Jay of LargeInCharge: Where were you born?
Paul Delacroix: Dallas, Texas.
Jay of LargeInCharge: Where are you currently based?
Paul Delacroix: Hillsboro, Texas...about 80 miles southwest
of Dallas. I have a farm there...it's very nice country--very
peaceful.
Jay of LargeInCharge: When and why did you first began drawing?
Paul Delacroix: I developed a knack for it in my youth. I
was fascinated by comic books, political cartoonists, and MAD
magazine. I also idolized Walt Disney. Later on, more recently,
I took an interest in the Old Masters, and I've studied them as
well as I could.
Jay of LargeInCharge: When did you begin drawing Big Women? Were
you naturally good at it or did it take time to get it right?
Paul Delacroix: I didn't really start drawing the kind of
women I admire until about sixteen years ago, in the late
Eighties. It took a few years for me to fully understand the
figurative anatomy of fat women, which is extremely subtle
compared to--say--drawing a lean, muscular male. In my opinion,
it takes a lot more subtlety to draw a 300 pound woman standing
on terra firma, with her feet planted firmly on the ground, than
it does to draw Michelangelo's 'David', doing the same thing.
Jay of LargeInCharge: When did you first realize that you loved
Big Women? Did your family and friends accept it?
Paul Delacroix: I realized it from the start. I never had
any interest in thin girls and I have never dated one. My family
and friends really had no problems with that. I was plenty
eccentric enough in other ways, so it seemed like no big deal.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
When you first realized that you were an FA, were you
outright or in the closet?
Paul Delacroix: I was never in the closet. Even at puberty,
I liked chubby girls and tried to follow them around the
schoolyard.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
I notice that you mainly focus on SSBBW Art....why is that?
do you prefer SSBBW's or what?
Paul Delacroix: My favorite size for a woman is around 330
pounds. That doesn't mean I don't also like women who are
smaller. Or who are 400 pounds or heavier--I also find that size
range very appealing. But I essentially like any beautiful woman
who is not thin--I always liked Marilyn Monroe in her 'zaftig'
period, for example. As I see it, abundant bodyfat is just an
essential ingredient in female beauty. I think this is true of
most FAs...we have a wider range of what we find attractive than
men who like thin women.
I often wonder why we are
considered fetishistic, while men who want scrawny women with
breasts that defy gravity are deemed 'normal'. Not to say
anything 'ugly' toward thin women--but I feel thin women are not
natural in a civilized culture. At least not during most phases
of a woman's life.
Jay of
LargeInCharge:
Name the 5 top things that you love about a Big Woman?
Paul Delacroix: Her hips. Her upper arms. Her belly. Her
thighs. And the varying soft spots on her body in general.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Do you base your art on live models or do you originally
create the characters?
Paul Delacroix: I almost always create the characters from
the imagination. I rarely do models, although if someone wants a
portrait, I'll look at photos in that case. If something
inorganic and dead is in the picture, like a car, let's say, I
might use reference, but the women almost exclusively come out
of my head.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Do you have any art influences....and which BBW Artist do you
admire?>
Paul Delacroix: My biggest artistic influence is Peter Paul
Rubens. I know the women I create are heavier and more
Western-looking than Rubens', but I don't try to mimic him. I
just feel he was one of the greatest artists who ever lived, and
studying him has greatly influenced my work.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
In my personal opinion, in The Big World, you are the SSBBW
Art MASTER of DETAIL. Tell us about the scenes you
draw....around your characters?
Paul Delacroix: Thanks, that's very kind. You mean the
backgrounds? I just try to draw the natural world, and when I'm
drawing or painting a beautiful fat woman, I often feel a sort
of inner kinship with the beauty of the tropical world--the
jungles, the beaches, the palms---the flowers and sand and earth
and water in such places.
I have often felt that while thin women are most evocative of
cities, rocks, and snow; fat women are evocative of warm water,
and the abundant life of the world in places dominated by sunlit
sand. So when I draw them, I am often inspired in my own small
way to draw lush plants, water, and foilage around them.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Which is your personal favorite SSBBW Artwork...if you had to
pick one?
Paul Delacroix: Of my works? My favorite painting is
'Bicycle Girl'.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Which art work has the best public response?>
Paul Delacroix: I believe 'Wader' is the most
popular--judging from what I have read from women who look at my
artwork. 'The Three Graces', depicting the bikini trio in the
sunglasses, has also gotten a lot of commentary.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
I took a L.I.C. survey and found a Black reader who picked
"African Princess" as her favorite Paul D. pic, a White reader
who picked "Three Graces" as her favorite, and a Latina reader
who picked "Bambina" as her favorite. Tell us why you choose to
draw cultural art?
Paul Delacroix: Well, I don't know if I'd call it "cultural
art" or not, but I admire the beauty of fat women of all races.
African women often have a marvelous skin texture--it's very
sensual. And absolutely beautiful legs and thighs.
I love the sort of bouncy energy that Latina and
Mediterranean women seem to project. I tried to capture a
glimpse of that in "Bambina".
