Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 13

Mitchell - Cowboy Buddies

This post features two drawings, never before published, which were amongst my earliest homoerotic fantasies. The first is a romantic imagining of two cowboy buddies wrestling with friendship and sexuality. The younger-looking one has a stout neck which seems to symbolise his developing manhood. He impulsively pulls his buddy close, feeling inside his open jeans subconsciously as his libido responds to their closeness. His friend, whose stubbled jaw suggests he is slightly more mature, looks down at the hand on his waist which is a more intimate embrace than his more casual arm around his buddy's shoulder. He seems unsure, but does not resist. His crotch bulge is already close to touching his friend's thigh and he seems to be poised to manoeuvre round behind him. That might simply suggest he has protective feelings, but puts him in pole position to respond to further developments with those undone jeans.

Mitchell - Cowboys in the Stable Stalls

This image has a more illicit feel with a different pair of cowboys skulking in the stables in order to explore their feelings. There's a sense of openness beyond the screen and to the left of them as well implying a vulnerability to someone discovering them at any moment.  

The picture has an ambiguous element of bondage, with one seemingly tied to the stall screen by his wrists, presumably to prevent his interference while his buddy unbuckled and lowered his jeans. It may be just an erotic game. In any event, the bondage doesn't seem to be very demanding and the 'captive' doesn't seem to be resisting very much. He simply watches as his friend makes a frontal feint towards his dick, possibly unaware that he's simultaneously manoeuvring his thumb sneakily towards the cleft in his buttocks.

I love the sinuous figure of the captive here and the sense of an embrace (in both pictures) which is about control and desire as much as affection. Submission without domination. Both these images have been tidied up and clarified for publication, but have not been substantially altered. 

~

Go to Part 14 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio (pending)
 or Read this series from Part 1,
or see all at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below.

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male
You can also find The Cactus Kid story there in full or Images only

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 12

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A New Life for an Old Lag

 New inmates at the mitchmen penitentiary get a thorough medical check on arrival.

Just to make sure they will fit in with the existing arrangements.

 Produced by Mitchell using the 'Playground' AI engine
click on the labels below for related posts at mitchmen blog

Over the Top (or under?)

 Maybe it's best to finish this embarrassing situation in the dressing rooms.

What's left of them!

You never know what will get thrown up when AI gets off the leash,

but it knows how I think, note the positioning of the steam!

I'm into rugby but these backsides could be gracing any sport.

Produced by Mitchell using the 'Playground' AI engine
click on the labels below for related posts at mitchmen blog

Adults chastised at Ginch Gonch Ranch

 Jotits, one of the blog visitors, asked me about an AI version of Ginch Gonch Ranch. The AI engine I have used in the past to generate variants of my drawings is no longer available at the service I subscribe to, but I did some exploring and produced these variants using Art Guru AI. None of the results were amazing pictures and I didn't have time to develop them into better ones, but some new elements and perspectives appeared which are quite interesting and worth sharing.

Mitchell - Ginch Gonch Ranch, AI variant 1

This is the best result that came out. It changed all the characters into much older men with faces that very much suit the Ranching Cowboy scenario, giving it a modern twist of earthy, Clint Eastwood-style realism. Their skimpy underpants now look deliciously incongruous, with the middle man nervously trying to hide it by raising his knee, as though it were a secret vice.. 

Their hair-free bodies make you wonder if that grizzled old rancher has been having some fun with his cut-throat razor over the last hour leading up to this moment. Just to make them feel that little bit more exposed and humiliated, you understand. 

The background has been transformed such that it now looks like the backdrop to an amateur production of 'Oklahomo' put on for the entertainment of the other ranch hands, who will no doubt enjoy this newly discovered twist in the plot!

