Moody Monday: Kitsch -

"Selfportrait of the Artist With His Kitschy Office Decor"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The weekly theme at Moody Monday this week is kitsch. What could be better bad taste than having your office done over in a "Hello Kitty" theme? Actually, this is something I'd quite likely do except that this much primary color would quite likely drive me mad inside of a week. It's very festive for New Years Eve don't you think? Well then, let's get a designated driver and get the party started! :D

Keeping busy -

"The Blind Spot"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It remains to be seen whether or not this will be the last time I talk about my teeth and the impending visit with the oral surgeon. I've been biding my time most of the week, trying to keep busy and my mind occupied with something other than the constant pain. I dislike taking medication and have been on antibiotics and pain relievers to an extent that is rare for me. That aside, by this time tomorrow it should be over with and that brings me to wonder what condition my condition will be in for tomorrow's post. Rest assured there will be something to put up, but I may have to juggle and post late - at least some of the time next week. Thanks for all of your good wishes and, as I seem to recall, Susu will be coming by with a barrel of wine. :D

NEW from The Mr Existence Series -

"Mr Existence, Again With the Dog"
digital collage by Mick Mather

While fiddling aimlessly about a few weeks ago, up popped that dog again. It's in the background if you look carefully past the final layers of the white line doggy drawing. It surely fits into this old series and it was fun to work on. Now - forgive the continuous interludes with my teeth - it's time for another pain pill. :|

Illustration Friday: Soar -

"Take Me Higher"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"...sweet baby, take me down,
it's what we came here for,
if Heaven feels like this,
sweet darlin', let me soar..."

Thursday Challenge: Broken -

"Repairing the Dome"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Broken is the weekly theme at Thursday Challenge and this photograph of the Old Courthouse in downtown Syracuse, New York seemed fitting. As part of a Historic Preservation Initiative , it's undergoing quite a bit of repair work. I can almost hear the workmen hammering away as two of my teeth throb in unison ... that's right, I'm on my way to the dentist in a short while. Not short enough, considering the pain I'm in. We'll chat later!

Getting tanned and rested -

"That Look, From Brooke"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Not a lot to say again this week. I'm on vacation and I intend to sit in the front room looking aimlessly out the window as opposed to the usual flurry and scurry in here. If you have wine to share? Please stop over! :D

Joy to the World -

"He Was A Jolly Old Elf"
digital collage by Mick Mather

MERRY CHRISTMAS
&
HAPPY NEW YEAR

Twas the night before Christmas -

"Box of Ornaments"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage & manipulation by Mick Mather

In many families, the decoration of the Christmas Tree is done on Christmas Eve. Whether tis done at your house in the weeks before or this very day, we'll need ornaments to hang from each scented bough ... MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

Colorful visions of softness and silk -

"Her Bottom Drawer"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

I was going to put up another image tonight but I got sidetracked. I went straight for a bit of playful tomfoolery that began with my typical method of collaging a pair of faces and touching up the rough edges before moving along. Next, I tossed it all into a filter that I don't normally rely upon for any sort of finished look, but it often rewards me with a layer that can further the uniqueness of things. This time, a few minutes of tweaking offered exactly what you're seeing here and, for me, it resembled nothing short of a lingerie drawer. To be sure, it's the bottom, catch-all where dainty things may often be quickly tossed for this reason or that. As with this piece from a few weeks ago it was colorful and shiny and reminiscent of the Holidays that are now squarely upon us.

New from The Making Faces Series -

"Short Cut With Bangs"
digital collage by Mick Mather

As I slip and slide into my vacation, today's post is going to be short and sweet. We'll chat again a little later, I promise. :)

Illustration Friday: Horizon -

From the COLLAGE-A-DAY Series
digital collage by Mick Mather

As I mentioned in Thursday's post, I was out celebrating the holiday season with colleagues and friends for the better part of Friday Night. A grand time was had by all! Now it's Saturday (although you couldn't know that until I spill the beans) and it's time to catch up. Here's my piece for Illustration Friday this week and what luck! While searching through my collage files, you I was rewarded with a piece already made for this week's theme - horizon. By coincidence, it's the second piece this week that references The Wizard of Oz. Who would've foreseen that? Well, later boys and girls, I'm on vacation and there's a stack of reading on the coffee table ... yup, right next to my blanket and pillow. Cheers!

