Mitchmen A -Z of Fetish Artists - Neil Bruce

Neil Bruce - Moonlight

Neil Bruce's work is pretty well known. His distinctive 'nightscapes' created, it seems, entirely out of lighting effects, are particularly memorable. His pictures usually feature 'chubbies' acting in a predatory fashion towards more slender men, as in 'Moonlight' above. These pictures are created with the aid of computer airbrush techniques and you can see that the interesting background textures have similar origins but I have no reservations about including his work in this survey.

Artists usually create black and white images by shading darker areas but this is the reverse technique of 'painting' light areas. It naturally creates atmosphere and dramatic effect, in this case transforming a straightforward captivity cartoon into something rather more interesting. The humourous expression on the chubbie's face for example acquires a manic quality while the moon gleaming mistily suggests a distinctly chilly night for the naked captive.

Neil Bruce - Cuffed

'Cuffed' features another chubby, this time it's a cop prodding his young prisoner towards his fate. This is a more conventional drawing but utilises similar highlighting techniques. The composition cleverly highlights the intimidating bulk of the officer by placing him in the foreground and picking out details like the bull neck, pot belly and shirt tight around arm. His neglected physique suggests we are in a backwater where the sheriff is boss and anything goes. The handcuffed boy is dwarfed by him and quails in naked fear.

Neil Bruce - Fork Lift

'Fork Lift' uses a melodramatic, Hollywood 'nightmare' scenario. The bear builder seems entirely plausible in this context but his anger runs counter to stereotype. The boy captive is sexily portrayed and I love the use of a jockstrap to highlight his erection which is firmly at the centre of the picture surrounded by a radiating pattern which somehow adds a sense of a rapidly unfolding drama. The cruelty and fear hinted at in many of Neil's pictures is stronger here (it sometimes becomes much more explict than this) but the unreal presentation defuses it for the casual viewer.

This is a good example of how the artist creates a convincing image with suggestion rather than explicit detail. The fork lift tyres, for example, seem realistic at first but the tread pattern is actually very simple. The 'rubbery' arms and fingers of the victim are another trademark style serving to lighten the drama.

Neil Bruce - Bear Pit

'Bear Pit' is a favourite of mine, the helplessness of the victim, removed from the real world and dangling above the chubbies who are presented as wild, voracious animals all serves to create a classic fear scenario.The 'threat' seems relatively benign but that bondage would be very painful in real life giving more than one cause for the victim's expression. The use of dramatic perspective helps create a memorable image.

Neil Bruce - Stray

'Stray' brings us back to innocent humour and shows he can draw anatomy when he wants to. This is a much copied image but I give credit to Neil for doing it first. The absence of any hint of coercion makes it a comic, character statement and provides a legitimate excuse for depicting a view of the genitals which would otherwise be pure artifice and filth! Nice.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding Neil Bruce's work in gay art groups but you could start with his own site Bearotic Art which also has some interesting vanilla stuff.

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

Mitchell's A-Z of Fetish Artists - Nath66

I'm not sure how Nath66 creates his art but there is certainly an element of computer assistance in assembling and shading the image. I don't cover computer renders in this series but do include computer assisted work. However it is produced, the result is a rather clean looking image with simple, fine outlines enhanced by a limited use of shading to suggest bulk. Anatomically his men have youthful chiselled faces and highly developed pecs with a tendency to over-size buttocks and thighs.

Nath66 - Tangled

 

In 'Tangled' he has utilised a dramatic, Chinese-looking, forest backdrop which is rather beautiful. The fetish interest here is the predatory flora, an interesting S&M manifestation of Sci Fi, linking of course to the eroticism of tentacles. The other notable exponent of man-devouring plant life is Christuffer who I should have mentioned under 'C', an omission I must rectify! Nath's plant is not particularly convincing as an organic entity, but the result is an attractive and entertaining image.

Nath66 - Lactating

 

'Lactating' is a much better picture although I have my doubts as to whether this is entirely the work of one artist. It shows (I think!) a captive being implanted with alien embryos - or possibly suckling them. The insertion technique is probably not scientifically sound but highly erotic! The helplessness and fear of the host male is beautifully captured. The set of the arms, the clenched fist and the turned head make the restraint convincing whilst the the claw like curling of the fingers and toes conveys something of the strange discomfort caused inside by his parasitic companions. The lab equipment is highly detailed and the technicians in the background nicely done. To me, the glow of the hidden computer screen and the reflection in the glass suggests a more accomplished hand than the simpler treatment of 'Tangled'.

 

Nath66 - Sperm Lab

 

In 'Sperm lab' the human host 'lays' his eggs from a slightly puzzling standing position. They disgorge from his sperm-lubricated urethra - possibly with some electrical assistance. The tube enclosing him echoes the birthing scenario in a rather satisfying way, as well as reminding us of the isolation and exposed helplessness flowing from his guinea pig status. Again the lab surroundings are highly detailed, the technicians are captured in striking, realistic poses. The lab coat detail shows the power of simple line and shading.

This is powerful imagery that attempts to invoke a sensuality you can't see and which none of us have experienced. I'm not sure how much it succeeds, I suspect it helps if your adolescence is a recent event. But it's still sexy and imaginative.

See comment below for link information for Nath66

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

Time for a break

Mitchell is taking a break. Posting will resume in October with the letter 'N' in the A-Z of Fetish Artists. Meanwhile here's a nice picture to get us in the mood. I'm hoping the weather will be better where I'm going!

