Mitchell’s A-Z of Fetish Artists - Eric

Eric is one of those artists with a tiny published output but the images have such wide appeal that they are posted regularly in internet groups. His trademark image is of a young man tied to a frame with legs spread wide. He has a muscular body and a thick neck but his face creates the impression of a country yokel with unruly blond hair, protruding ears and an expression of wide eyed confusion on his face. This combination of innocent youth and testosterone is potent. Numerous alternative versions of this picture show him clad in jeans, military vest or loin cloth but I suspect they are probably not authentic. I have also seen many examples where Eric's boy has been placed alongside characters from Franco's pictures who act as his tormentor. This makes it very difficult to separate genuine Eric images from adulterated ones but demonstrates the appeal of the imagery.

I believe the illustration above to be genuine and it shows the testosterone laden innocent nicely. Just a hint of bondage. You can also see that the cartoon-like exaggerations disguise a technical style which is quite accomplished. As we discussed with Cavelo, it's not that easy to depict heavy, well defined musculature convincingly. In my view, Eric's inventive work is a small but valued contribution to Fetish Art

Mitchell’s A-Z of Fetish Artists - David Eastman

David Eastman also depicts captivity but his art is at the other end of the fetish scale from El Churcho. He depicts rough looking characters - long haired bikers and pugnacious, short haired muscle men. They ain’t pretty but they conjure up a strong masculine sexuality. They are usually engaged in rough activities too - wielding painful whips or dishing out spankings or wet humiliations.

There are hints of smiles - sometimes on the victim’s face (see first illustration) - but these are not playful - these are knowing smiles of triumph. The viewer is in no doubt that serious S&M struggles are going on. The second picture shown is just a detail from one of his best pictures in my collection. The characters look as though they are discussing their next move for the captive. It shows his sophisticated shading technique and use of a low viewpoint to create dramatic effect. The placing of the figures and use of architectural detail is clever. No mere scribbler this!

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - El Chuncho

This picture by 'El Chuncho' is one of a series depicting a kidnapping. The young subject, restrained and partly stripped ponders his fate. The style in this example is clean and polished and technically convincing. An interesting selection of details add atmosphere to the situation and just a touch of sleaze. The thoughts in the bubble are not quite so exciting but have probably been sanitised for mainstream publication - and the rest of the story is a bit fluffy too. For me the though the restrained eroticism in this example really works, allowing imagination to explore the darker possibilities.

Mitchells A-Z of Fetish Artists - Letter 'E'

My A-Z series was interrupted by pressure of work earlier this year but I'm now able to continue. We had just reached the letter E and returning to my files I find I have quite a nice selection of artists to resume my track with. E of course stands for Etienne - one of the the greats from the early years of S&M Art. I shall probably give him more attention than I usually do to individual artists. But the list also includes Eastman, Emma, Eric, Esposito, Etheridge and a japanese artist I know as Ebisen. However, to start the series rolling I have selected an artist who I have only one piece of work for - a cartoon series showing a kidnapping. The Artist name is El Churcho. The letter E starts tomorrow.

An underwear moment 1

 This rather nice young man is the sort of picture that inspires me when I'm creating something new. 

Underwear has fascinated me since my teens so that will always get my attention, but this picture has other triggers too. The hands behind back pose suggestive of bondage. The tilt of the head - listening to his sentence of punishment? The look of concentration - a little bit worried? More subtly, the slightly neglected, flabby muscles suggest a lifestyle that would benefit from 'guidance'. 

With these thoughts in my head I would start drawing this pose and weave a compostion around it telling the story. A guard perhaps standing just behind, a wagging finger at the front admonishing the unfortunate young man. If I'm in a ghoulish mood perhaps a noose might figure, dangling above or just in front, maybe the rope already encircles his neck........

Such a highly charged picture might well take me a while to complete due to interuptions for eruptions but that's part of the fun. Poses like this also make good background material and you can often see them in my pictures, men watching another poor sod getting it instead of them.

Reluctant patient

The men at Mitchell's S+M Clinic attend for simple medical check-ups but are gradually sucked into increasingly sinister activities. This picture shows a similar progression, as the patient begins to resist treatment and is strapped down and gagged.

He cannot resist or call for help.



What lies in store? An invasive examination. An operation? Maybe he is just being 'kept in' for the night. But his unclad - and nicely toned legs - tell us that the events and threats to come will have an erotic flavour.

This understated picture is very much in the 'mitchmen' vein. In Mitchell's Art semi-nudity is often used to signal where we are going erotically and male bondage serves to create a sense of helplessness in the face of an unknown threat. The Clinic setting conjures up the possibility of extreme and sophisticated dangers spiced by the remorseless and incomprehensible processes of an indifferent institutional machine.

It makes the conventional S+M dungeon scenario seem crude and artificial by comparison.