Man Camp! Bears in the Wood!

What follows are the pages of my sketchbook from my weekend at Man Camp! An all-male, clothing optional, slightly roughing it extravaganza! I had a lot of fun, especially once I got up the nerve to actually talk to some of the guys I'd been drawing. In fact I stopped one of the guys from leaving his seat because I wasn't done drawing him yet...he obliged with an even better pose than the one I'd started.


Above is the guy who specifically posed for me. I didn't quite get his features right in the first drawing (which is the one on the right) so I drew him again as he chatted with his friends (the drawing on the left). I think the second turned out better.

The guy labeled "White Beard" was far, far, far more attractive than I managed to capture. He's going to have to get a re-draw and color. He had a snow white beard, tanned skin and the most incredible body I've ever seen in my entire life! His boyfriend was equally gorgeous and we talked a few times and Mr. Beard offered to pose nude for me. I think I may have babbled something along the lines of "Yeah! Buh...uh...guh!"
The leather man was as near a Tom of Finland man as you're likely to find in real life. He showed up to one of the night parties in this outfit and I did my best to memorize the details for this drawing. I can confirm as fact that his...er, "equipment" also met the requirements of a Tom of Finland man. Indeed!

The full body pose is my interpretation of the Tom of Finland dude...he really did have the awesome proportions of a broad shouldered, narrow wasted Tom Man! His butt was so adorably small and firm. *sigh*


And there you have it. Four days of sketching by the pool, roughing it in the wilds of South-western Ontario! If you've ever got the urge to go camping I highly recommend The Point. Weekends are always the busiest time so book your spot early!

In web news, Queerclick did a little piece on my blog and were very complimentary. Always happy to help the boys and their boners ;)

j.

Toronto Fan Expo 2009!

This past weekend was the Toronto Fan Expo comic book convention. I was set up with three feet of table space, my sketchpad, a bunch of comic books and a bushel full of enthusiasm! I always love meeting the fans of Darwyn's work and mine, signing books and drawing. But this year I met quite a few fans of this here blog...and that was pretty darned cool.

The above drawings were done as commissioned pieces, finished before the convention. I don't take commissions...unless there's an upcoming con where I can personally hand over the art. The few times I've mailed out art it was for a European collector.
The drawing of Wolverine is for the Shuster awards charity auction. I pencilled it while staying with Darwyn for a weekend. He masterfully inked it up and it's now in the hands of the Shuster dudes. We were definitely being cheeky by handing in a Beefcake shot of Marvel's hottest Canadian hero. But, hey, there are plenty of female fans and they don't always get eye candy to enjoy. :)

Lastly, but not leastly, my dear friend G. ;) sent me a link to a site that recently featured me. So check out Fleshbot and see what Brian O'Brien had to say about my stuff! Thanks, Brian.

best,
j.
p.s. I'm off camping this weekend...at an all-male campground. I've never been but I'm looking forward to lots of beefy men who'll let me draw them in my sketchbook! Excited!

King of the Apes! Lord of the Jungle!

He Tarzan!
You didn't think I'd forgotten the fella who (arguably) started it all, didja? A person can't draw a week's worth of men in loin-cloths without drawing the Ape Man himself, ol' man Greystoke (a.k.a. Tarzan). In the comments sections a few of us have been discussing the many and favorite actors who've portrayed Tarzan over the years. I personally quite enjoy watching Miles O'Keefe in all his finely honed glory, lusted over by the voluptuous Bo Derek (I am a fan of the Cheesecake as well as the Beef). I also like the clips I've seen of Mike Henry and Ron Ely, though I haven't been able to find a copy of any of their movies/tv series on DVD. Naturally I'm fond of the old black and whites with Weissmuller or Gordon Scott.

As a kid I saw the Christopher Lambert movie but found it too drab to really enjoy it. It might be worth watching again because I have a feeling it was quite close to the actual story from the novel.

My own sinewy take on the character owes a lot to the Disney animated Tarzan. I've watched the movie many times just to admire Glen Keane's muscley Tarzan...and also because I think that Minnie Driver was so perfect as the voice of Jane that I wish she'd won an Oscar for it.

So, there's the week plus one of loin-cloths. I hope you all enjoyed it, and that it was worth the wait!

your pal,
j.

