A-Z of Fetish Artists - Harry Bush

Harry Bush - No Running

When I covered the letter 'B' in my A-Z in 2008, I mentioned Harry Bush but described him as 'not fetishy enough' for a full entry. At that time I was aware of the familiar 'No Running' spanking image above, but it seemed altogether too frivolous for serious fetish consideration.
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Harry Bush - Your Face My Ass

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Even this rather good, hog-tied man he did for Drummer magazine seemed seemed to be outweighed by the preponderance of surfer pin-ups like those featured in my recent 'bikini boys' post which appeared to show Bush as a man to whom the male figure was primarily an object of beauty and romantic desire.

However, since the publication of the 'Hard Boys' collection featuring previously unseen, harder works by Bush, however, I have changed my view and am here belatedly recognising Harry's fetish credentials.

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Harry Bush - Calendar 'Rubber Sheet' (left)
'Guys in Uniform' Studio 'Frank' (right)

This illustration for the 1985 Drummer Calendar gives a glimpse of his darker interests, despite the light hearted caption. The scary storm-trooper is one of several images based on photos done by our old friends 'Guys in Uniform Studio' (see GIU/Royale label for more on Guys in Uniform)
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Harry Bush - Cuffed

Bush's teenage lads sometimes explicitly push modern boundaries on age, and he also gives them baby-like, puffed-up, cherub cheeks (as in No Running) but he doesn't leave you in any doubt about their sexual maturity. This beautiful, chained-up, young man is presented without frivolity, he's not even disguised as a Roman slave and could hardly be bettered as a domination image. The crisply defined shadowing is typical of Bush's polished drawings and the style has some similarities with that of his contemporary Steve Masters.
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Harry Bush - Who Sent You?

'Cupid' scenes are a distinctive, recurring feature in Bush's work but surprisingly they are not portrayed as innocent, cherub-like surfers but cunning, highly sexual, young men sent to taunt and trick their long suffering elders (as in 'who sent you?' seen here).

 This is a development of the earlier 'bikini boys' temptation theme in which hunky, young surfers cause men passing by to explode with lust or to crash their cars off-screen. Later they transform into hustlers extracting money for small favours. By this time, however, Bush's attitude has changed completely and even the Cupid's angelic connections do not save them from being punished for their mischievousness, in this case being restrained and flogged. In this picture Bush's drawing style helpfully disguises the weals on Cupid's backside for the benefit of crusty censors. That whip also crops up unobtrusively in other Bush 'beefcake' images giving them quite a sinister slant.

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Harry Bush - Rawhide

The prescence of an older, realistically mature man in the Cupid picture is quite common in Bush's later images and points up the youth of his protagonist but there's no sense of cradle snatching in 'Rawhide', in fact Bush's young men have become surprisingly adult looking here. The bondage is disguised as playfulness but is quite clearly very tight and painful and unquestionably sexual - another teaser being punished. This image is inspired a famous porn video of the same name in which a cowboy is tied up and abused by some of his fellow ranch hands.

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Harry Bush - I told you there was cherry material here

Other pictures by Bush show the complementary side of cross generational lust, with older men cynically exploiting youths they have ensnared. In the captioned version of this picture, the man on the left is saying 'I told you there was cherry stuff here' - here being the YMCA. To most of us these themes are little more than fantasies of masculine power, but it seems that for Bush they were all too typical of real gay life and he hated it.
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This unhappiness might have been expected to trigger the production of more explicit punishment scenes, but if it did they haven't surfaced yet. Bush seemed to consistently shy away from explicitness in his pictures, even in the liberated 80's when he plainly became aware of dirty sex and his captions are occasionally quite coarse. But there is a clue in one image, hidden away at the back of 'Hard Boys' (not reproduced here). It's a portrait of two naked, young men who gaze defiantly out at us apparently caught in the middle of an extreme S&M session involving a knife and burning cigarette whose effects are plain to see. It's a fascinating, disturbing image, a million miles away from the surfer dreams, but one that clearly rubber stamps his fetish credentials.

Why I like Rugby 6

More interesting bulges from Riki Flutey

Why I like Rugby 5

Proof that the era of sexy shorts is not over. Aaron Schingler of Wales stars in a nice 'putting men in their place' image.