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Do you attend BBW events in your area? If so which is your
favorite?
Paul Delacroix: I actually had a lot of pen pals in NAAFA
before I attended my first event--which I believe was Chicago in
1995. I also attended Big As Texas several times, and attended
a big BBW event in Atlanta in 1999.
I haven't attended as many events as I'd like to. I may
upgrade that in the future. Part of it is that I am very happily
married to my wife Lisa, so I don't do social events related to
dating. Still, I enjoy all the socialization.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
I notice that you are very active as a Size Acceptance
Activist. When, how, and why did this come about?
Paul Delacroix: I always had an interest in the activism
aspect of the movement. I used to write and draw pieces for
Dimensions, Rump Parliament, and other publications. I have
spoken at NAAFA and Big As Texas a few times in the past as
well. I'm been friends with Allen Steadham for years, and have
high hopes for his organization, ISAA.
I've often participated in size activism because I like to
address self-esteem "image" issues. I feel the Beauty issue is
very important, because there are a lot of reasons why fat women
are held down--not necessarily conspiratorial reasons, but what
you might call "market forces at work". There is simply too much
money to made off the fears and insecurities of modern women.
It's very unfortunate, and I feel activism must address this, in
addition to nuts-and-bolts issues like seating access and
seatbelts and so on.
I feel there are not enough
publications and activist organizations out there at present.
Jay of
LargeInCharge:
Tell us about your experiences speaking on panels at Size
Acceptance events?
Paul Delacroix: The best reception I had was at Big As Texas
in 1999--speaking of my love for fat womens' bodies. It seemed
to resonate with the crowd, and there was a special moment
there.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
I enjoy reading your SSBBW articles....tell us about your
writing skills?
Paul Delacroix: Well, I just write impulsively. Whether I
have actual skills is a matter of opinion!
PAUL'S PERSONAL FAVORITES:
-
Favorite Color - Teal, I think. The color of the Caribbean
Sea. I also like red.
-
Fav Car - I prefer full-sized vans. They're big (I like big
things).
-
Fav Movie - Tough one..I love movies. Among recent films?
Lord of the Rings trilogy.
-
Fav Album - Queen's Greatest Hits, Jimmy Buffett's "A1A". Any
soundtrack album by John williams.
-
Fav BBW site - Dimensions Magazine's online site.
-
Fav Actress - Renee Zellweger.
-
Fav Food - Lobster. Pastas with marinara sauce. Smoked BBQ.
Sushi.
-
Cats or Dogs - If I had to choose, I guess dogs.
-
Coke or Pepsi - Pepsi
-
PC or MAC - PC.
-
Pens or Pencils - pencil
-
Dress Pants or Jeans- jeans
-
Boxers or Briefs - briefs
-
Leg Man/Yes.
-
Breast Man/No.
-
Butt Man/Yes.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Do you mainly focus on sketching or do you also paint, air
brush, sculptures....?
Paul Delacroix: I do all of these but
not often. I'm renovating a big art studio now, where I plan to
do more sculpting and large paintings.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Tell us about the construction of your website, when did it
go up online and who is the web designer?
Paul Delacroix: The web designer is James Polk..he's very
good. We're still adding touches as we go.
Jay of
LargeInCharge:
What is the publics response to your site?>
Paul Delacroix: Seems positive...I enjoy reading comments
from readers in the blog.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Advice for People of Paul Delacroix: Size who have low self
esteem?
Paul Delacroix: You're normal. You're not
alone. There's nothing wrong with you. You should be proud of
your body.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
How can attending Size Acceptance events help People of Size
with low esteem?>
Paul Delacroix: It sometimes gives the participants a
feeling of "being at home with one's own kind". At least that's
what I felt when I attended the first NAAFA gathering. Like,
"Hey! These are my people!" I have often looked at "racy" photos
of the latest Hollywood anorexic--Paris Hilton comes to
mind--and wondered if this is what a space alien would feel like
marooned on a strange world.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
(In my personal opinion) The term..."SSBBW's (Only)" is
usually frowned upon in the Big World.
How do you feel about guys who think it's okay to focus only on
SSBBW's?
Paul Delacroix: I think it's perfectly okay. Everyone has a
preference. Some people have a narrower range of wants
--especially in personal ads--than is truly practical, but
that's their own business. Each to his own.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Disrespect Question: Do you have personal experiences of
being with SSBBW's in public and people outright disrespect
them?
Paul Delacroix: Not really--no, never, actually. But I have
always lived in Texas, and while Texans will sometimes tease you
to the point of utter exasperation man-to-man, they usually will
not disparage somebody else's woman. I think that breaches our
code of chivalry.
Of course there are also more fat
people in Texas, therefore we are on the cusp of the so-called
"epidemic of obesity". So a big woman has never been an oddity
here. Texas is the epicenter of fat humanity.
Jay of
LargeInCharge:
I personally always come across SSBBW's who feel that there
are not enough admirers (on Earth), and SSBBWFA's who feel that
they (SSBBW's) are a rare item and hard to find? What do you
think?
