknown illo, First Time #6, page 149]: "Shelley Butler has done a nude Spock drawing which is fabulous. I hope she does a Kirk some time that's as beautiful! Of course, she cheated a little fixing it so she didn't have to draw Spock's face. But then I don't really think most of us are going to be looking at the face anyway." [41]
  • [unknown illo]: color-pencil portrait of Spock from “The Tholian Web" (sold at the 1999 Shore Leave)
  • Heat "(Spock is hot. He's got to take off his underwear)" (this may be another description of "Command Decision")
  • In Ecstasy, very explicit, uses the pseudonym Scarlett in Legends #3
  • "So Beautiful" (printed in the 2022 KiScon)
  • "Gentle Touch" new in 2009, sold at Shore Leave
  • Desire in Denim from Morpheus Rising won a 2000 Philon Award
  • Thoughtful— as yet unpublished. Kirk with his hand in his long hair. (#9)
  • Windswept—interior art of Amazing Grace 3.
  • Pensive—(colored pencil) both in uniform, suitable for the mantelpiece.
  • Reflective colored pencil) Kirk in a white shirt, looking away.
  • Admiral Kirk with Glasses - a convention favorite.
  • And How Was Your Day? Kirk in his best Kirkian expression. (28)
  • Kirk and Spock in San Francisco from STIV
  • T'Pring's Challenge An original graphite (black & white) drawing of T’Pring choosing Kirk at Koon-ut-Kalifee. A nice gen piece to display instead of all those naked Kirk and Spocks." (The K/S Press #49)
  • "With You, I Am Loved," "Hold Me, Touch Me," "Tasha Yar & Data," "Picard's Command," shown to the Trekkies #2 filmers, but cut from the movie
  • Picard —A small-color pencil of Picard (Kirk and Spock are not involved. And aren't you glad?) (#51)

References

  1. ^ connected here in 2022: "I forgot that I signed that piece as Scarlett. I had thought I only signed one very explicit piece as Scarlett that had been commissioned."
  2. ^ from The K/S Press #111
  3. ^ "Roger asks me questions about how I got into Star Trek and other mundane things until he gets to the real meat of the interview—so what’s all this Kirk-and-Spock- sex stuff? I start to get all fired up as we engage in a lively (at least I hope it was lively) discussion about huge, gigantic, worldly topics like Kirk and Spock having sex. I attempt to bring the conversation to a more intellectual level—"Well, you see, these are archetypal heroes in an intimate relationship that transcends ordinary sexuality.” And, “Women receive satisfaction from the emotional content.” “Yeah, yeah, emotional content. Hey! Watta ‘bout the gay sex?” I imagine I hear them say. ‘Well, you see, for women, emotional intimacy is as important as physical intimacy...” “Yeah, yeah, emotional, shemotional. Watta ‘bout that gay sex they’s havin’?” “Hey! You’re guys. You wouldn’t understand emotional intimacy if it mowed right over you!” No, that’s not how it went. But I did receive blank looks all around as I expounded on the sophisticated and intellectual qualities of Kirk and Spock having gay sex. The filming lasted almost an hour..." -- from The K/S Press #84
  4. ^ see Butler's account of this at Fan Comments: Gary Mitchell vs Gary Lockwood
  5. ^ from a much longer post by tat63 at Con Memories; archive link (July 25, 2010)
  6. ^ from Scribbling Women: Artists Talk Back
  7. ^ from Meet the Artist
  8. ^ from Scribbling Women: Artists Talk Back
  9. ^ from Melding with a K/Ser: Shelley Butler (2005)
  10. ^ from Scribbling Women: Artists Talk Back
  11. ^ from Melding with a K/Ser: Shelley Butler (2005)
  12. ^ from Scribbling Women: Artists Talk Back
  13. ^ Meet The Artist.
  14. ^ from Melding with a K/Ser: Shelley Butler (2005)
  15. ^ from Melding with a K/Ser: Shelley Butler (2005)
  16. ^ from AO3 (March 2022)
  17. ^ At least one fan was hoping for this in early 1995: "I was thinking is how utterly cool it would be if there were some place where us K-S gals could go online and talk. It doesn't have to necessarily be America Online, but just somewhere where those of us with computers could get online, like say maybe once a week, every Tuesday night at 10:00 or something like that, and all chat about K-S for a half hour or so while drinking a cup of decaf. What do you guys think? Write in and let me know. Actually, I've heard all sorts of cool rumors - rumors about "K-S music videos" and that sort of thing, and it got me wondering if some of the more "advanced" K-S folks had already got something like that going. Wouldn't it be cool to talk live with, say, Shelley Butler online? We could get her to down-load some of her famous artwork. Boy, wouldn't that be juicy." -- from Come Together #14
  18. ^ from Meet the Artist
  19. ^ author's comments at AO3
  20. ^ from The LOC Connection #59
  21. ^ from Come Together #2
  22. ^ from Come Together #12
  23. ^ from Come Together #5
  24. ^ from Come Together #13
  25. ^ from Come Together #10
  26. ^ from Come Together #8 (1994)
  27. ^ from the editorial of "Within the Mirror" #9
  28. ^ from Come Together #8 (1994)
  29. ^ nym's post to KS Zine Friends Facebook group dated Sept 11, 2014, quoted with permission.
  30. ^ from Come Together #9
  31. ^ from Come Together #9 (1994)
  32. ^ from Come Together #20
  33. ^ Shelley Butler's Art
  34. ^ from The K/S Press #32
  35. ^ from from The K/S Press #42
  36. ^ from a comment at AO3
  37. ^ from a comment at AO3
  38. ^ November 13, 1995, Michelle Christian, Virgule-L, quoted with permission
  39. ^ from Come Together #41
  40. ^ from The LOC Connection #57
  41. ^ from The LOC Connection #57