Thursday Challenge: Communication -

"Communication I"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

It's been a long day with another Holiday Party tonight. This piece for communication, the theme this week at Thursday Challenge, is something old that I'm not certain was ever posted. That said, I'm afraid to tell you that last night's long-winded post was a fluke and I'm back to hit and run. I have one more day at the office before vacation time between the holidays and one more party to go to tomorrow evening. Fair warning here that Friday's post may not be available until Saturday and with that I'll say goodnight. :)

Happy and sad -

From the COLLAGE-A-DAY Series

digital collage by Mick Mather

Lot's to tell so let me get started. Some of the Finnish Sisters have been doing images for letters of the alphabet and lo and behold, what do I find? An old disk containing old files documenting my COLLAGE-A-DAY Series, some which are alphabetically themed. I've talked about these works a few times in the past but the real story here is the delight of discovery. Unfortunately they were in a file format of a software program that went a little nutty last year - now the installation CD won't run on my computer and they can't be opened here at home. Since I do have that software installed on my computer at work the story takes another turn for the good. Too bad that said computer has no CD burner and, since I didn't relish the thought of emailing almost 100 files, I began the task of converting all but 30 of them with hopes of putting them on my thumb drive. Good news, except that my home computer won't talk to that little bugger any better than the software installation CD. Next, I went to my other office at The Warehouse at Syracuse University Downtown. Great, download the files from the thumb drive to that computer, pop the disk in and add the converted files files to it. For some unknown reason the burner wouldn't work. Go to another computer, same problem. Reboot and try again. Nothing. Back to the other computer and BAM! Success. Wait a minute, what's this message? Yes, of course I want to put these new files on this disk. Success! Wait a minute ... where did the other files go? Damn, I was using a CD-RW and evidently said yes to rewriting the disk and now? I've lost the 30 unconverted files! Damn! (sigh!) ... :(

Behind the curtain -

"Wife of the Wizard of Oz"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

You wouldn't know it but I've spent the greater part of the last 3 or 4 weeks listening to some new and some old music while looking at a ton of art. Not the least of which was the Preview Reception last Friday morning at SUArt Galleries for the way fabulous retrospective "Impressions: Jasper Johns". My mind is still spinning from that sensory overload but it's not the end of the story. While busily planning my year end back-ups - along with a better plan for that task in 2008 - I was easily sidetracked into my new love, PDF Art Zines. As I began downloading and perusing zine after zine, it wasn't long before I was truly inspired and dropped everything to get to work on today's post. Long story short, it is said that Johns "always downplayed the importance of subject matter in his work and instead emphasized the techniques and processes associated with making art". My own method of working with digital tools runs parallel to that path, especially so in the piece you see here. Have at it ... I've got more artwork to drink in! :D

Moody Monday: Brotherly -

"The Invitation"

$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
photograph by Mick Mather

This week, the theme is brotherly over at Moody Monday. After getting snowed in today, what a welcome sight these contented siblings happen to be. I can imagine them conferring quietly over the perfect view of First Lake, perhaps discussing the hustle and bustle as local inhabitants of Old Forge begin to prepare for the winter that is now squarely upon us. It was a little nippy the day I took this photograph ... but nothing compared to this morning's 13-degrees with 20-35mph winds that made the chill factor seem closer to zero! Momma! Put the kettle on!

Here comes the Nor'Easter! -

"We Value Your Opinion"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Well, the BIG storm that's been blowing our way for about 16 hours now has only dumped about 7" of new snow. That's not really much for us except that there's ice in between some of the layers when the conditions around midnight added sleet and freezing rain into the mix. It's been snowing steadily, again, since mid-morning and already a few more inches have piled up. The rest of this Nor'Easter is due overnight and into the morning with another 12" to 18" possible. We'll see. So, what's a man to do but sit inside, surf the net, create artwork, read, eat, nap and watch a football game? I'll be darned if I know of anything else that could better than that! :)

I need a vacation -

"Tourist Trap"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Sorry, but I still need to hold fast to the short 'n sweet posting that's gone on all week. I've been looking at an awful lot of graphic work lately and tonight's post was inspired by some of what I've seen. That said, I'm off to catch up on some reading and, probably, a little nap. :)

Illustration Friday: Backwards -

"Backwards"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

As the title suggests,backwards is the theme at Illustration Friday this week. I have to admit that, in the end, I took the easy way out and flopped a photograph. Even so, I did spend a few hours on at least three alternate images, none of which suggested the idea of backwards as well as this. Too, even though reversing the image was a simple thing to do, running it through the secret array to give it some drama seems to have taken it to a place of interest in spite of my sloth.

Thursday Challenge: Body -

"An American Girl"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

The weekly theme is body at Thursday Challenge and this will be another hit & run post I'm afraid. Between work, bad weather, meetings at night, red wine and riding the bus, I've had little time left at the end of the day for much of anything. So, before I run off to the couch, here's a photograph I took last year that I ran through the usual filters and manipulators here at the secret visual laboratory. Ta!

Going with the flow -

"The Gray Sweater"
digital collage by Mick Mather

I know, my posts have been short all week and that isn't likely to change here. This piece was assembled in much the same manner as work from my Faces in the Crowd Series and The Making Faces Series. One difference here is that I'm working with shapes and blocks of color as opposed to faces in particular. Anyway, I'm off to another long day at the office.