The Cover of FAB!!

Two posts today because I just have to tell you about the current issue of Fab and I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the Week of Loin-cloths! For those of you in or near Toronto, my art is on the cover of Fab magazine. Editor Matt Thomas interviewed me for the feature article on gays in comics and very kindly asked me to draw the cover. How could I say no? I've been reading Fab ever since I moved to Toronto for school, where I would nervously sneak copies into my portfolio and hope that none of my friends saw me standing near or picking up the latest issue. I've still got some of those early editions. I'm absolutely thrilled to be one of two artists to actually draw a cover (Glen Hanson is the other). It's pretty sweet to be out on Church st. and see my artwork sitting in store windows and all over the Fab news-boxes!

Matt also interviewed the delightful and good looking Phil Jimenez as well as Perry Moore (author of Hero). You can read the article at the Fab website.

If you're near a comic shop, check out the newest issue of Super Friends. I drew the interiors as well as the cover for #18. It's a Bizarro Super Friends story and I LOVE how it all turned out. The colorist did a terrific job and the writer, Sholly Fisch, wrote some of the funniest dialogue for the Heroes from the square planet!

Also, if you haven't seen District 9 and you're a fan of Sci-Fi, go check it out. There's a lot of political kerfuffle about the movie, charges of racism etc...and while certain stereotypes bothered me I still found it to be such an incredible movie. My favourite kind of Sci-Fi...the kind that makes us look at our own world and how we treat the Earth and each other.

And finally... I really appreciate all the comments during this week of Loin-cloth! I've got a bunch of movies to hunt down and a few requests for more cloth wearing characters. Check in on Monday for the Lord of the Loin-Cloths himself! I'll give you a hint - his name rhymes with 'Shmar-zan'

Have a great weekend!
j.

A Loin In Winter!

When I was a kid I had a set of He-Man knock-offs that included Hercules, some dude in tiger print kimono, and Warlord (sporting a stylish plastic loin-cloth). I didn't know about the Warlord comic book and so just assumed he was made up for this particular toy line. He fit into my He-Man universe as a substitute for King Randor. A wise father figure to my other scantily clad, over-muscled, harness wearing action figures.

Is it any surprise I grew up with more affinity for the Bear culture than to the Dance/Twink scene? :)

And that wraps up the Week of Loin-cloths.

But...wait a sec...I did a weeks worth of men in loin cloths and yet something isn't quite right. Someone is missing. A character who lived most of his life clad only in a washcloth sized patch of animal skin. A man, no, a Lord who made famous the leather bikini and caused a curious stirring in the loins of many an unsuspecting young man (and woman, I'm sure) when he appeared on screen or in print. But, it's Friday. The last day of the Week of Loin. I've no days left. I can't update on the weekend! I guess...I guess we'll just have to wait until Monday for you to see who I'm talking about (no spoiling in the comment section).

Have a great weekend, everyone.
xo j.

The Loin Before Time!

I've always intended to draw a Beefcake version of Raquel Welch's famous fur-bikini pose from the movie One Million Years BC. The Week of Loin-cloths gave me that opportunity. I'd like to eventually throw a stop-motion looking dinosaur in behind him because those were some cool looking, highly innacurate (and yet, very well done) dinos in that movie.

j.

Purr-Loin!

I confess...this one is a completely made up character, drawn just so I could use the pun "Purr-Loin". That's the sole reason for his existence.

Second confession...I do have a fondness for Anthropomorphic characters. I know where that places me in the Nerd Hierarchy but dammit all I liked the Thundercats. Robin Hood is one of my favourite Disney movies. And Blacksad is one of my favorite European comics to come out in quite some time! Label me as you will ;)

beastly yours,
j.

B'Wana Loin a New Trick?

B'WANA BEAST! Introduced to me by the same friend who reminded me about Red-Wolf (see previous Loin Post), I kinda fell in love with B'Wana Beast myself. He's one of my buddy's favorites. Considering the fact that he's not wearing much of a costume he shows up in some unlikely places. Like in the Justice League Animated comic book, the Justice League tv show (and action figure line) as well as the new Batman: Brave and the Bold. I've drawn him for my blog, even!

