Howl-O-Ween!

I've come to realize that Halloween is truly my favourite out of all of the Holidays. I'm not so much into candy, but I love handing out treats. I love dressing up in monstery costumes. I love old monster movies...some of the new ones, too. There are still a few that I just can't watch because they scare the bejeezus out of me and I won't be able to sleep. A few days ago I watched the original Night of the Living Dead in its new digitally colored version. It was not nearly as scary as the first time I saw it.

The first time I saw Night of the Living Dead I lived with a roommate who worked a night shift...I watched the movie alone and had to keep looking down the hallway to make sure ghouls weren't slowing making their way towards me. When I went to sleep that night I put a case of books against my door so that no one or no THING could enter. I'm pretty sure I watched the rest of the movies in the Romero series including the Tom Savini directed remake.

And yet I've put up a drawing of a Wolf Man.

Just once I'd like to dress as the Wolf Man for Halloween. I just don't know if I could stand to have all that hair stuck to my face, though. I've seen good Werewolf make-up but if I ever did it I'd want to look really scary.

When I was a kid I saw a bit of the movie The Company of Wolves. There's another film that scared the crap out of me. The scene with the wolf snout popping out of the guy's face! Ugh! And I carried with me the scene of the werewolf getting its head chopped off and it falls into a vat of milk. When the woman stirs the milk the head has changed back into a man (her husband, I think). It really freaked me out and I'm not sure I saw the rest of the movie. Not until years later when I watched the movie on TV and realized from whence came that horrible nightmarish image!!

Speaking of nightmares, I hope you all have a terrifying Halloween! Don't make yourself sick on leftover candy!

best,
j.

Guy a Day! Follicle Guys!

"Mr. Natural" has a full chest and stomach of hair that may also continue to grow up over his shoulders and down the other side. Stomach hair weaves its way into the pants, down the legs and stops somewhere around the toes. "Mr. Natural" is commonly found in the bear family tree although the ectomorphic members are often referred to as "Otters".

From Bears we go to the barely hairy. The "Eyelashes" are little tufts of hair that grow around the nipples of a man's chest and no where else (although sometimes there is a small sprout between the pecs it does not connect with the lashes). Too often a guy with "eyelashes" trims or shaves them off perhaps out of embarassment at the inability to grow a fuller chest of hair?

And finally there's the "Hairless" man. No hair at all on his chest or stomach...naturally. This does not include those who shave their bodies for streamlining or vanity. Those guys have body hair they just choose, heaven knows why, to remove it. The "hairless" man may have light dustings of hair elsewhere on his body but this hair is often so faint as to be non-existent. Also not to be confused with Alopecia which is the involuntary loss of hair. This guy just simply does not grow much hair on his body. It's as simple, and unfortunate, as that.

:)

best,

j.

p.s. I'm just teasing the hairless or less hairy. I happen to enjoy a hairy man but not everyone does. Certainly I would have to sweep my bathroom floor a whole lot less often if I weren't so hairy myself.

Guy a Day!

A little theme begins with August 7th's image...the previous sketches of facial hair inspired me to take a look at chest hair. Above is "The Superman". I had a roomate in college who had a perfectly shaped Superman "S" symbol of hair. Totally untrimmed, naturally pentagrammical (five-sided). This type of chest hair is misleading when seen shirted. The tufts peeking over a neckline, or out of an un-buttoned dress shirt suggest a full torso of hair. The reality: what you see is all you get.

The "T-Bird"! So named because the growth of hair forms a capital letter "T". Hair may be sparse around the nipples and thin out as it heads south but it definitely connects with lower stomach hair as it enters the pants line.

Definitely more to come :) And please feel free to suggest alternative names for the various styles of chest hair. These are simply my names for them.

And speaking of chest hair, Happy Birthday* to RJ Danvers . Clicking the link takes you to the very cute young fella's totally not safe for work blog. He's a comics fan which is totally how I know about him and is my only interest in him, this I swear.

best,

j.

*Belated Birthday, really. This should have been monday's post but Monday was Thanksgiving Holiday here in Canada and I was out eating a large dinner with my family. Gobble, gobble. One of us!

Facial Hair!

Beards are definitely "In" right now, and I'm all for it. For a certain part of gay culture beards were never out (Hello Bears and Cubs). But the straight crowd hasn't always been hair friendly. Lately, though, I've noticed a whole lot of straight boys with beards. And not just scruffy, let it grow-all-over beards...these guys are keeping their beards neat and trim.
So I thought I'd sketch up some of the facial hair I've noticed around town. I'm not saying I'm a fan of all the particular types of beards drawn, but I must say that a man's look can improve greatly, in my eyes, with the addition of a beard. Matthew Fox, for example, looks a whole lot more appealing to me with all of his island grown scruff.
I left out one trend in bearding...the "Chin Strap". It's that thin line of hair that runs from the side burns, down the jaw line ending in a little cup of hair under the chin. A buddy of mine expressed perfectly my feeling on this particular look when he said "Friends don't let friends grow chin straps." Agreed.

What are your thoughts on the current trend in facial hair?

best,
j.
p.s. Is it un-PC to label the "Fu Manchu" as such? I wasn't sure but couldn't find any other name for it. Apologies if it is offensive to some.

Guy a Day! August beginnings!

A couple of these are based on real people I know or have seen around town. As Autumn approaches clothing layers are added and it becomes more difficult to appreciate a person merely for his/her physical appearance. The artist must imagine peeling back the additional layers of clothing in an attempt to discern attractive surface qualities. The secret glimpse of skin becomes more and more difficult to find as thicker underclothes are added to the daily wardrobe. Those extra bumps and bulges may simply be an extra fold in a pair of thermals.

Take heart -- though it is Fall out my window on my drawing board the season remains Summer. I've only just begun August. The Olympics are a few weeks away. Warm weather prevails. Such is the benefit of falling behind in my duties.

best,

j.