Leather Sex Appeal - 9

When leather and fashion thinking collide the result is not necessarily pretty.

Fortunately the model is, so we can overlook the 'Gladiator' style briefs and focus on the juicy muscularity and cute man-boy face. A case of one stud is enough.

Leather Sex Appeal - 8

In today's picture the amount of leather gear on display is challenging my 'more is less' guideline and it's been posted a lot on various blogs this year, but the image is so sexy I could hardy leave it out.

Muir Caps are tricky garments. You need the right shape of face and the right degree of butchness to wear them this way. This chap gets away with it and the cap sits nicely above those wonderful sticky out ears!

Caps like this are normally part of a uniform and look odd on a naked body, undermining the authority associations and emphasising the loss of clothing, the exposure of the ordinary man beneath.

A 'strong vs vulnerable' ambiguity pervades this picture. The hairy, muscular body (wonderful thighs!) radiates power and masculinity - the bands strapped round the arms emphasise this characteristic nicely. I'm not so sure about the body harness, it suits him but does it signify restrained strength - or submissive captivity? The rake of the cap over the eyes is self consciously cute and the coy, teasing way he slips the jock down is completely at odds with the power imagery. Maybe that's why he looks so lovable!

Leather Sex Appeal - 7

Another example of less is more.

The firm looking cup and the slender straps cutting under the thighs suggest restraint and containment rather than comfort and support.

Leather Sex Appeal - 6

A good leather man can make even Gloves seem menacing, as though the hands become transformed, hardened by the outer shield.

When it comes to leather I'm a great believer in the dictum, 'less is more' and I've tried to select pictures that reflect that. This man wears only gloves and G-string but there isn't any lessening of the intimidating 'leather aura'.

There is more leather in my current series at mitchmen (Yahoo) see sidebar

Leather Sex Appeal - 5

If collars are erotic, gags are more so.

In this picture the captive's expression is not hidden.

A mute appeal for release.

Picture courtesy of Mr S Leather

Leather Sex Appeal - 4

I'm a bit dubious about the idea of slavery in S&M, but a handsome man tamed temporarily by a collar is highly erotic.

Mitchell's leather themed picture story, 'The Legend of The Path of Pain' continues at the mitchmen group at Yahoo (see sidebar). Today an athlete is abducted.

Leather Sex Appeal - 3

An image from the 80's attempts to connect leather to cool fashion but it's still sexy despite - or perhaps because of - the naivety.

Leather Sex Appeal - 2

Mitchell is a long time fan of shorts in combination with generous thighs.

Leather Sex Appeal - 1

To accompany my new series at mitchmen on Yahoo an example of a sexy leather man.
It's in the face and the cheeks.

The Legend of The Path of Pain

Mitchell's new story, 'The Legend of the Path of Pain' is set in the world of Leather and S&M.

Marlon Brando - The Wild One

Brando's images in the 1950's (see attached PP00a) are often credited with originating the link between leather and illicit forms of sex but the connections with S&M, motorcycling, Hell's Angels etc. go back a lot further than his films. Today, leather retains these attractive, ancient associations with animal strength, masculinity, independent rebelliousness and danger and it isn't surprising that it became linked with S&M, the domain of sex with claws.

Tom of Finland - Kake the Intruder

The leather drawings of Tom of Finland feature a confident and sexually aggressive leatherman 'Kake'. The image attached (PP00b), in which Kake gatecrashes a young man's session with his porn mags and treats him to the real thing is a universal 'rescue' fantasy (dressed up with a 'conversion' twist).

Rex - Leatherman

Rex's famous image for Drummer (PP00c) seems to epitomise the idealistic, God-like attractions - and dangers - of such men.

Mitchell's new story is set against this background, a world of leather with demanding sexuality and ancient values. It describes what happens when fantasy collides with the real world.

To see the pictures you need to join Mitchell's 'mitchmen' Yahoo Group (see sidebar)

Mitchell's Leather Gods Story

The next series of pictures and story by Mitchell will begin at the Yahoo Group (see sidebar on how to join for free) in the next day or so and run over Christmas and the New Year. It has a leather theme and is entitled 'The Legend of The Path of Pain'. It tells the story of a group of men who band together to share their love of S&M but discover through various trials and tribulations that they share something far greater.

Mitchell's Bondage Furniture Series

Mitchell - The High Chair

I have just added some new items to my Bondage Furniture series which explores the beauty of the male in restraint and tension. The High Chair (above) was number one and is still one of my personal favourites.
You can find the complete set of pictures at the mitchmen Yahoo group.