Apparently he's had a name change in these more politically nervous times. But I looked up B'Wana, assuming it had some horribly negative meaning, and found that it's a form of respectful address in parts of Africa. His new name is 'Freedom Beast' which is an incredibly stupid name. How about 'Sir Beast' or 'Gentleman Beast' if you have to change the poor guy's name.

This is hardly the place to get political. I'm going to continue calling B'Wana Beast by his original name. And I'm going to continue drawing him because he sure is a heckuva lot of fun to draw!

beastly yours,
j.

The Loin Age of Marvel Comics!

Many years ago there came to Marvel comics a hero...a man wearing the head and pelt of a red-wolf! And he called himself - RED WOLF! His first appearance in Avengers #80 was drawn by the incredible John Buscema (who, in the issue previous, had introduced a villain wearing the head and pelt of a Gorilla. Did John have a thing for wearing taxidermy?)

I first saw this character in the form of the very cool Randy Bowen mini-bust (which I confess I now wish to own). I'd forgotten about him but when I was telling a friend, who has a vast knowledge of all Marvel characters especially the obscure, that I was finally doing a weeks worth of loin-cloth themed drawings he suggested drawing Red-Wolf. I changed his costume slightly, making the 'pants' something more like chaps, or hip waders. A change I'm sure most of you won't fault me for making, I'm sure.

Enjoy,
j.

The Pajama Game!

Another image of Hot Toddy...from his second act on the third night of the Toronto Burlesque Festival. He started in pajamas, hat and cigar with the boys alternating pillow coverage as he danced and removed pjs. A little flash of bum, and he was hidden again. The final bit had the boys holding up all four pillows as the pajama bottoms were kicked off, then Todd pushed back the two top pillows and cheekily tossed out a smile and chomped on his cigar! It was fantastic!!

What's this, you ask? Why it's an announcement of sorts. Five little boxes. Five days in a work-week. Whatever could it mean?

Check in on Monday for the answer and then each day thereafter for an update EVERY DAY! Zounds!

best,
j.

Catching Up!

Oof! I can't believe I forgot to post this final piece after initially teasing with a cropped shot of Jett's head. The lump of bearded flesh hanging onto Jett is me. This was drawn to accompany an interview conducted by a friend of mine and appeared in Toronto's Pink Pages magazine.

Hope everyone's having a great summer (or winter if you're on the other side of the world)!
best,
j.

Devil of a Time!

Last week the incredibly talented Mr. Michael Wiggam sent me three more colored Guy a Day drawings! I love what he did with these, as I've loved all the pics. The bottom night scene is particularly beautiful. Thanks, Michael!
This past weekend was the Second Annual Toronto Burlesque Festival! After missing it last year I was determined to see as much of the event as possible this year! And I'm glad as heck that I did! I saw so many fantastic performances that I've been drawing burlesque ladies all weekend. Recently men have started to perform burlesque...called "Boylesque", they've been hitting the stage with the gals! The highlight of my weekend (besides getting to see the delicious Coco Framboise perform live) was seeing the amazing HOT TODDY, not once but TWICE!! He is astounding! Words can't do justice to his act, you've got to see it for yourself. It's no wonder he won Best Boylesque at the Burlesque Hall of Fame 2009 awards in Las Vegas this year.

I saw him first in his Devil act, the end result of which you see here. Two nights later he blew me away again in a pajama and pillow routine alongside Toronto's own Boylesque troupe. The boys were great, but Hot Toddy was clearly the star of the show!

More Hot Toddy drawings are in the works!

best,
j.

Ice Cream!

Ah, Summer! A time for ice cream, days at the beach, nights on a friendly restaurant patio, guys in shorts, beach volleyball, and on and on and on...

Unfortunately Toronto is currently under the crushing grip of a city-wide garbage strike. It's not so horrible in the downtown core but the parks that are being used as waste storage facilities are tragically overfilling! I keep thinking of books like "Blindness" and "Day of the Triffids" where the accumulation of garbage (and corpses) bring on the rat infestation and terrible diseases. Of course, there are worse places to live...so I'll try to focus on my blessings...like living in a neighbourhood with lots of men in shorts and friendly restaurant patios.

j.

Bloody Beefcake!