Mitchell - Ginch Gonch Ranch, AI variant 2

This second variant seems to transport the whole scene to some ancient civilisation where gold seems to be much in evidence, suggesting a power relationship that is more absolute. The spanker has acquired some tattoos, giving him a more earthy, sensual character. The face of the right-most captive has come out particularly nicely this time, I'd happily swap him into variant-1 or dispense with his comrade altogether for a one-on-one scene.

Mitchell - Ginch Gonch Ranch, AI variant 3

 In variant 3, the AI-engine has come up with the idea of the captives looking at each other as though realising that this punishment is going to be worse than they thought. In my original concept, the out-stretched hand of the rancher was turning the first captive round, so as to present his rear to the paddle. The captive's sudden alarm here suggests he's just announced that he's first going to relieve him of that last obstacle to the full sensory experience - his underpants. His older partner seems to be advising him to grin and bare it. The bulge in his pants gives the game away.

The AI has made a hash of their faces, this arms raised position is quite tricky to draw in any medium, simply transplanting heads doesn't work. However, what it has produced is a hint of two very characterful faces, one young, smoothly handsome in a butch way, the other older and experienced. 

The poor rancher's stiffie has got short shrift in all the variants, but his balls have bulked up nicely in this last picture. The treatment of the creases in the legs of his suit is much better than my original.

~

click on the labels below for more pictures on these themes

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 11

 

Mitchell - Sunday Morning on Ginch Gonch Ranch
(Inappropriate Dress)

In the bad old days, new hands at the GG Ranch got their ass felt with the whip
- or even the branding iron, if the foreman took a dislike to 'em.
These days it's a more civilised coming-of-age experience for the sons of rich men.
Not sure if it's the flat things or the pointy things that they remember most.

~

I first published this image at the now-defunct Yahoo! Group
This is a bigger version with the contrast tweaked to enhance the atmosphere. 

Remember Ginch Gonch?

~

Go to Part 12 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio (pending)

or Read this series from Part 1
or see all at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below.

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male*
*You can also find The Cactus Kid story there in full or Images only

Drop-In Clinic

Doctor Fixem had become concerned that the 'Drop-In' Clinic for Men 

was in danger of becoming better known as the 'Finger-in' Clinic.

~

Image and captions by Mitchell of mitchmen.

Another result of my explorations at the AI-art site 'Playground'

Experiment with a Swimmer

A visit to the clinic can be a worrying time for butch men!  

~

This astonishing image resulted from one of my explorations at the AI-art site 'Playground' where you can generate pictures by inputting a text description. It's a fairly restrictive site in terms of creating sexy imagery (as it's name suggests it might be) so I requested a swimmer to create a bit of interesting, inoffensive nudity (in briefs otherwise it put shorts on them). I may have asked for a muscular one, I can't remember exactly. Then I simply asked it to juxtapose the swimmer with a medic and a table. 

The two figures on the left create an interesting situation full of erotic potential - as I hope my caption brings out. The blue uniform is nicely ambiguous, it he a medic or someone more in authority like a security man or a cop? The relative mis-sizing of these two figures creates a delicious contrast!

However, I was astonished when the medic on the right popped up with no pants on beneath his white coat, without any prompting from me! This AI engine seems to have a near-mitchmen sense of humour!

Image generated by Mitchell of mitchmen

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 10

Mitchell's Spanking Tales

No 3 – Incident At Blue Jay Creek

Cattle ranching is a lonely job sometimes. After a few weeks on the trail with no female companionship, them inner tensions start to build up - if you know what I mean. It don't help either, that the boys constantly talk about what they're missing. I've heard some folks think we cowboys turn to comforting each other so's to get by, but I can tell you, mister, that natural inclinations and reserve are more than enough to keep us cattle men on the 'straight and narrow'. The mere mention of affection would like as not result in ostracism, bullying or worse. Even self-pleasuring is best concealed unless you want a dose of ridicule and teasing. And so the tensions build up and up. But they have to be released sometime.......

