AI Art by AussieGuys

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Rolls-Royce 1 by AussieGuys

 AussieGuys art is an eclectic collection mainly focussed on conventional AI Hunk-dom, but this is an interesting recent, development. Two guys embarrassingly stranded in their expensive car. I've posted a captioned version at 'X'.

 

Rolls-Royce 15 by AussieGuys

The artist has produced an astonishingly large number of variations in this Rolls-Royce series, all based around this scenario. It's sexy but difficult to decipher what's actually going on. 

See also RR17 and RR29.

 

Best Friend 2 by AussieGuys

As you might expect from an Aussie, there's plenty of beach fun imagery. I'm attracted to the shorts in this image. The yellow dangling rope is a worrying sign that AI might be secretly gay.

 

Big Fish by AussieGuys

 Beach boys don't have it all their own way, this is a marvellous study of more mature masculinity with a scary dash of phallic symbolism. Shame about the purse, though.

 

Couple 40 by AussieGuys

I think it gets a bit carried away with bulk here, but the muscle hunks parading in wet underwear is a nice idea. There's a sense of these buddies thinking of casting their own lines for a catch they've seen further down the beach (see below).

 

Couple 38 by AussieGuys

Maybe it's these two cheeky chappies that they're checking out. They've got bulk of their own to flaunt, tantalisingly disguised and yet emphasised by the patterns of their sagging pouches, which are slung oh, so low. 

 

Polycule, We Are One - 30 by AussieGuys

 This is a romantic, but very sexy image of a spontaneous kiss in the surf. The facial expressions and postures of the outer men are fascinating. Are they embarrassed? Disappointed? Jealous? Whichever is the case, they don't seem inclined to make up a second pairing with each other.

Apparently a polycule is a network of people connected in a polyamorous dynamic, so there. 

 

Polycule, We Are One - 4 by AussieGuys

 This expresses the same idea, slightly more subtly, with matching trunks substituting for linked hands as an expression of closeness between the right-hand pair - or perhaps revealing a lack of it. Did AI actually dream up that little twist? The body-hugging trunks themselves are rather less subtle and may distract you from contemplating the 'polydynamics' in depth.  

  

Couple Beach by AussieGuys

There isn't an image that can't be improved by taking the guys' pants off 'em. This one is also tender and romantic, with a hand clasp that seems to signal deeper feelings than casual friendship. Unfortunately, this idyllic, surging moment is about to be interrupted by a tsunami-like wave. That's AI for you, no sense of proportion.

 

AborgPinkLiz 5 by AussieGuys

This native Australian is certainly prepared for the big one (so to speak). He's another, pleasing example of the variety of men represented in this artist's pictures. 

 

Surfer's Pet Dolphin 9 - by AussieGuys

Check out this cheery chubbie.
Love the stuffed pouch.

 

Dreamtime 4 - by AussieGuys

The determination to represent Australian-ness justifiably includes an admiring flash back to the ancient, local cultures. Some think images like this are degrading and insulting, but we all have ancestors like this. The beauty is idealised here, but the originals had an ability to survive in an unforgiving environment that would compare favourably with many of the i-phone generation.

 

Australian Football League - by AussieGuys

The Aussies are formidable competitors in most sports, as English cricket fans know, all too well, but Australian Rules Football is a unique, fast flowing sport, that attracts gay admirers due to the skimpy shorts they all wear. This leaping pose with the corny, 'Reach For The Stars' subtext looks like it's an AI stock image, but the ultra-short shorts transform it, revealing an expanse of muscular thigh and a glimpse of the jungle-like interior for fans of up-shorting.

 

Cisboy 12 - by AussieGuys

One of Aussieguys' quirks is dressing some of his handsome models in fem-style underwear. The title, I presume, is a modernisation of 'sissy', owning the insult and, in the setting of a public beach, making it a Pride-style, defiant assertion of identity. 

That's fair enough, but my perverse temptation is to pair it with the earlier image of muscle guys in wet underpants ...(see below).

This image fails for me, slightly, because AI has simply fitted the lace fabric into the lines of conventional male attire. Adapting it to imitate the different shape produced by a female body would create a more startling contrast.

 

Couple 40 by AussieGuys
(captioned by mitchmen)

 No-one knows the secret thoughts that lurk in the hearts of even the most butch of tough, Australian, hypermasculine personas!

 

Jock 33 by AussieGuys

It may be that the muscle-heads are being sized up themselves 
by one, very excited bather in the water! He has a confident air that might make him more than a handful for them.