This month, July 22nd to be precise, the adaptation of Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) first Parker novel "The Hunter" is released in better bookstores and comic book shops! It's drawn and adapted by my buddy and superstar artist Darwyn Cooke! Over on his "Almost Darwyn Cooke" blog (click his name) blog supervisor Cal is running a cool draw Parker contest. This is my entry!

The guy's a pretty ruthless character, from what I'm told. The books have been adapted a few times in film...I cribbed this list from The Violent World of Parker website:

* Made in U.S.A. (based on The Jugger)
* Point Blank (based on The Hunter)
* Mise à Sac [Pillaged] (based on The Score)
* The Split (based on The Seventh)
* The Outfit (based on The Outfit)
* Slayground (based on Slayground)
* Payback (based on The Hunter)

Check out the site for reviews of the films. Darwyn's done interviews all over the net about the book and his favourite screen versions (see above blog link). I'm pretty darned sure that the Lee Marvin Point Blank is considered by Cooke as one of the better movies based on Westlake/Stark's work! I tried for some of Marvin's meatiness in my own drawing...but no one beats Darwyn for drawing tough guys! From Slam Bradley, to Stark (a character in SELENA'S BIG SCORE, who looks more than a little like Lee Marvin) to Flagg and many of the old-school superheroes in The NEW FRONTIER Cooke draws men with weathered faces and hands like meat-mitts!

j.

From Flesh to Photoshop!

Since the last update, right after Pride, I've been doing a lot of sketching from the photos I took of hot Pride men! I thought it'd be more of a challenge to make each drawing an illustration rather than just a sketch of a guy in basically the same pose as my photo. So I'm playing around with cartooning the guys, or putting them in fabricated scenarios. At this point I'm not even sure if the guy in the chair is based on anyone in particular! I suppose loosely he's based on a few different guys I saw.

I'm well into collecting my drawings together for the sketchbook. I'll keep you all posted on it's progress and give some sneak peaks of things as I work up cover ideas and themes. Already I find that I've done quite a few more leather drawings than I ever thought! Is it because leather outfits are superheroic in design? Is it my love of He-Man expressing itself as leather harnesses?

best,
j.

Toronto Pride! The Day After!

As I mentioned before, this weekend was Toronto's Big Pride Weekend! It was all laughter and tears, sunshine and rain, hotties and more hotties! Typical Pride! I took quite a few pictures of some very inspiring men...who I will endeavour to draw over the next few days. Above is a sketch page I drew up after hanging out at Woody's on Thursday night.

One guy in particular, the fell in the "A" shirt, was absolute perfection! I saw him as he entered the bar with his friends...but didn't see him for the rest of the night. I tried to take a quick mental picture so I'd be able to draw him later. I wasn't entirely successful. Most likely he's an out of towner so my chances of seeing him again are slim.

Or so thought I!

On Sunday it rained. Poured! Just sopping, cold, icky rain first thing in the morning right up until after lunch. The parade was scheduled to start at 2pm and I knew it would still be going on. A little rain has never stopped Pride in the past. I grabbed my dollar store umbrella and headed over to the parade route to find a spot. All the wetness was keeping the crowd numbers down so it was easy to find many open areas along the street. After ruling out a few spots due to rudeness (a chair gently but firmly being pushed into the backs of my legs to let me know that someone wanted to SIT right up at the cattle fence...so I left her to it), smokers and trumpet players I settled on a quietish spot with regular folk. In fact the guys in front of me were speaking in American Sign Language so I knew they weren't gonna be loud and obnoxious!

And whom should I spot standing up against the guard rail with his friends...hot "A" shirt from the bar! Gadzooks, what luck! His boyfriend joined a little later and I was treated to TWO hot guys smooching and dancing to the parade music! *sigh*

Needless to say you will be seeing drawings of them. Again, I wished for the nerve to speak to them but still lack the courage or words to introduce myself without appearing crazy!

Oh yeah, as for the rain? It stopped just as the parade began. The sky remained clear and even let a little sun shine through for the entire parade. I don't know what more proof you need that Mother Nature loves her gays!

:)

Here's the close-up of the balcony dudes from my Pride Guide cover, as requested by Javier.

j.

Happy Pride!

Toronto Pride is this weekend and, in fact, has already started. I was out on Church street just the other night and already traffic is finding it difficult to get through the gathering crowds. Patios are FULL! The weather is fantastically hot causing many men to strip down to the least amount of clothing allowable! Thank you Mother Nature!