Hansen was a loner. He didn't really fit in with the rest of the gang. We reckoned he was a failed 49-er. A bit of a dreamer. He said he had a wife and kids back East and was sweating to get a spread of his own for them. On Big 'M' wages there was little enough chance of that. He didn't like the vulgar, salacious talk of the other cowboys, and kept himself apart. But he worked hard and was pretty, damn strong. He could wrestle a cow to the ground for branding single handed. The sight of his glistening, muscular torso as he silently marched away afterwards always had the other boys gaping in awe – and envy. They all respected him for the most part.

It's a long, long drive from the 'Big 'M'' spread into Jonesville and we was pitched up for the night in Blue Jay Creek. The boys were sat round the camp fire cackling about some nonsense when it all kicked off. They could have upset him by talking about his pretty wife, teasing him about his awesome body, ragging him about him being Norwegian not Swedish, or just for being plain different to everyone else. But no – it was sheep. They got to arguing about sheep.

Now we ain't got no sheep round The Big 'M' but we'd heard the tales about range wars further North. Some of the boys were saying how they'd make sure no Sheep Herder was gonna put them out of a job. I don't know if that's the truth of the matter but anyway Hansen decided to argue with em. Turned out his family back in Europe farmed sheep so he knew what he was talkin' 'bout.

Well, afore long they was all at it hammer and tongs. I reckon mebbe they'd got a secret bottle of whiskey to fuel the passions. Hansen might be quiet most of the time but mister, he could certainly argue a point. But he wasn't much of a diplomat. The boys didn't like it and eventually all them stoked up frustrations and jealousy boiled over 'n they decided they'd show him what they thought of his Shepherd talk.

They ripped Hansen's shirt off and strung him up by his wrists from a tree with his trousers dropped round his ankles. Like I said Hansen was a real good looking man and I reckon the sight of him stretching up and naked must have took the minds of some of them right off the sheep. They stood around laughing and joking as Hansen struggled and shouted at them to set him free. But they hadn't finished with him yet. No sir.

It's comical how creative men can get when they want to humiliate someone. Seeing as they was arguing about sheep they decided they'd treat him like one - and shear him. Of course there weren't any shears in the camp so off they went to dig out their razors, some of them fresh out their wrappers from the last trip to the big city. There was plenty of stropping to get them blades real sharp and shiny, it was quite a ceremony I can tell you.

Finally a couple of men went up to Hansen and started to shave his chest hair off, no soap, no water, just cold steel. Poor Hansen didn't really know what they intended and his face was a real picture as he worked out the possibilities. They gradually worked their way down his body and, I gotta say this, they treated him like a baby, so careful there wasn't a single nick or cut. The worst of the anger had gone out of them you see and Hansen had sensibly decided to shut up and take the punishment. Mind you he looked pretty worried when they knelt down to start on his tackle, but it was just the same, they gently lifted and turned it and removed every last hair, before finishing off with the cleft of his backside.

I don't think anyone could take all that scraping in private places and not react to it. The trouble was, Hansen hadn't seen his wife for months and he weren't a player either, if you know what I mean. By the time they'd finished with him, he was sporting the biggest boner you ever saw.

Some of the boys thought it comical, others I reckon, found it a little more interesting than that, but they couldn't say so or they'd probably have been strung up there with him, so they all just hooted and hollered together. As soon as the thing started to droop, one of them would go up and just give him the gentlest touch on the sensitive shaved skin and up it went again. This game went on for some time. They all wanted to have a go although you could see that some were terrified in case they might be seen showing too much interest so they weren't so gentle with him - but it all had the same effect on Hansen's tool.

Eventually the boys started to get bored and remembered that they were supposed to be punishing him. Jake was the ringleader and he had it all worked out. He undid the buckle on his belt and drew it out of the loops of his trousers. Then he went behind Hansen and gave him the most almighty thwack across them pretty little ass cheeks. Hansen howled but it dain't help him none. Jake gave him another. And another. And another. He wasn't playing games now and the boys weren't laughing any more. Their eyes were riveted on Hansen's dancing, twisting, shiny body – and his bobbing rigid cock.