Paul Delacroix: I think western culture is in the process of
accepting fat women. It will take a bit longer.
In my opinion,there are lots of men who like supersized
women, but almost all are closeted.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
What is your next major event?
Paul Delacroix: I'm building a renaissance faire on my farm.
That keeps me busy and off-deadline a bit with my other
projects. I have been planning to build my own faire for a
number of years.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
What can the readers at LargeInCharge.com do to help support
your business?
Paul Delacroix: I'm actually not
trying to sell anything yet, but I'll soon have new works, and
may open an Ebay store.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
What are your future plans as an artist?
Paul Delacroix: "Well, I'm not interested
in the fine art world. I'm going to be a storyteller and an
illustrator. Which in my mind is a much more exciting and more
creative calling. I'm going to go back and finish a lot of old
projects. A few years back, I went through a sort of explosion
where I was drawing comic books, writing novellas, illustrating
everything under the sun, and at one point I published a small
press magazine that was filled with my own work. Many projects I
liked were eventually left hanging--short stories and so on. I'm
going to extend and finish and wrap up some of
these projects. Then I will publish them on CD. The first such
CD project will be an old sword-and-sorcery tale I did
called Aurora and the City of Pearls. It will be profusely
illustrated. I am also interested in developing new comic book
characters in the same electronic medium. I may experiment with
Flash media. And I'm going to try to develop my painting more,
and possibly do more painted covers and posters."
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Is your CD Project Available?
Paul Delacroix: Not as yet. I have not finished the novel,
unfortunately. When I do I will publish Aurora on CD.
I'm also still working on a comic book series which will
feature large-sized female superhero characters. I plan to
self-publish that as well, although I may briefly pitch it at DC
and Marvel first. Both projects are still works in
progress.
"There's a
certain fantasy mindset among the not-quite-size-accepting to
the effect of "Oh, sure, there are some men who like a woman
with a little meat on their bones, but not BIG AND FAT." And
it's true that there are some men who fit that
description--they're essentially Breast Men. But a Breast Man
and an FA are not one and the same thing, any
more than an apple is the same thing as an orange simply because
both are (a)round, and (b)fruit."
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Some SSBBW's don't like when men can date them in private but
have
problems being seen with them in public? Is it okay for an FA
(or curious Breast Men) to be in the closet?
Paul Delacroix: I think being closeted hurts both the FA and
his mate, but it's something people will do until society stops
mistreating large-sized women. The closeted FA is not a villain,
he's a victim.
There are many
kinds of beauty, and that's a message we have to get through to
outside society. It should be as high on our agenda as any other
activist goal. I know that it's difficult to educate people in
matters of taste, and it requires more subtlety than addressing
theater seats or nuts-and-bolts issues, but the equation "Fat
Equals Ugly" must be put to rest once and for all. If we want
the morons to stop laughing at fat people, we must stop
encouraging the perception of fat people as asexual, or
otherwise physically unattractive.
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
"Fat Equals Ugly" is a major issue. "There are many kinds of
beauty, and that's a message we have to get through to outside
society"...(okay...nicely put). Do you feel the message is now
getting across...if not what more can we (at LargeInCharge) do?
Paul Delacroix: I actually feel a leading weapon on our
side is to capture the art community. The avant garde.
I know I said I don't want to become a
fine artist--and I don't--but I might consider doing figurative
photography on a fine art level. Since fat has become more and
more statistically mainstream in the past decade, more rich
people have become heavy and they are beginning to look at
themselves differently. The easiest way to change the mind of a
person about body fashion might be to show them a gorgeously
sensual fat nude that's an unretouched photograph shot in
natural lighting. In Black and White, which seems to lend
gravitas. Women En Large did this very well, and I think this
approach to the figure is something we should see more often.
" fat is unhealthy, but diets are 98%
ineffective." As long as we continue to take that approach--as
long as we turn away from actual fat advocacy, in favor of Diet
Denial-- people will continue to try new and dangerous
alternative ways to lose
weight . . . and people will continue to die. The Health Myth is
the head of the beast. We must eventually take it by its horns.
"
Jay
of LargeInCharge:
Some readers at L.I.C. (on our message board) feel that some
People of Size come down too hard on the medical world and
fabricate the truth to hide behind health issues.....basically
lack facts that they are being treated any different from
everyone else. AND, That "The War on Fat" is needed and...People
of Size are losers...who don't want to loose weight...or loose
The War (on Fat)! Is there really a "War on Fat" and what should
People of Size do to help get better health care?
Paul Delacroix:
What I see as the number one health problem for People of
Size is an inability to comfortably and effectively exercise. I
think weight loss is irrelevant to health and what we eat is
even more irrelevant. We need gyms and home exercise equipment
for super sized people. Everyone needs exercise, and super sized
people should get in a good half hours' aerobic activity at
least four days a week. That's hard to do in a gym setting full
of tendonous people with hollow cheekbones, and the exercise
equipment is, for the most part, substandard.
If I could wave a magic wand and
accomplish one thing, it would be that super sized women would
get to better enjoy the gift of exercise and full mobility.
Paul