Why I like Rugby 4

Modern clingy tops with cleverly designed patterns are great physique enhancers. Combined with sensible short shorts too, who'd want to hide those meaty thighs under flapping polyester?

Why I like Rugby 3

Playing with the big boys. These lads seem to have the right idea!

Why I like Rugby 2

Lawrence Dellaglio
It seems not even Rugby players wear jock straps any more,
but snug white briefs are not a bad substitute.
Another beautiful combination of upper body strength and muscular legs.

Why I like Rugby

Sonny Bill Williams of Crusaders (NZ)
Magnificent thighs (hooray for short shorts!) and muscular arms (also shown to good advantage by the trim shirt design). Bill also is a boxer.
Beautifully male.

Attacked in the night

I do not know who the artist responsible for this gloriously erotic, little epic. I particularly love the arched torso of the naked victim as he recoils in horror from the gun. There's a reflection of this in the curve of the gunman's body, two curves that have a hidden conjunction at their groins with results we can only speculate about.

It's the sort of gratuitously homo-erotic scene that would be slipped into a Hollywood gangster movie as the 'squealer' get his reward. Attacked in his bed while sleeping - the ultimate time of vulnerability.

Here the attacker is stripped to the waist and his trousers have a slight sheen, suggesting that they might be silky, pyjama bottoms (an incidental treat to stoke the imagination of fabric enthusiasts!). This may mean that it is the captive who is the visitor - a pick-up lured into a trap - or a burglar getting an unexpectedly personal welcome.

The characterisation of the two men adds to the story. The 'top' is a slender man, lean and mean judging by the coarse way he casually smokes his cigarette while taunting the tattooed, muscular hunk who has fallen into his hands (and into his bed!) - and who now squirms and trembles fearfully between his legs. Superb!

If you know the artist please let me know.

Depictions of Short Men - 2

Another example of short legged men from the great artist Etienne.

Etienne - Cadets

In this example from Etienne's 'Cadets' series, the naked cadet awaiting the pinning of his medal has limbs that look in proportion but are strangely chunky. The clumpy boots contribute to this effect but his legs are actually shorter than average (see below). Etienne was noted for his diminutive stature so I'm citing this in support of my self-imaging theory (see last post). It doesn't matter a toss of course, I love the concept of this picture showing the military bullying of an exceptionally handsome young man.

This man in this photo gives a comparison of human proportions. He actually looks slightly short too, but his legs are noticeably longer than Etienne's Cadet if you measure them. The yardstick I use is (groin to knee) and (knee to ankle) roughly the same as (groin to lower junction of the pecs). However in the picture below I have lengthened his legs by 10% and this produces the elegant taller man's build.

All of these variations in proportions are equally realistic and normal, it becomes a matter of personal taste which you prefer.

Depictions of Short Men-1

Regular readers will know that I find clothing just as sexy as nudity and this rather real picture of an encounter between two men is a good example. I haven't identified the artist (info welcome) but the cigarettes and macho postures suggest Spain to me.

The character leaning against the wall has rather short legs and this, combined with the chunky trainers and other youthful clothing, gives him a boyish appearance compared with the rather adult looking man in the foreground.

Texts on drawing human figures usually lay down strict guidelines for the relative sizes of different parts of the body, based on classical Greek proportions. Those formulae would produce longer legs than those shown here, but of course all men are not the same, particularly in the leg department and this man's anatomy is perfectly credible.

I have a theory that figures drawn by self taught artists tend to reflect their own stature, since their own bodies are the most readily available models to draw from.
More next time.

A-Z of Fetish Artists -Quaintance

The letter 'Q' has only one artist who meets the criteria for my A-Z - George Quaintance, whose 1950's images of Latin men and sexy cowboys with distinctively sensual faces and bodies are so well known, it hardly seems appropriate to consider him a fetish artist and yet....

Quaintance's art abounds with erotically-flavoured imagery of death and danger and men menaced by deadly weapons. It is often disguised as Hollywood costume epic material and devoid of explicit sexual content but nevertheless, it is highly charged for fetishists who take the trouble to look.