Looking around me I could see one or two of the onlookers had a film of perspiration on their faces. Plenty more had their jeans more filled out than normal and there was some involuntary stroking and adjusting going on.

The smack of the leather echoed off the canyon walls but there weren't any other sound 'cept the occasional gasp or groan from Hansen. That boner of his stayed rock hard like you wouldn't believe......and then, eventually, it began to ooze and drip. Most of the guys didn't notice at first but then a extra strong whupp from Jake sent the stuff flying in the air, landing on the shirts of the two boys right in front. They inspected the wet stains and looked at each other not really knowing what to do.

The next three strokes were enough to pump Hansen out completely, but Jake didn't see what had happened and he still kept going............ thwack............ thwack.............. thwack..........

Eventually one cowboy stepped up to Jake and gently told him he should stop. They untied Hansen and gave him back his shirt, consoling him with shoulder squeezes and congratulating him for enduring the punishment. Even Jake went over and shook his hand and nodded with respect. No one mentioned the fluid that lay spattered on the sand.

But Hansen's humiliation hadn't ended yet. The next day he had to ride his horse all day with a raw backside knowing all them cowboys would be eagerly watching out for any sign that he was in pain. The day after that, the itchy, sweaty re-growth of his hair down below must have been equally unpleasant and every time he scratched or rubbed himself he knew someone was laughing at him.

In time it all passed. None of them ever laid hands on him again. Some of the boys took the Scandinavian under their protective wings, I guess they felt guilty about what they'd been involved in. Hansen went back to being a loner and when the drive ended in Jonesville, he was paid off and we never saw him again.

But we still remember that night like it was yesterday. Occasionally the subject comes up when we're sitting round the camp fire. Jake talks almost fondly of Hansen as though the guy had done him a favour. Maybe he had. Maybe not. We make sure not to argue about it though, you never know where it might lead.

~ 

Originally published in 'Summer of Spanking'
which can be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male*

Read Part 11 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio

Read this series from Part 1

or see all at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below.

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male*

*You can also find The Cactus Kid story there in full or Images only

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 9

Mitchell - Cowboy Punished in Chaps with a Whip

 On the back of this drawing I wrote, 'Initiation of a new Cowboy to the Ranch', but in retrospect it seems an austere test indeed for a new employee. The perpetrator seems to have admitted as much by his gagging of the unfortunate who is under his lash. 

The original sketch had a plain background but the description and the 'hands above the head' bondage implied a location with a structure overhead, like a barn. However, while tidying up the drawing for publication, I decided to embellish it with a remote, desert location instead, where the punishment can proceed without risk of interference. The recipient's wrists are tied to a tree branch or a tall cactus like the one in the background. This change creates a scenario akin to the malicious rancher, Grainger, persecuting Clay in the 'Cactus Kid'*. The tenor of this punishment seems more appropriate to that and it has the same imbalance of age, he's even got blond hair!

The reference number of this picture (93) is directly followed in sequence by the Bunkhouse Bondage image with which I started this series of posts and they have similar compositions. The male figures were both inspired by the Colt Studio images of the '80s. The highly-detailed chaps were inspired by (and probably copied from) the Marlborough Man ads (below). The treatment of the whipper's jeans reflects my enduring debt to Tom of Finland.

.

~

Read Part 10 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio

Read this series from Part 1

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male

*You can also find The Cactus Kid story there in full or Images only

See all at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below.

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio 8

Mitchell - Fear The Lash

A rule-breaking cowboy braces himself for punishment.

This is based on an unfinished, very early work which in the original,

showing the subject kneeling, eyes raised to heaven, like would-be saint. 

I have substituted this cartoonised version which has a more interesting, apprehensive face.