 

BeachBaby60 by AussieGuys

 This young man further down the beach also proudly shows his colours. He, too, has a look that suggests that he is adept at finding opportunities for all that stuff he's packing in that impressively load-bearing pouch-ette.

 

Jock 174 by AussieGuys

Just when you thought beach wear couldn't get any skimpier! 

It looks like this guy earned his athletic laurels in Starbucks. 

As you might note from the picture serial number, there are lots more of these at AussieGuys' website (link below). 

 

Couple 8 by AussieGuys

 This take on skimpiness, applying it to shorts, appeals to me. More than the semi-implied transparency, in fact. There was a fad for shorts/trunks like this a few years back, but they don't seem to turn up so often now. Maybe that's because they have too much of a tendency to turn downwards, once you start walking!

 

Big Kid 76 by AussieGuys

 

I ought to give the last word to a more conventional representation of Aussie manhood, with a slightly wild, slightly gauche personality and fierce patriotism. Never mind the ducks, mate, come and rescue me!

 

 

Like A Good Glass of Wine by AussieGuys

 

Cheers! 

 

 ~ 

 

AussieGuys posts at Deviant Art

Recent Art by Planet Gay

Presented to the Harem

 

An atmospheric image of a new arrival, anxiously appraising his new home and master. His new 'family' seem to be enjoying a candle-lit bath, unaware of the beautiful young man about to join them. Maybe it's not such a bad life after all.

 

United by Fate

It makes a nice picture, but I'm not quite sure what the logic is in chaining slaves up together like this, unless it's a frustration torment. But even in 'no hands' mode, they ought to be able to work something out eventually!

 

 

Musketeers

The three musketeers seems to be PG's current focus, and this image is a lift straight out of the 19th Century literature that inspired modern movies on the subject. The slightly sentimental staging, taking time out for a reunion, instead of focussing on getting the poor devil out, is very much of that era. 

 

An all male version of 'La Bohème' might finish like this, with the distraught comrades in arms standing at a respectful distance while the fated lovers bid a final farewell. 

 

In mitchmen land, the interpretation would be completely different, with the captive being told in no uncertain terms that he's there for the duration and that the guards have come to start his punishment. More Tosca than Bohème, in fact. Scarpia cutting out the middle woman and propositioning Cavardossi instead.

 

Games of Thrones 

This variant on the slavery theme of the first image has a more edgy feel. The captive looks a lot more mature and his chain is held personally by the King, not a guard, implying a very personal interest. 

 

The ostentatious wearing of a crown, coupled with the title, suggests politics is at the back of this situation, not domestic service. This prisoner is not a casual pick-up, a handsome man snatched from his usual job and pressed into the king's personal service. No, he is a defeated rival. A dangerous man to have in your bed, even if it is a very satisfying vengeance.

 

The dark, gothic decorating scheme here is a far cry from the splendour of picture 1 and bodes ill for conditions below stairs.

 

 

The Gladiators

The same theme is unexpectedly adapted to the Roman Arena here. Usually, beaten men meet their death here. End of. Still, you can't blame this victor for wanting to hang onto his hunky conquest. In the cruel way of this genre, he might well be one of his training buddies. 

 

Unfortunately, the lack of wounds might arouse the suspicion that there's a conspiracy going on. Notice the queer look another Gladiator is giving them. He won't be happy at them getting off scot-free. No fear, if Caesar suspects there hasn't been enough foul play, it'll be thumbs down for both of them.

 

 

Love against the wind 

The old beefcake books often included public statues of muscular men in their pages to underline their claim of artistic intent and legitimacy, back in the bad old days. They also drew on the ideas of classical Greece which furnished the idea of men being turned into stone as a punishment, sometimes with the possibility of being returned to fleshiness under the right conditions. 

 

Planet Gay gives us not just a statue, but two men turned into a statue, preserving their love for all time against the headwinds of fate. Planet Gay's blogging often has a 'Pride' angle and you can see it in this imagery. But it's a double-edged sword. I'm not sure if this is symbolic of enduring strength - or defiant defeat, with the lovers neutralised and relegated to being an interesting 'feature' in a corner of a garden. I suppose it's better than ending up sitting alone on a horse in the middle of a roundabout. 

 

Other statue references at mitchmen -  

 Rent-a-Dude, also Platter and Priapus of Milet,

 ~

There are several other posts of Planet Gay on mitchmen,
simply search for PlanetGayComic for the latest additions  

Planet Gay's current work is video oriented and web locations include PlanetGayComic on X and PlanetGay onYouTube, but I prefer his non-video, Deviant Art Gallery

Tom of Finland - The Mystery of 'Mr Universe'

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 01

If you are a fan of Tom of Finland, you will probably be familiar with this image. It's shows two leather guys pondering the world of bodybuilding and the 'Mr Universe' competition, which seems to be coming to a venue near them 'next year'. This image is often presented as a stand-alone work, presumably because of its aspirational, 'Pride' message, but it's actually part of a 'Mr Universe' series which was widely documented in its time* but seems to have become lost or dispersed since then. This article is an attempt to reconstruct it from contemporary sources. 