Nickie - Wet Jogger

Nickie has a delicious crisp style and a liking for chunky men so he's worth a mention as a prelude to the letter N even if the only fetish on display here is wet shorts. He's tackling a lot of challenges here - rain, puddles, splashing water and wet clothes - the result is impressive.

Have a look at his blog 'The Art of Nickie' 
 

More cycling Lycra

On his knees
More pictures of one of the captive cyclists. The excitement shows!

Hogtied
Always a pleasure to see legs doubled back and a pert backside

At the post
A Boundex-type image, tied to a post and forced to bear his own weight on his knees, he still manages to keep his pecker up.

Men Sharing Clothes 7 - Lycra Cycling Shorts

In 2009, I did a series of 6 articles about different men depicted wearing the same clothes and fantasied about the erotic possibilities.

(the first article in the series is here :- Men sharing clothes )

A reader who enjoyed that theme has sent me in some more pictures of these men being subjected to bondage while wearing the same lycra cycling shorts. Above, a nice erect pose to begin with

Number 2 is a cute package, hogtied and ready

With the sinister black mask, this man looks like he's about to become a kidnap victim, the thick striped rope is very erotic.

Royale & Guys In Uniform Studios - Conclusion

Royale studio and it's successor 'Guys In Uniform' trod a unique path portraying men, not as beefcake or highly polished seducers, but as ordinary guys with natural looking, sexy bodies. They dressed them in clothing that signified male-ness and placed them into situations suggesting submission and subservience under the threat of military/authoritarian control.


Guys in Uniform - Chained Nude

This Guys in Uniform image (sadly imperfect) is a classic domination scenario which looks back to the artsy AMG style. It's is unusual for it's virtually naked captive. The scarcity of frontal nudity and extreme forms of discipline in these pictures was dictated by the laws of the day and may initially disappoint modern tastes, which have become accustomed to high quality imagery of muscular bodies, exceptional erections and elaborate bondage and beatings. But for anyone who cares to linger, these pictures rekindle the lost art of anticipation, of savouring the plight of the prey. It's a process which is generally swept aside by the rush to nudity in modern porn and replaced by interminable studies of oral mechanics.

Royale - Man dressed as a Scout

This Royale picture of a rather mature scout shows that the use of clothing is no hinderance to admiring a man's body. It's use gives the characters an identity and the pictures a context which makes them far more memorable than variations of naked men beating other naked men. This is not to deny the intimacy and erotic power of modern video and photography which admittedly puts these studios in the shade as far as sensuality and realism is concerned. But Royale and Guys in Uniform pictures have a special masculine quality that sets them apart and they retain their erotic power still.

I haven't covered all the GIU and Royale material that I have in this series and intend to return to the subject again in the future. I hope that posting the material will help keep it alive for future generations of gay men.

Royale Studio 15 - Sporting Hunks in Tight Shorts

Royale Studio - Soccer Player Tying Laces

I'm going to conclude this Royale review with a selection of sporting images which are really just pin-ups and not tied in directly to the themed sets I have discussed before. These pictures showcase the famous tight shorts that were the hallmark of the studio, although they weren't alone in using this iconography (Scott Studio was probably the foremost exponent of the technique).

In the first picture the informal pose of a soccer player tying his laces has a nice masculine intimacy about it, but it is transformed into erotica by the application of water to his skin-tight shorts. The image quality has suffered from reproduction, but it is a great example of sporting erotica.

Royale - Footballer in Tight Shorts, Dennis White

This picture is a good deal less subtle but the contrast between the standard issue football shirt and footwear and the tiny squeezed-in shorts conjures up an erotic fantasy from an otherwise everyday image. The hairiness of the model's legs adds to the incongruity of the display. 

The left foot extended forward could be interpreted as a foot fetish offering - or maybe it's just an attempt to relieve the strain on those flimsy shorts - and the model's groin! Whatever the case, the combination of enlarged boots with the model's impressively tapered torso has somehow created a curious shrinking effect around his lower body. For me thoughts of how the model was persuaded to climb into these garments - at a time when sexy underwear for men was unheard of - is just as erotic as the visual result.

Royale Studio - Footballer Face Down on a Bench

This is a better-known image, and it relies a lot on the entirely unnatural, passive pose for its impact. In the context of Royale's other subject matter, it immediately suggests a punishment scenario, but the open defenceless pose also invites the viewer to savour the model's body. The shorts play their part erotically, but the tightness is less extreme so it's more subtle than my previous examples making the image less artificial. This viewpoint obviously makes the most of the model's tremendous thighs, but you get the impression that the care has also been taken to highlight his muscular arms and calves by carefully positioning rolled-back sleeves and socks.

Royale Studio - Footballer Bruce Thomas

This pose is more naturalistic and the soccer kit closer to a normal fit, 

but there's enough tightness round the nether regions 

to bring out interesting creases and shapely thighs.

(printed in Man Alive 2, ca 1958)

Royale - Cyclist in Tight Shorts

My final picture is a much prized, recent addition to my collection and once again uses an everyday pose to impressive effect. You can just imagine how Royale's fans might have fantasised about those famous shorts appearing in their own favourite, real life situations and on their favourite crush. The bicycle is a rarely used erotic prop - surprisingly so when you consider the shape of the saddle and its position relative to the bottom in the riding position. It associates the model with youthful pursuits, athleticism and independence. An example of boyish associations which Royale and GIU both flirted with from time to time in a nostalgic way - their models are never immature.