(the original is included in the folio at Adonis Male)

Mitchell - Wagon Wheel Punishment

This picture is even earlier and even more circumspect about the fate which seems to be in store for the subject. Interestingly, neither of these images portray bondage which is a surprise to me, looking back. It seems an obvious embellishment given my track record in later life! 

Mitchell - Wagon Wheel Punishment (cartoonised) Sweaty

This cartoonised variant has given the condemned man a more sensual physique.

It suggests a sweaty struggle has taken place to extract him from his clothing. 

A necessary preparation before tying him to the wheel.

Guest (?) - Promotional Ad for Male Classics (1960's)

My original sketch was inspired by this rather beautiful drawing  that appeared in the British, 'Male Classics' range of beefcake magazines in the late 60's promoting subscriptions to their various titles. Rather appropriately it seems as if the young man in the ad is being pulled in different directions by the choice available.

My youthful imagination saw him being stretched out to receive punishment. His loincloth cum pouch in the picture looked very improvised, loose and insecure, a temporary arrangement to save his usual clothing from damage during chastisement and create a more ritualistic air. The shiny fabric had an intricate, arabesque pattern which suggested a rather superior sort of enslavement to me, one where even the servants were given panels of silk to protect their modesty. The sheen suggested a significant presence underneath.

I'm not sure what gave me the idea of pinning the unfortunate to a wagon wheel.

They are a regular presence in Western movies and TV series of course

 and I quite likely saw one being used as a whipping post at some point.

However there is also a parallel with the Royale Studio image below.

Royale Studio - Unapproved School - Part 2, No 24

At the time I drew my picture I was not familiar with this memorable Royale Studio image from 'Unapproved School' (1959), but it's hard not to make a connection. The Male Classics group who published the inspirational advertisement had been strong supporters of Royale in their heyday and produced a remarkable pictorial tribute to the Studio after it's demise (see Royale Studio Blog - Timeline article). However, I've not found this Royale image in any of their magazines that I might have seen at the time.

Mitchell - Wagon Wheel Punishment (cartoonised) Voluptuous

In this final variant, AI has produced a strikingly voluptuous body.

It's paired with a Manga-style face that seems quite incongruous to me 

but that's Artificial Intelligence for you!

The wheel has morphed into padded, fan like prop

that might have been used in a burlesque performance.

~

Read Part 9 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio

Read this series from Part 1

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male

See them at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio - 7 Bare Foot Prisoners

Feet figure prominently in these two illustrations of Native Americans interrogating captured cowboys and cavalrymen during the so-called 'Indian Wars' of the 1800's.

Mitchell - The Long Walk Home 

'The Long Walk Home' plays on the misfortune of a Cavalryman unhorsed during one of those bloody incidents that marked the struggle for supremacy and land in the mid-west. His captors symbolically disable the feet that brought this unwelcome invader to their land. Being a booted horseman by profession, his feet are probably less hardened than his indigenous captors but it's moot whether they intend to let him use then again anyway.

Mitchell - Bear Claw's Hatred

A similar fate has befallen a ranch hand who strayed into the domain of 'hostiles'.

Bear Claw's hatred is probably no greater than his brother tribesmen above, 

but he is better versed in the old ways of tormenting opponents using barbs and potions.

~

Read Part 8 of Mitchell's Cowboy Folio

Read this series from Part 1

The full Cowboy Folio can also be found at the mitchmen club at Adonis Male

See them at this blog by clicking on the 'cowboy' label below

Mitchell's Cowboy Folio - 6 Outlaw's Prisoner

Mitchell - The Outlaw's Prisoner

 The Sheriff pursuing the outlaw has fallen into a trap himself 

and as night falls he finds out that the outlaw's threat to 'finish him off'

didn't mean quite what he had imagined it to mean.

This is one of my earliest images as you might guess from the serial number. The narrative above is (almost word for word) what I wrote on the back of it all those years ago (don't ask!). I have refined it for this post with some small anatomical corrections plus the addition of some shrubbery and a night sky which was part of my original vision but left to the viewer's imagination in the sketch. I also wanted there to be a campfire somewhere too, but there's not really enough room for it.