 

*The Tom of Finland Retrospective (vol 1) dates this image to 1963, but the 'Mr Universe' series seems to have appeared in late 1961 (see below). It's not impossible that Tom produced this picture later, but it's obviously related, and I have chosen to make it the opening image for my reconstructed series. 

 

According to Valentine-Hooven (in "Tom of Finland, His Life and Times" p101) Tom did the series for Rex Pickering at 'Scan' Magazine, and it was indeed first advertised in 'Scan' issue 9. It was also advertised simultaneously in issue 17 of 'Man Alive' (which we can date precisely to Nov 1961). In the latter source, it is actually advertised as a 'Hussar Studio' product. Around this time, Hussar also published Tom's 'Thieving Cowboy' series, about which there is even wilder confusion over publication dates! See the 2023 mitchmen 'Thieving Cowboy' article for more on Tom's relationship with Royale /Hussar.

 

 

Tom of Finland - The Leather Outfit Thief 01 (my title)

 

  We don't know exactly how Tom viewed 'bikers' at this time, in the 'Mr Universe' image (top) they are drawn as cute boys with bubble butts, looking slightly naive in their leather jackets. However, in a contemporary series illustrated above, the leather man is portrayed as a muscular, god-like creature, worshipped from the bushes by an envious youth. It's another series (like the Thieving Cowboy) in which a set of clothes is stolen, and the same thing happens in the second of the 'Kake' series. In 1964, it's the motorbike itself that gets stolen. All these miscreants end up on the receiving end of a severe belting, and Tom's work is littered with handsome leather men treating eager, initiates in the same way. That's a good excuse for including one of my own favourite Tom images....

 

Tom of Finland - Leather Initiation

 In later life, Tom was absorbed into the world of leather that fascinated him so much. Quite which end of the belt he saw himself is not known, but the experience of having his own drawings stolen in 1954 and widely pirated after he became famous may be relevant. In that context, the aspiration of two biker dandies to become more muscular and, by implication, more manly, makes perfect sense. 

 

 

Tom of Finland - Test Your Strength

 

This image, with the same youthful admirer from the Leather Outfit Thief, is also from 1961. It's actually part of the 'Circus Set' but embodies, in a more positive way, the idea of manly role models for gay men to aspire to.

 

The 'Mr Universe' series isn't about joining the Leather Clan, but it is very much about justice and assertiveness. The scarcity of surviving, intact images is probably a reflection of Tom's attempts to control the distribution of his own work. In 1965 '101 Boys Art Quarterly' was able to publish only fragments of some of the individual images. In the same year, AMG published a couple of (complete) images from the set in Physique Pictorial with a typically waspish comment to the effect that they offered many of Tom's series for sale, but this wasn't one of them!

 

Valentine-Hooven says there were 12 to 15 pictures in the series, I have identified a group of 17 images that seem related, of which 2 or 3 are dubious, but interesting. 

 

The story begins in the next post.  

 

AI images by Houston Visitor

1

The new coach enjoyed teasing his brawny players before he pounced.

 

Original Image

 captions added by mitchmen

 

When students go into higher education, the freedom sometimes goes to their heads.

The Lecturer has similar authority to a teacher, subtly derived from their power to grade.

But they do expect students to challenge it.

 

Original Image

Jimmy fiddled in his pocket.

 Times may have changed, but it's amazing what is possible with legal consent,

ambitious sportsmen will sign up to almost anything to get in the best teams.

Original Image

 

 

Alternative caption:-

 

 

Jimmy's fantasies about sporting jocks suddenly were in his reach. 

Scary but hot.

 

Houston Visitor posts on 'X'

AI art by hongd542 - Part 2

Read Part 1 First?

 

 Jerry was pleasantly surprised by the bedclothes the Clinic gave him to wear.

They were top quality, stylish and made him feel sexy, which wasn't what he had expected

after the court sent him here to have his anti-social behaviour surgically corrected. 

Whatever that meant.

 

 

 The Doctor explained what he planned to do in great detail using medical language. Ben didn't really understand what he said, but he didn't like the look of it.

 

 

 Downstairs, the glitzy comfort of the private Clinic transformed into a starkly utilitarian reality.

