The Art of Oscar Waldes

 Oscar Waldes art is about the worship of extremely chunky bears. 

In essence there are two characters in his images: the chunky sex object and his slender admirer,

exemplified by the first image below

Oscar Waldes - Hunting

The characterisations are quite extreme, but he manages to make both of them attractive with an essence of recognisable 'realness'. The bull necked bear is profusely covered in body hair but it's neat and even. His bulk does not obscure the definition of a massive muscularity which strains at his clothing. The pectorals bursting out of his shirt are a great detail for me. The slim, young muscle hunk with his trendy stubble is dwarfed by his size but thrilled by it too. The fiery red colouring accentuates their excitement. 

 (I have an armchair upholstered in a similar pattern to this shirt

 and I don't think it'll ever feel the same to sit in it again!)

Oscar Waldes - Delivery Man

Regular readers will know I have a thing about clothes and especially tight ones.

The skimpy shorts and bulging biceps take centre stage for me in this image.

There's delightful, soft warmth about the colouring here

and the dappled lighting on the visitor's shoulder is a nice touch. 

Both of the bears seen so far are sporting vintage moustaches 

which seems to assign them a certain maturity

 and, I suppose, pitches them into the official 'bear' camp.

The Cable Man

The attraction between Waldes' principal characters is entirely mutual and this image shows the artist loves them both, with a 'man at the door' scenario which nicely balances the preceding one. 

This man's shorts are shamelessly skimpy but his socks and trainers are unexpectedly petite,

in comparison to his butch shoulders, thick neck and dog tags. 

These pictures are cartoons but the attention to detail is quite remarkable. Although these last two images have similar backgrounds there is an interesting difference if you look closely.

Oscar Waldes - Removal Men

Another 'workman in the house' fantasy in which mutual attraction becomes physically expressed. 

To the surprise of the one, it seems, and artful satisfaction of the other.

Wearing a jock-strap to ensnare the unsuspecting removal man may seem 'over the top',

but look again and you see a disguised explicitness centred on the young man's buns,

seeming to indicate that he's got his victim well and truly hooked! 

As 'hidden eroticism' goes, it's remarkably clever, 

but once you've seen it you can't go back to not seeing it!

There's an endearing goofiness about both characters here, 

rather different to the designer artifice of the club scene we started with. 

Not sure about those ear-warmers though!

Waldes captures the essential appeal of both body types: 

bulk you can nestle into and fragile slenderness that can be protectively en-wrapped. 

If you have an intermediate build, you can enjoy both sensations! 

Oscar Waldes - David

This portrait shows a (slightly) more intermediate build. He's muscular but slim waisted and that trendy beard hints that he's a modern man in terms of how he looks after himself.

Even his body hair looks groomed (I love 'grow back'), 

but the unruly head hair and tattoos hint at a more rebellious wilder spirit within. 

Oscar Waldes - Lee

If this man is a rebel, he doesn't need to flaunt it.

There's an autobiographical element in Waldes art and in this image we learn

 that it's the artist who is the chubby chaser and not the other way about.

This tribute to his first lover is very well observed.

The facial details and the sitting posture are so right you feel sure you've seen this man somewhere!

The beer bottle might be seen as more 'hidden eroticism', but it's exactly how many men do sit.  

Oscar Waldes - Spencer

This little image also documents a unique aspect of gay life.

The turning of heads to survey the latest additions to the crowd.

By now, you don't need to be told what the new arrival looks like. 

The fond caricature of a skinny, nightclub waiter is well-depicted and authentic.

He's surrounded by a variety of attractive men, including the shy admirer from the first image 

and all of them echo his pose, all it seems are drawn to larger men.

Joy for chubbies everywhere!

Oscar Waldes - Pool Side

When Waldes does sex, there's still an idyllic, romantic flavour to it, a confident, companionship which is refreshing in gay art but part and parcel of the life which most of us desire and many achieve. The soft colours conjure up a lazy summer's day.

The telephone message request from the shy sub to the kindly bear is gooey but sweet.

The disarrayed swimming trunks a small detail, but a key part of the scene.

Oscar Waldes - Private Pool Party

If sensuality is the essence of bear appeal, raunchy sex seems equally to epitomise Venice.  

One of the ultimate intimacies here finds a place (I nearly said 'face'!) in Waldes' canon.

It's a statement of confidence and comfort in ones own sexuality and feelings for a partner.

Trustful and reassuring in a relationship built on difference rather than likeness. 

The only live webtrace I can find of Oscar Waldes is his Street Fashion clothing store. 

(examples of his products appear in the images above).

He did have a tumblr site but it's been sterilised. 

possibly a victim of the new corporate brand of gay oppession.

At the time of writing, you can still find examples of his work through search engines

If you like chubby art, have a look at my A-Z article on 'Vincent'