Mitchell - The Outlaw's Prisoner (cartoonised variant 1)

On this occasion the AI cartooniser produced a very acceptable result, 

I was pleased with the shrubbery and outlaw's new face

although the 'Oriental wink' is not really a mitchmen thing

and he really ought to be concentrating on what he's doing!

~

There were a couple of other, pretty quirky results that came out of the cartooniser, 

both of them dropped the cowboy theme but produced some unexpectedly sexy imagery.

Mitchell - The Outlaw's Prisoner (fantasised variant 2)

This variant shows how randomly the cartooniser sees the imagery that is given to it. I don't roam the lands of fantasy much, but I love what it has done to the captured sheriff here, transforming him into a muscular, collared slave wearing a skimpy tattered thong, harem-like loose pants and with a decorative chain draped round his ass, assigning him a false femininity that is quite sexy. His captor has also acquired a nice, muscled physique but the sticking point with both characters is their boyish faces, the ex-outlaw's one being absurdly so. I have tweaked his eyes so he looks less feminine and more focussed on his captive but he needs to get a chin! 

Elsewhere, the horse could have had a place in the original cowboy scenario if I was that way inclined but the other two gratuitous additions don't have any place here at all. If I could get rid of them this would be a remarkable reinterpretation of my original sketch. On the face of it this image looks as if it's very little to do with my original drawing, but astonishingly, if the two are shrunk to thumbnails and placed next to each other (as in File Explorer) it's almost impossible to tell them apart.

Mitchell - The Outlaw's Prisoner (fantasised variant 3)

This variant has preserved the two character scenario and deposited the two men in a lush tropical garden rather that the arid scrubland of my original. This romantic slant is not totally absent from my drawing and it's accentuated further by the hand placed on the captive's head (not to mention the extra one under his arm pit!). 

Once again the captive is cast as a slave with similar embellishment to his physique and a slightly more masculine but still sexy thong. In variant 2 the outlaw's groping hand became disconnected from the groin of his captive but there's a sexy impression here of it fishing inside his briefs and the captive's gaze has switched from the face of his 'tormentor' in variant 2 to focus here on what his phallic arm is up to. 

The faces of both men are slightly less boyish in this version, but the treatment of the captor's eye's is quite bizarre for a supposedly 'intelligent' piece of software. I have tried to 'fix' them manually but it requires more skill that I have and anyway I'd rather have a masculine face like the first variant.

There's a more subtle alteration in this variant that makes it more than just a chocolate box reinterpretation of my drawing. The captive's left leg is doubled back and tied to the underside of his thigh, the knee area needs tidying but it's a kinky invention I didn't expect but thoroughly approve of!

~

Read Part 7 of the Cowboy Folio 

Read this series from Part 1

Earlier posts can also be found in the mitchmen club at Adonis Male

find related posts by clicking on the labels below

Kneel Dog!

Mitchell - Kneel Dog!

A captive is ordered to kneel and shown respect to his trainer.

Another young man has already submitted and is on his knees.

They have been dressed in identical, tight shorts for their  training.

and put on collars and leads.

This Trainer is renowned for achieving total control without violence

So the proud rebel has been bound and gagged, amplifying his vulnerability.

It may take him time, but he will obey.

and be grateful for his Trainer's praise.

~

This is an early scene from 'The Flat Cap Gang' 

now on-going at the mitchmen Google Group

~

I had some fun experimenting on this picture with the AI Cartooniser 

Mitchell - Heel Dog! Variant 1

An older man commands more respect

But it's still a struggle of wills for a new sub

(who didn't actually volunteer for this).

The software has produced a weird clothed/unclothed look

but I love his hairy physique and the sub's shiny muscle tones.