Quaintance - Bacchant

Take 'Bacchant' (meaning a drunken reveller), for example. It's a pretty picture forging a fanciful connection between an attractive young man and a still-life of grapes. An allegory for the irresistible appeal of alcohol? Perhaps. Or if you prefer it's a naked, young man held in sensual bondage by a plant whose leaves appear to be intimately brushing his body as well as covering it. The tendrils wound round his limbs are a good deal more subtle than your average 'tentacle' picture but are obviously in charge of the situation. Plants, here are like Platter's devils - psychological fetishes, alluring fantasies impossible to fulfil in reality.

Quaintance - Aztec Sacrifice

'Aztec Sacrifice' is a more well known picture and has obvious fetishistic elements embellished with a glossy and glamorous presentation. The bondage is rather lifeless and fake, but it's sexual intent is pretty obvious from in the shapely golden G-string worn by the spread-eagled captive. He actually appears to be more of an entranced high priest than a victim, coldly presiding over the execution of the two luscious, near naked, young men who lie at his feet pierced by arrows. Freud would have something to say about all that, but for those who appreciate the more extreme varieties of fetish imagery no interpreting is necessary.

Quaintance - Slave Market

Slave Market shows men chained together in pairs under the whip of the overseer. It's possible see these last two pictures as representations of gay oppression but I cannot substantiate that impression.

This slave picture is rather too posed, but the little cameo of the two collapsed slaves injects some artistic quality, drama and also some daring erotic suggestion via the positioning of the dark haired slave's head and left arm. As always in this era, seek out the hidden eroticism!

Given the oppressive environment in which he worked, Quaintance's work is quite astonishing. These pictures don't really do justice to his technical skill. All in all I'm quite happy to list him alongside our other fetish exponents.

I'm not aware of any website for Quaintance, but Googling images brings up plenty of examples.

There is a review of the Taschen book of his complete works at Homodersiribus
 

For other articles in this series click on the A-Z label below.

Curiosities

Reese Ridout
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Isn't it funny how some model's feet look like their chair legs?
Picture courtesy of Randy Blue

Men Sharing Clothes 10 - Sports Shorts

Short shorts like these must feature heavily in most gay men's early frustrated, longings but they rarely turn up in beefcake art so when two identical ones come along at once you reason that these guys must have been sharing. Oily bodies in a hot studio sharing close fitting shorts - hmmm. Neither of the models looks amused . Or perhaps it's because they've been told to fight each other.

The pockets on the shorts imply a leisure function rather than a sporting one, but it's a cute design that captures the erotic essence of boxing shorts - the chunky waistband and front label. I like the fact that both models have chunky noses suggesting fight experience. Surprisingly these shots don't take advantage of the magical effect short shorts have on men's thighs. I failed to discover the studio for a link (info welcome)

For other articles in this series click on 'sharing' in the label list below

Thom Magister

 

These terrific images were used to promote Thom Magister's book 'The Slave Journals'. The leather slavery concept is not something I've ever hankered after (M or S!). I confess I prefer my sadism to be less well organised (see last post!). However, Thom's very readable article about it at The Slave Journals is informative and an interesting look back over the last 50 years of leather culture.

 

More Riding Crop Justice

M607 'Punished With A Riding Crop' by Mitchell

This is another variation on the riding crop theme, which I first published some years ago. I think there may already be a cropped version of it some way back in the archives of this blog. The characterisation of the two men, one haughty the other rough, would fit into an stable groom whipping scenario but I'd have to amend the dungeon-style wrist irons into something more likely to be found in a stable! I was pleased with the way the tough guy turned out.

Administering Justice by Riding Crop

Mitchell - Instant Justice

This picture dates from a fairly fertile 'domination' period some time back.
A young hooligan is chastised by a leather enthusiast. 
The position depicted in this picture is rather impractical for punishment purposes 
but I think it looks good.

Romaine by Simon Barnes

Riding crops have an appeal for me which I can't really explain, the only horses I've 'ridden' are the ones on fairground roundabouts! These pictures by Simon Barnes link to Regency settings.

Jon Richards by Simon Barnes

I don't do historical scenes but these models prompted me to sketch out some ideas around 'horse whipping the stable boy' - look out for it at my Yahoo! group (link in sidebar)

Models by Simon Barnes at Hotsnapz, Jon Richards image courtesy of Beautiful

Noah at 'Bound Guys'

When it comes to visual appeal, I've always preferred the muscular physique - as witness my last posting! But I've also found that being able to slide your arms around a slender waist is a pretty good feeling too. In this group of pictures from the archives at Bound Guys, Noah shows that skinny boys also can look sexy in jeans.