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - My Favourite 'K'

It's my custom to select a favourite artist from each letter based on consideration of fetish content, technical skill, sensuality and story-telling. The letter K has interesting candidates. Kent's artistry and fetish content is powerful but doesn't spark fantasies within me in the same way as Kok and Kai's equally accomplished work. Klaus von Brandenburg also has great fetish content and story lines to fantasise over but somehow his heroes lack personality and the static situations don't work for me. Kirwan's fetish diversity is amazing and full of observation and humour, but is it sexy? Kuchar and Kalabro's work is interesting for presenting the male body in slightly distorted way which accentuates it's sexuality. If Kuchar's subject matter were a touch less frivolous he'd be amongst my front runners here.

Kalabro - Electrocution Proof

But really there is only one possible winner for me and that is Kalabro. His work has sense of drama and action which none of the other contenders come close to. To do this without losing sexiness is quite an achievement (just think how most action hero comics fall tantalisingly short of being sexy, Kalabro doesn't!). The marriage of cute faces and strangely beautiful, angular limb shapes overcomes the absence of sensuality in skin tones and musculature. His subject matter is daring technically and explores dark, dangerous scenarios but keeps on the right side of the 'forbidden' line for me - but I guess that's a matter of taste.

Visit Kalabro's blog at The Erotic Art of Kalabro

Links to other artists can be found in the individual articles

Readers are welcome to contribute their own comments - even if they differ from mine!

For earlier examples in this series click on the A-Z label below

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Mike Kuchar

Every so often a cartoonist manages to create a caricature which is sexy despite it's humorous essence. Mike Kuchar's men are long limbed and slender with pert bottoms and well defined muscularity but they often seem to exude an air of casual clumsiness and sexual naivety like the adolescent whose body is outgrowing his brain.

Kuchar - Sailor's Tattoo

The faces of the sailors have big 'baby' eyes which contrast with their very grown up bulky jaws, thick necks and broken noses. Their facial expressions suggest one of them is more naïve than the other.

Kuchar - Three Captives

Three captives from the Buccaneers series show the same effect in a different way, the slouched bodies and prominent stomachs, even the flaccid organs suggest resignation and a lack of energy, but there's a sort of animal grace in the lean muscularity and the straight-legged pose which accentuates their buttocks. There are plenty of older men in his pictures but they seem to be just as vulnerable and confused as the younger ones - look at the facial expressions in whipping (below) - they both seem surprised - but not very much!

Kuchar - Whipping

Kuchar has a keen eye for the more subtle essences of maleness, the facial and body features mentioned above but also the accentuated nipples and navels and the smatterings of hair on face and body. I particularly like the younger man's face in the whipping scene from Buccaneers. The economical, unfussy style gives these figures a degree of sensuality which is only held in check by the caricaturing of their bodies.

Kuchar - Crucifixion (detail)

The final picture (from the series 'And still they come') is more representational - and a good deal less frivolous - but, interestingly, the victims seem equally resigned to their fate. The dramatic upward-looking viewpoint here is quite impressive.

Sorry no link info but a search of the GMBA or Gaytoons will turn up more examples. I'd welcome link information from readers

Readers are welcome to contribute their own comments - even if they differ from mine!

For earlier examples in this series click on the A-Z label below

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Kok (aka Dorus)

Willem Kok (aka Dorus) started publishing pictures at the same time Tom of Finland and Etienne were around their peak and his early work (as Dorus) shows their influence in the solid jaw lines and placing of distant, background observers for example.

Kok - Unzipped

Later on he evolved a more distinctive style of his own in which the skin musculature is depicted by in great detail by a delicate tracery of lines. Detailing individual muscles requires great delicacy of shading or else they become too prominent but Kok pulls it off better than most and creates the impression of a fine translucent skin through which the network of veins and flesh of the muscles can been seen.

Kok -Pin

This interest in skin seems to be reflected also in a preoccupation with shaving (of both head and body) in his later pictures. I find the end result beautiful but a little spooky. However, there is no gain-saying his technique which is formidable.

Kok - Shaving

His models are well muscled but not absurdly so, some of the faces are distinctly attractive, almost in the Harry Bush college boy vein but with fleshy lips and jutting jaws. There's a nice example at the link below. Sexual organs are well detailed but generally realistic except for a couple of Tom of Finland pastiches where crowds of young men worship at the altar of mega-penis.

The subject matter becomes quite intense in later pictures with piercing and cutting scenarios made all the more chilling by the detailed depiction of dungeons and 'operating tables' dripping with body fluids. Not for faint hearts.

There is a good introduction to Kok at Delft Boys

Readers are welcome to contribute their own comments - even if they differ from mine!

For earlier examples in this series click on the A-Z label below