Hard Boys

For anyone with an appreciation for gay male erotic art, this book is a MUST! Harry Bush was (is) clearly one of the great American illustrators, and this collection of images is a brilliant testament to his courage as a gay man in a gay-unfriendly world! The images are not only titilating, but each conveys a sense of humor and charm that would make virtually any adult observer feel at ease. This book just might swing a few homo-phobics on over to the "other side"... ENJOY!

A witty,light hearted and very energetic collection of crisp graphite drawings celebrating the sexy good times of the classic all-american, fresh faced lad. Mr.Bush's lush color pencil drawing mixes anatomical accuracy with bold cartoony touches brilliantly. His masterful rendering skills carves every muscle tone lovingly, obsessively etching and shading the biceps,deltoids, six pack and obliques to sheer perfection.Further more, Mr. Bush's sharp eye for only the most masculine young hunks playing out the classic 'boys will be boys' fantasy makes for a very unique and instantly recognizable body of work. The sun splashed settings and the happy go lucky attitude of his subjects gives the work a light and innocent spark. This unique approach clearly separates Mr. Bush's drawings from the two basic catagories that seems to dominate most contemporary homo-erotic art: the all too familiar gritty-piggy-sleaze (yawn) or the ridiculously glossy,extremely femme muscle queens(yuck). Mr. Bush worked from the 60's through the 80's and captured the mood of contemporary manhood in each era.His hilariously cute tongue-in-cheek narratives on many of the star boy toys from the 70's and 80's television and movies makes very clear just how popular the man-boy fantasy has been in American mass media. And considering the dark undertones of the artist's personal life, it's fascinating how bright and optimistic the mood of the work is. Mr. Bush's work shares the same enthusiasm for frisky teens as those depicted in the infamous catalogues that mr. Bruce Weber shot for Abercrombie and Fitch, which were soon banned for too much joyful nudity (courtesy of some joy starved censors). Marky Mark's sexy, cool persona in those sizzling Calvin Klein ads also comes to mind. God bless those incorrigible rascals..long may they rule (yeah)!

I bought this book because I had found so many images all over the net, and it's obvious the artist was really skilled. There was only one image I hadn't seen -- a merman caught with a fishing boat hook in his butt. Cheeky, like all the drawings. But, if you're interested in these things, the book was equally rich in content about the artist's life as with images of his work. He lived a kind of sad life, and I kept reading even though I hadn't intended to do anything but look through the pictures. Especially at the amazon.com price, it's a great value.

I saw this at a friend's place and was immediately sold. I needed it as a reference for my own artwork, and nothing could be better! The pictures are extremely well detailed, accurate and attractive. The artist is no dount extremely talented - he knows what the eyes want to see. A lot of it is just erotica, so don't know whether that's a bonus or a distraction. In all, it was a great buy, and awesome as figure drawing reference!

This book is full of beautiful illustrations! But if you want to know more about the artist, like myself, it has a great deal of info on his life. Such a tormented soul. Worth reading and definitely worth it for the art!

In now distant 2006, I first saw drawings by Harry Bush. I noticed that the guys were drawn very proportionally, they were quite powerful and muscular, yet graceful. I did not have the knowledge to understand how the artist drew them so cool, and only years later I noticed, that he divided the shape on the individual elements that made a delightful pencil drawing. I have wanted for a long time to buy the book with the drawings by Harry Bush. This year on my birthday I decided to order it. And today I've got the book. It is absolutely gorgeous. Must have.

Took over a year of searching to find a copy of this out of print book at a reasonable price. Quality of copy was exactly as vendor stated and received in time period that vendor stated. My original copy got damaged in a cross country move.

The master work of Harry Bush's deft and brilliant draughtsmanship. No one draws the nubile male form better. Sad that much of Bush's work was lost but this book captures the best of what's remaining. Pencil drawing perfection with an amusing and wry sense of humor which makes the drawings all the better.

Thx

Harry Bush's work is really impressive. I'm glad there is an artbook, and it really worth to take a look.

Ein Meister der graphischen Kunst entführt in den prallen erotischen Kosmos junger Männer. Selbstbewusst und stolz ein sexuelles Wesen zu sein.

Harry Bush Is one of, if not The finest artists of gay male erotic drawing in my humble opinion, his renderings of the male physique are electrifying, this book also gives an insight in to the artist life and his struggle with his sexuality