Unfortunately Toronto's city workers also chose this week to go on STRIKE! That means no garbage pick up (in this heat? Ugh!) and no ferry's to Toronto Island...and Toronto's nude beach!! AARGH! Denied!! How could they do this to US?

Despite the strike it appears as though most Pride events are continuing as planned (although the Beach Ball at Hanlan's (the nude beach) was recently cancelled. Bummer. I'd wanted to go to that. But there's plenty to do on the mainland, and it can all be found in your copy of the Pride Guide put out by XTRA!

When I sketched up the cover I wanted to include as much of the street crowd and diversity of Toronto's gay community as possible. Every year I see the dude on the stilts, numerous bears in full leather (shweaty!) drag queens, and increasingly over the years - families!

Hopefully I came up with an image that people can look at over the course of the weekend and not tire of! If you're in Toronto grab yourselves a copy and please pop into the comment section and tell us which events you're looking forward to and enjoyed!

Happy Pride!
j.bone

Drawing You In!

I was reading Alan Bennett Ilagan's blog the other day. Alan had just attended Albany's Pride parade and posted pictures including a few of his Pride outfit...which I I think looked great (which is why I wanted to draw it). He was mocked for channeling Richard Simmons and/or Olivia Newton-John. I think the outfit was fun and slightly sailor-ish (it's the striped shirt, I think).

First is the drawing with just the black line art and the abstract Photoshop drawn background I based on the original photo ref. I drew planning on coloring all of the line art which is why you get such heavy shadows on his legs and shorts.
Here's the color only layer. After that "accidental" Josh abstract I checked out the Alan colors and sure enough it has the same kinda cool look. All it needs is a little detail in the face and shoes and it could totally work on it's own.
And finally, the piece as I'd intended it. I love the shirt and socks. The single blue stripe on each sock is almost reflected in the blue shadows of Alan's shirt and the metal dog tag.

Toronto Pride is nearly here! I was asked to draw the cover (THE COVER) to Toronto's Pride Guide this year! Holy SOCKS!! I was thrilled beyond words to get such an awesome opportunity! Wow! Getting a gig like that usually stifles the heck out of me...but I just tried to relax and draw what I'd want to look at when flipping through a booklet to find the events of the day! Something busy so you can spend some time staring at it while waiting for a drag show to start (c'mon girls, how long does it take to get ready ;) but not too busy that it's a mess when seen from a distance. I hope I succeeded. I'll post the final image next week, after the guide comes out in tomorrow's Xtra!

It's gonna be a great summer!
j.

Wiggam Does It Again!

Wow! Michael Wiggam, colorist supreme, hit a home run with this one! I love the light color outline around the jock and his buddy! The coloring of his football jersey is also cool. . He's created a dreamy silhouette with the darker foreground elements and fantastic use of monochrome for the background helps all the right stuff stand out!

j.

Drink and Draw!

Oh, but I love the summertime! The weather is warming up nicely and the streets are full of the peoples! Perfect for sitting on a patio with friends, eating, drinking and drawing! Today was all about Toronto's trashiest trailer park patio (and by 'trashy' I mean 'hot') ZELDA'S. They've hired some new waiters since I visited last and I quite approve!

The guy in the ripped shirt is already a favourite. Curse me for a fool, but I'm still overcoming shyness when it comes to just talking to a cute guy! I'm convinced I'll come across as a complete and bumbling idiot! Thankfully Zelda's is known for its friendly staff, and nobody seemed to mind that my buddy, Mudge, and I ogled as we doodled.
The bearded guy is Mudge (don't ask me why his parents named him that...it's the weirdest name I ever heard). I was trying to get a good cartoony take on his features, without going too far into caricature.

The guy above was just starting his first day as a waiter. That's an arm length tattoo he's sporting. I didn't get a good look at it but the design looked pretty fantastic. You know how some guys just have horrible ink jobs? This wasn't one of those. Nice crisp colours!

If you're in Toronto and stop by Zelda's...and you eat red meat...I highly recommend the mini-burgers. You get three of 'em and they are some of the best hamburgers I've yet to have in this city. And I've tried quite a few places. The meat is so deliciously spiced that you don't need any condiments at all to enjoy!

cheers!
j.