Coming, colors in the air -

"Die Musikfabrik"
digital collage by Mick Mather

A week or two back I was noodling about with some industrial images. Some worked well, like this one from just before Thanksgiving and tonight's post. I must say, noodling is exactly the word for these playful experiments. You know what they say, "all work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy." Well, that's what they say - I say, "I need a nap!" :)

Moody Monday: Smooth -

"Selfportrait of the Artist Having His Irish Whiskey Smooth and Neat"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather
- from an original photograph by Michael Moody -

Once again I have the good fortune of having a piece serve double duty. The weekly theme at Moody Monday, smooth since you ask, elicited another fun addition to The Selfportrait Series. I was hoping to pattern this after one of those magazine adverts popular in the 1970's, I think, that was a featured profile of some famous person ... long story short, the final line expressed the way he or she liked their whiskey. Since I'm on my way out to a meeting at Syracuse's newest art space, Orange Line Gallery, I really must dash. I hope to have 8 to 12 pieces hanging before the sun comes up. Wish me luck! :)

In space, no one can hear you scream -

"Aliens Beneath Your Holiday Wrapping"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

As some of you may know, the opening title for today's post is one of the most perfectly crafted, single-sentence advertising slogans for a film that I can recall. That movie, Alien, was also one of the most effective horror films ever made. Many people have said, and I agree, that this is due to the fact that you never get a really good look at the Alien, leaving your mind to fill in the gaps. Yeah! So, in that vein, we don't really get a good look at the Aliens in this piece either ... but, it's plain to see that a nest of those frightful li'l babies are squirming and circling, looking for a way out to come and get ... YOU! :O

Back to the Futurists -

"Girl With a Futurist Haircut"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Finally one of the busiest weeks I've had all year at my office is over and it looks like I have a little bit of downtime between now and my holiday vacation. I've had this rather old image in the files that was one of my early experiments in The Making Faces Series. While it didn't work out for me back then, there was something about it that kept me coming back every few months. Today I began working on it seriously again with the idea that this is already sitting comfortably on the fringes of futurism and rayonism. Hence, the title of today's post.

Illustration Friday: Little Things -

"Little Things"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"Little Things"
words & music by Bobby Goldsboro

Little things that you do
Make me glad I'm in love with you
Little things that you say
Make me glad that I feel this way

The way you smile, the way you hold my hand
And when I'm down you always understand
You know I love those little things in my ear
That you say when there's no one near
Little things that you do
Let me know that your love is true

When we walk you like to hold my hand
And when we talk you tell me I'm your man
You know I love those little things that I hear
The little things you whisper in my ear
I know there ain't nobody else like you
No one could do the little things you do

Thursday Challenge: Red -

"The Red Shoes"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

It's been another very long day. I barely had enough energy to get this week's Thursday Challenge image completed for the theme of red. Here it is though ... and now? I'm off to get some needed rest.

NEW from The Selfportrait Series -

"Selfportrait of the Artist in a White Out With a Gal Pal"

digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather
- from an original photograph by Michael Moody -

Come early, stay late. That's the phrase of the day at my office for the next few days. Since I can't stay long I'll just give one more tip of the hat to Michael Moody and my good friend Deb O'Shea. Gotta run, we'll chat later. :)

Think about it -

"Surprising Thoughts"
digital poster created with typoGenerator

The week has already started out on the rough side. Freezing rain started falling on Sunday evening. Yesterday our typical lake effect snow squalls kicked in and have dumped almost a foot of snow on us. I've been taking the bus to work the last few days and on my way down the hill this morning I fell right on my asterisk! No harm done, although someone asked me if that little slip caused a concussion - everybody's a comedian! Since I had to dig the car out when I got home this afternoon I probably don't need to tell you, I'm pooped! Therefore, something short and sweet, quick and easy ... just like me! :D

Moody Monday: Chaotic -

"The Equalizer's Holiday Tree"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

The week's theme, chaotic, over at Moody Monday gave me plenty of ideas so, instead of following one of the good ones, I went careening through the photo vaults. After fiddling with an interesting photograph of a Christmas Tree in a dark living room the resulting heavy pixelation looked darned chaotic to me. Actually, too much so and I had to run it all through another filter to soften things up a bit. Holiday trees always seemed to be about a controlled chaos if you ask me (even though I know you aren't) so here you have it.

NEW from The Memory Series -

"A Future Memory of Leighlund"
digital collage by Mick Mather

I've been working with images of my youngest granddaughter quite a bit lately. Soon enough she will be 4 years old and it seems like last week that I was holding her, from tip to toe, in one hand. That old expression, "they grow up way too fast", is becoming a reality for me and I was taken by surprise when this piece began to reveal itself as a portent or premonition. While doing a bit of final touch-up, it occurred to me that I was staring into the fully grown countenance of that sweet little girl. Yes, my thinking, realist mind has been dutifully branded and I know my role as "Poppa" ... get out of jail free for the next 21 years!

NEW from The Reinventing the Wheel Series -

"Reinventing the Wheel VI"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital study by Mick Mather

Something short and sweet today. This is another study for the series of paintings I keep threatening to accomplish. So far, working out a consistent arrangement for studio space before the holidays has been elusive. If you want to see more, do a search on this blog: the phrase reinventing the wheel series ought to load a half dozen studies to look at.