Mitchell - Heel Dog! Variant 4

Younger tops are less sensitive to a sub's feelings

AI dreamed up the idea of a street scene and it changes the mood of the piece completely

It's also added an entirely appropriate bicep band - and red gag colour.

Mitchell's 'Cowboy Art' Folio - 5 Intimacy and Thorns

 In the 2000's my cowboy imagery moved away from the confines of ranchery. 'Intimacy and Thorns' explored the brutal confrontation between the new settlers of the West and the ancient inhabitants who were gradually being driven from their ancestral lands.

Mitchell - Intimacy and Thorns 2

Cavalrymen have been making raids on the encampments of native Americans to punish them for opposing settler expansion. With the advantage of surprise, the troopers are able to cause havoc and many deaths before they leave. But not all of them escape. 

 

Mitchell - Intimacy and Thorns 1

 A group of Native Americans are out hunting for food, food which has become much harder to find since the settlers arrived and drove away the buffalo with vast herds of domesticated cattle. After days of fruitless searching and frustration the hunters encounter a lone cowboy, out checking fences. The young, hungry bucks cannot contain their anger. They want him to feel some of their pain.

These pictures exploring piercing scenarios were a dark precursor to the 'Cactus Kid' fantasy

~

Read Part 6 of the Cowboy Folio

Read this series from Part 1

find related posts by clicking on the labels below

Cowboy fun with cartoonizer and hot irons

 I recently discovered an 'AI-cartoonizer' and was amazed and delighted with the results it generated when fed with my recently published 'Cowboy Branding' image, an early picture which I've never been totally happy with. This app unexpectedly revealed the essence of it's drama in a most sensual way. 

M159 Talk or be Branded (cartoonized variant 1)

This result arbitrarily put modern, fashionably-coiffured heads on the two characters, but that was an improvement on my original (reproduced below) where the two faces don't really match stylistically. The software also decided to clothe the victim below the waist but I actually find those plunging, low-rise pants rather sexy! The colourisation of his skin has also brought out the captive's sexy neck-tie which looks old fashioned and showy now but bowled me over when I first saw one on Ty Hardin.

The AI hadn't a clue, though, what to do with the glimpse of thigh seen through the hole in the stall wall, nor the discontinuity in the brander's left arm and in fact the whole branding paraphernalia has gone out of the window leaving a background that resembles the clutter of a bathroom plus an amusing manifestation of a hand emerging from behind the stall wall holding I don't know what!

 The overall simplification has not resulted in any loss of the sense of menace.

M159 Talk or be Branded (Original drawing, Darkened version)


This software offers the choice of male and female 'interpretations 'but I must say I wasn't expecting the emasculation operation which it performed on my lovely men in the second variant below. It also stripped them both naked, which might account for the brander's expression, as though it's dawning on him that we can see their little secret! You might conclude that this choice - male = clothed, female = nude suggests good old fashioned, politically incorrect, stereotyping is built into this particular Artificial Intelligence! Shame there's not a car bonnet (US = hood) handy for draping purposes.

M159 Talk or be Branded (cartoonized variant 2)

The same stereotyping might account for the mysterious hand from behind the stall transforming from a balls cupping shape to an rather evil claw here and also the re-interpretation of the branding iron as a more feminine, paint brush. Shades of Ken Dodd with his tickling stick! This AI is decidedly kinky and if the Doddy connection is anything to go by, it's going to be a very long night for the captive ending with a numb bottom .

This variant made a better fist of that glimpse of thigh, but unaccountably fails (like No 1) to spot that the captive's left arm does not stop at the elbow.

M159 Talk or be Branded (cartoonized variant 3)

This variant is closest to the original in some ways. The branding iron is there and it's even tinted orange although the software surely doesn't know that it's meant to be hot. The captive's grimace is more pronounced suggesting he's either felt it's kiss already or else has a vivid imagination. Either way he still seems to be gamely sticking out his butt to the torturer.