James was dressed in a protective one-piece suit, restrained, gagged and then drained by hand. 

That was troubling, but he wasn't prepared at all for followed.

See the devastating dénouement at Hong's DeviantArt site, it's too hot for here.

 

 

 The Doctors were troubled. 

The procedure had been an exciting challenge.

But was it ethical?

 

The boys in the gym would never be the same again.

 

~

 

 

Officer Sutherland had an unconventional approach to 'persons of interest'.

He insisted that they took off and handed over their clothes to be searched,

so that they would not be embarrassed by clumsy, groping hands. 

Of course, if no little plastic bags containing dubious substances were found, 

A common alternative hiding place was then already available to be searched. 

Sutherland often found that the mere suggestion of a deeper probe, in private,

would prompt an involuntary, urgent disclosure by the suspect. 

 

 

 

The disciplinary hearing had not gone well for Curtis
But at least he still had a job.

 

 

 Being assigned to 'Pride' duties felt like a crushing rebuke to Dexter.

But at least he didn't have to venture into that cauldron all alone.

Still, he wasn't sure he liked the sound of his colleague's offer

to familiarise him with gay culture so he'd feel more comfortable. 

In fact, he was sure he would feel just the reverse. 

 

 

 

 

Officer Bergman had a large portfolio of informants,

which embraced all sections of the community, 

He often went way beyond the call of duty,

but did sometimes lose focus when exchanging favours.

(Uncaptioned Original)

As they say, there's no smoke without fire.

 

~

 

more Hong542 in Part 3

Read Part 1

More Art by Oliver Frey

This article adds to my original A-Z review of Oliver Frey's work

Frey - Tennis Victory

 This image was my first glimpse of Oliver Frey's incredible talent for portraying the energetic wrestling of men gripped by lust. The image of bare buttocks pressed against the net still sends a shiver up my spine! In 1970's Britain, visualising gay sex taking place in front of a audience and in a setting of a place like Wimbledon Tennis Club, the epitome of the Establishment, was defiant indeed. 

He also applied his imagery to the equally unlikely sports of Golf and Cricket.

Frey - Bikers in a Dark Alley 1

This image of bikers getting hot in a dark alley was closer to reality but it's frankness also struck a blow for gay freedom of expression. It was gay art of a sort never seen before - high quality and spelling out what gay means without pussy-footing innuendo.  

Frey - Bikers in a Dark Alley 2

Frey revisited the biker subject in many other images of varying degrees of raunchiness which were, astonishingly, published in glossy, top shelf gay magazines without attracting reprisals from the Police, despite the efforts of conservative pressure groups.

Frey - Leather Lube, Biker Oil

The biker persona was perfect for expressing a boisterous, roughly expressed, bursting out of the closet and entering into forbidden places that reflected the spirit of those heady days when gay men felt that even if they weren't completely free exactly, not really able to realise these fantasies in real life, they nevertheless finally had a legitimacy that would enable them to push open doors that had been closed for all those years.

Frey - Biker Elopement

Frey's pictures did not just express excitement, there was an exuberant joy in them.

Imagining the trappings of conventionality and self -restraint being ripped apart.

It was an exciting time to be gay.

Frey - Lover

But he did not just portray excitement and lust

He also showed a vision of gay love as a beautiful thing, 

performed by beautiful people, beautiful men. 

Frey (as Zack) - Splash

His artistic skills here transform the old, tentative, AMG, shower hook-ups into something much more memorable. A loving shared experience of cleansing vitality with fierce, needle-like sprays of water battering and enveloping the two lovers.

Frey - Chains Broken

Frey's character rogue set the scene for a series of gay, comic book heroes whose masculinity was unquestionable and who were assertive and comfortable in their gay sexuality. Rogue's apparent taste for young virgins seems dubious in retrospect, but at the time reflected the common experience of a youth lost to unrequiteable desire. At that time most gay men of all ages probably were virgins or not long out of it and many no doubt saw themselves as his willing victims, given the chance. 

Bill Ward's later creations - Drum and King - were able to be more balanced characters in that respect 

Frey - Hard Wrestle

Frey's depictions of hard, rough sex were about showing the inherent masculinity of gay men, 

a reaction against years of being universally labelled as effeminate and soft.

Frey - Devilry

If homosexuality was the Devil's work, Frey's men boldly embraced that identity 

Frey - Mortal Combat

That vision of gay toughness also pervades his non-gay, fantasy work.

Frey - Tribal 2

Oliver Frey 1948 - 2022

A gay hero

This article adds to my original A-Z review of Oliver Frey's work

see also Night Visitor in the 'targeted' series