Faded jeans and belts with big buckles have always been a winning combination for me, it's the cowboy connection, I think. Noah is a most unlikely cowboy, but clever photography and a natty harness of white cord has endowed him with an arresting pair of thighs that would look good astride any bronco.

Noah's classic style jeans are working well here too, showing off lots of beautiful curves from the slender waist downwards. The photography at Bound Guys doesn't have the glossy, polish of professional studios but they know how to use rope to make a body look sexy. The harness cord diving between Noah's cute little buns is a real turn on.

The way the ropes and clothing complement the shape of the body in this picture is very clever. Two cords running round Noah's neck converge and lead the eye downwards towards his waist where they line up with the 'buns divider' pulling the jeans up tight into his crotch, which is unambiguously erotic. 

The restraining cords curving around his midsection nicely accentuate his slender trunk and from here, on either side of the centre line, Noah's hips curve outwards, down around his buttocks to turn in and meet at the erotic cleft of his buttocks. It creates a pear-shaped, almost feminine, lower body effect which is unexpectedly sexy. 

The curve of the belt and the jeans 'cupping' his buns add to the sense of voluptuous bulk, if that's the right word. It's hard to describe without sounding pretentious but the erotic effect is compulsive. 

The highly submissive pose doesn't do any harm either!

By the way, the noose-like construction of the loop around his neck is non functional,

 but does add a little sinister flavour. 

 

In the final picture, the effect is quite different, the mop of hair serving to accentuate the diminutive scale of Noah's slender body and pert little buttocks. Small but perfectly formed as they say. 

 

Bound Guys covers virtually every type of model you can think of, young, old, big, small, dark, ginger....etc etc. Have a look. There's a selection in my previous postings (search for Bound Guys)

Rugby Hero

Scotland 6 England 13

Chris Robshaw

I don't know which is the more delicious, the score or England's perky new captain.

My Fetish Initiation

Classic William Higgins Bondage

This was the first true bondage image I ever saw. I stumbled across it hidden amongst conventional, arty, beefcake photos in a battered magazine and was amazed. It showed me things, that in my innocence, I had never dreamed about, like the doubled-back leg tie and noose-like loops stretching out the ball sack. 

 

The copy I saw was a small and pretty poor quality image, part of an advert for a William Higgins magazine, so it was a while before I noticed the ring gag and tit clip details, but to be honest I don't think the picture really needs those extras. The boyish looking model is not my ideal either, but the sheer helplessness of the captive, forced by his bondage into a provocative body display, makes this picture still both powerful and sexy. The neat, economical roping is a delight.

It's only recently* that I discovered his name: Clay Hughes (photo by Jim-Ed)  *Jul 2024

The image above was originally sampled from the (now defunct) archive at Vintage Male Bondage.

Update Jan 2023: I unearthed the images below in a magazine called "299 Bound Men" at Tim In Vermont

Classic Bondage - Close up of cbt and frog tied legs

Classic Bondage - Nude with Tit Clamps, cbt and frog-tied legs

Curiousities

Anton Harri

Isn't it strange how some models' cocks look like their bath taps?
Picture courtesy of HotHouse

Vintage Bondage Blog

I recently discovered a new blog specialising in 'vintage' bondage imagery, much of which is relatively unknown (in the UK at least) because it was so difficult to publish at that time, even AMG's limp ropings were underground stuff. Seeing the great stars of the time, like Fred Halstead and Jack Wrangler, subjected to genuine bondage is very exciting.

Fred Halstead

The pictures I show here are refreshing because they have a simplicity which goes to the essence of bondage - tying a man up to keep him as a helpless captive. The loop of rope round Fred Halstead's neck, pulling his head back and his wrists up high behind his back, creates an impression of dark threat and desperate struggle and it presents to us a tensed, exposed torso which you want to reach out and touch. This looks like a real man.