 The AI can't quite make up it's mind here whether the men are clothed or not and has settled for cut-off jeans on the brander and a sort of translucent, posing pouch on the captive that suggests that any sexual excitement he may have had, has (understandably) evaporated after experiencing the reality. 

This choice of clothes is uncannily contemporary with the drawing itself.

The half-coloured arm is now complete but that weird groping hand now looks like barbecued cock as if the programme has learnt to join the game. Spooky!

M159 Talk or be Branded (cartoonized variant 4)

In this version, the whole image is tinted in a warm glow suggesting the heat in the barn as coals do their evil work. The victim is now clothed in tights which will produce interesting results when the iron makes contact. In fact it looks as if they are already smoking - unless that's the captive steaming. 

M159 Talk or be Branded (cartoonized variant 5)

This last variant is very similar except that the brander is no longer thrusting with his branding iron but holding a cigarette instead, while he takes time out from his hot work. It's possibly a joint judging by his facial expression, a dangerous combination in these circumstances. The captive has that 'Uh Ah' look that says 'this isn't looking good' having spotted, quite correctly, that the cigarette, while less of a blunt instrument, is equally capable of causing distress - over a wider area and over a much longer period. 

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I think I'll be experimenting more with this technique!

Mitchell's 'Cowboy Art' Folio - 4

 In this post, two previously unpublished images from the early days of Mitchell's 'Cowboy Folio.

Mitchell - Talk or be Branded!

A cowboy is stripped and tied to the posts of a horse stall in a barn. He is being

threatened with exceptionally painful persuasion if he continues to remain silent about what he knows.

But, even with the heat close behind his cheeks, he remains defiant.

His tormentor seems to be nursing an inappropriate response to the situation.

I used this horse-stall, restraint arrangement again in the whipping image, presented in the previous Cowboy Folio post No 3. The captive's private parts here are discreetly obscured by the dilapidated stall structure. If I redrew this today I'd probably show more, but I still find this sort of teasing concealment erotic.

The situation speaks for itself here but I've always been dissatisfied with the 'arms length' pose and the captor's lack of emotion in his face or body (if you don't count what's happening with his jeans). 

The captive too seems unreasonably calm considering his predicament.

I was experimenting with more varied faces here to indicate who is the goody and baddy.

 

Mitchell - Cowboy Branded at the Big 'H'

The 'Big H' is also the location for this image, but it's rebranded itself (pardon the pun) from being a horse-breeding establishment to a house of ill-repute for frustrated cowboys who can't get what they want from the gals who ply their trade at the local town Saloon. 

The decline of traditional ranching has thrown a lot of mature cowboys out of their jobs and many have been forced to turn to less glamourous ways of earning a crust. Those that turn up at the 'Big H' are attracted by the highly professional, business approach of the management which means they always get paid and don't get beaten up (unless they sign up for that). It's also one of the few establishments that offers mature men. It's a niche market, but a well-rewarded one. 

The flip side is a system of control that ensures only the selected few can carry the 'Big H' brand which is the customer's visible guarantee of quality when he get's down to brass tacks. It's a proper brand! The loyalty of the service providers is also secured by that mark of ownership that effectively prevents any moonlighting or defection to other establishments. Prevents them from changing their minds too.

This is a later drawing and shows more energetic and personal grappling which is closer to the reality of cattle branding. I originally drew the recipient pants-less and with his legs tied together like a steer, but reworked it for this publication to make the 'persuasion' more subtle. Once again his naughty bits are hidden, but from his reaction I imagine there's not much to see presently! 

Both these images date from the 80's as you might perceive from the moustache. The humorous slant is necessitated by the subject matter to some extent but also owes something to that era, when all gay magazines had cartoons, even the ultra-macho 'Drummer.' That characteristic was illustrated here at mitchmen recently in the mini series 'The Smithy' by Bud which also features a branding.

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Read Part 5

Read this series from Part 1

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