The first male erotic drawing I ever saw was on a cover of 'Physique Pictorial' magazine, in a second hand bookshop, when I was still at school. It showed a muscular man, dressed only in jeans and boots, being forced to his knees by a leather clad companion whose bike he had damaged.
The erotic depiction of forced submission bowled me over. I had never seen anything like it before. I felt bit like Robinson Crusoe must have done when he discovered the footprint on the beach - there was someone else like me! So this picture has a special significance for me and I still love it.
The artist of course was Tom of Finland - a label which in those days conjured up images of handsome, blond Scandinavians and gentle, tolerant attitudes. In the years that followed I found more examples of Tom's pictures and my interest developed into a lifelong affection and respect for his work.
I was already producing my own drawings when I discovered Tom but his pictures inspired me to try and improve my technique by emulating his style. In the time-honoured tradition of apprentices, I learned by copying a master. I took his characters and compositions and adapted them to reflect my own interests and experiences. Over a period of time I produced a series of pictures which are based on Tom's ideas but recreated using my own imagery. I have been posting them at 'mitchmen' over the last couple of weeks in a series called 'Inspired by Tom'.
Looking back now my efforts seem flawed and fall some way short of Tom's skills. I claim no credit for ideas adapted from his compositions but I hope I have added enough original content to be able to offer them as my tribute to an artist whose pictures have, over the years, offered comfort, inspiration and entertainment to millions of gay men all over the world.
Tom of Finland (1920 - 1991)
To see these pictures and lots more of Mitchell's drawings and art please visit the mitchmen Yahoo group (address in side bar)
The Copyright for most of Tom's work resides with the Tom of Finland Foundation and this essay uses extracts of his work for the purposes of critical review under the fair use provisions of Copyright Law
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