Jack Wrangler

Struggle is the theme of this image of Jack Wrangler too. His apparent unwillingness to remain tied up greatly enhances his male credentials with untamed, animal spirit - which makes him all the more desirable and his inability to escape all the more erotic. This impression of resistance and fear is made possible by the simple level of restraint used, which still allows him considerable movement. The complex web of body bindings that we see in Shibari style restraint can totally immobilise the victim and while this may display his body to good effect, it drains away all sense of his personality and can even make him seem like a passive volunteer, which is nothing like as much fun. Those forms of bondage preoccupied with body enclosure in straps, body bags, masks etc, take this further, focussing more on the bondage experience but obscuring the object of desire - the male body.

Joey Yale

The bondage is similar in this picture, still focussed on arm and leg restraint. It's cleverly photographed to show each of the bindings very clearly - even the tied toes. I think the black and white format helps. This image really creates a sense of subjugation, the captive's kneeling pose of course and the contrast of his nudity with his standing partner's jeans. But for me it's the helmet-like, full head of hair which really makes this picture sing. It's dated, but the careful styling is meant to be paired with equally stylish clothing and looks so out of place on a naked body that it really drives home the fact that this man actually is naked. It makes his trim body seem slender, slight and vulnerable. Seen through modern eyes, accustomed to seeing short hair and ravishing muscles on fetish models, this man looks as though he has been plucked from an entirely different, affluent world, to suffer whatever indignities and abuse his captor desires to inflict upon him.

Joey Yale is less well known than the two above but was actually Fred Halstead's partner and a director of a number of porn films for Cosco.

I published a coloured picture from this shoot a few years ago in my Muscle and Rope series where you can see the captive's face more clearly and compare the visibility of the rope ties when seen in colour. I visualised him as an abducted, spoilt playboy then, I guess we might plump for a banker these days!

There were more pictures at Vintage male Bondage. Sadly it's gone now (2019) presumably thanks to tumblrs sudden fit of respectability. I'm hoping the owner of this blog reinvents it somewhere. He set himself a difficult task, finding a sustained supply of quality vintage imagery, but I hope he returns.
Please contact me if you know more.

Since publishing this article I have found the original source of these images see Muscle and Rope 21

Bush Bikini Boys

Bush - Mini Bikini

Skimpy Bikinis with bold designs were a feature of many of Harry Bush's stylish drawings in the 60's. The mini bikini above attributes the style to London fashion - this was the 'swinging sixties' - but I doubt that you'd see clothes like this (or men like this!) on any British beach in that era.

Bush - Tigers

Bush's pictures show them being worn by a handsome, young adonis who wants to show off his assets and torment and exploit older men, less gifted by nature, who happened to pass by.

             
Bush - Surfer and VW(left), Malibu or Bust (right)

 I always assumed there was a lot of artistic licence in the flamboyant designs especially the polka dots used to stunning effect on these passing motorists, surely no-one wore these!

However, I recently discovered. this interesting photo showing two guys wearing identical side-knotted polka dot bikinis. It's from the 50's according to the title, quite daring I would have thought for that time. Two on the same beach seems quite a coincidence, perhaps this was Life imitating Art, two Harry Bush fans paying tribute. Who knows?

See more in my A-Z article on Harry Bush

Ministry of Silly Hats - 5 The Cloth Cap

Edu Boxer

The cloth cap used to be almost universal, 

equally at home on the heads of working men trudging to the pit 

and tweeded aristocrats killing defenceless animals on the moors. 

Nowadays, it is also picked up and plugged periodically by the fashion trade. 

Suave it may be, chic too perhaps, if worn at a suitable angle, 

but it's hardly the garment of choice for a beefcake shoot 

as Edu Boxer proves in this this moment of indignity, 

provided courtesy of 'Unzipped magazine'

Pretentious? - moi?

I was always told, never put your hands on your hips when throwing a tantrum, it looks camp. Perhaps Edu is protesting his maltreatment? 

Maybe he wants to keep the hat on for the whole shoot?

Edu Boxer looking great

Thankfully the hat is jettisoned and the result is this glorious image 

which you probably already know. 

A sublime example of clothes maketh man sexy.

Edu Misbehaving

I'll let Edu present his full chunky credentials. 

I understand why he's wearing boots and nothing else 

but why he's standing on the bed in them is anyone's guess. 

His mum won't thank him for it!

For other posts in this series, click on 'hats' in the lable list below