Illustration Friday: Leap -

"Leap Day"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Thus spake Caesar:
"Fire in the lake: the image of Revolution.
Thus the superior man
Sets the calendar in order
And makes the seasons clear."

Thursday Challenge: Travel -

"Day Tripper"
digital collage by Mick Mather

"...Could you direct me to Durham Cathedral, please..."

Just playing -

"Nail Biter"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It's been a long week already. New winter storms, lots of snow with icy road conditions. Friends and their loved ones sick with flu or worse. So, I went into the studio to play. :)

Looking back -

"Looking Into the Eyes of Käthe Kollwitz"
digital collage by Mick Mather

She appeared out of nowhere. Well, not exactly out of nowhere but the likeness seen here was a surprise to me. Of course, it sent me searching for Käthe and beyond through dozens of her works that I haven't visited in quite a while. Gee, wasn't I just talking about this time of year being one of reflection? Who knew!

Moody Monday: Colorless -

"The Exception Proving the Rule in a Colorless Urbanscape"
photograph by Mick Mather

I like the word colorless, this week's theme at Moody Monday. Aside from something clear, like glass or pure water, there are lots of connotations that apply. Obviously, this photograph would be one of them. If you need a nudge, consider the fact that this photograph is completely untouched beyond the original crop and a teensy weensy little bit of sharpening. Colorless? Think about it. :)

You asked for it -

"Thumbs from The Telephone Series"

monotype prints by Mick Mather

Just a small peek at another series of monotypes. I don't like the way these turned out and I'd do them differently if I had the time to pursue the project. As with The TV Dinner Series these were created using inexpensive tempera paints. Each telephone was painted on a plastic sheet and then transferred to a page from the telephone book. Each image was accomplished in alphabetical order and corresponds to a telephone directory booklet page where each monotype was tipped in (the little black letter tabs can be seen in each of the thumbnails above). One good thing that came out of this work is a second series that immediately followed. It's called The Toast Series and I'll show a few of those in the days or weeks ahead.

Back to basics -

"Heart Shapes and Boxes"
digital collage & digital drawing by Mick Mather

The first thing I figure some of you will say is that, "he seems to have missed Valentine's Day by more than a week!" Fair enough that, since this piece has developed from a heart shaped box of candy given on that day. It was wrapped nicely in violet cellophane, with a bow and a thank you note. The items were arranged in various ways on the scanner bed, then scanned and further manipulated with the usual array of editors and filters here at the secret visual laboratory. A few digitally drawn elements were added into the mix for flavor and that measure of the basics mentioned in the introduction. As this developed, there was a soothing comfort in the shapes themselves within the altered arrangement. I believe there will be more work to come and a new series is developing.

Illustration Friday: Multiple -

"Selfportrait of the Artist As A Simulcast"
digital collage by Mick Mather

A very interesting theme at Illustration Friday today - multiple. I get two birds with one stone since this piece does double duty as a new addition to The Selfportrait Series ... I love it when that happens! For now, I fear I must leave you. I need a stiff belt of Jamieson's Irish Whiskey and I know a guy who's quite likely filling the secret hip flask as I write this. Bottoms up!

Thursday Challenge: Winter -

"A Jackson Pollock Winter "
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Winter is the weekly theme at Thursday Challenge and whenever I look at paintings like this Jackson Pollock, I get to thinking about bare tree limbs and bushes and such. So, with that in mind, here's my post for the week. Sorry to dash off like this, but my own opening is only a few hours away at gallerY. Ta!

The week is getting away from me -

"No Waitin' G #4"
digitally manipulated stressed paper collage by Mick Mather

It's been one of those weeks where my free time has gone up in smoke. Tomorrow night's art opening (see yesterday's post) will be the culmination of a day that was supposed to be spent catching up on some reading in my field but is now filled with meetings and a little more of the regular grind. So, I'll take this opportunity to move along with my promise to show all six of these new images from the Stressed Paper Series before I run off to undertake another painting. I have a few new tempera-on-paper pieces in me and last nights quick study was rewarding. So, I'll be off!

You're Invited -

"TV Dinner #50"
monotype by Mick Mather

An exhibition of my monotype prints - The TV Dinner Series - has been on display at gallerY at the Downtown Syracuse YMCA since February 15th and will remain on display until April 1st. An open artist reception will take place on Thursday, February 21st from 5:00pm to 9:00pm as part of Th3, Third Thursday, where over a dozen Syracuse art spaces open for a grand party and gallery crawl. Well, you wouldn't actually know that I have an exhibition on view by visiting the Y's web site, but it has been in the papers. Anyway, it's a very nice exhibition space located on the 2nd floor of the YMCA Building at 340 Montgomery. It's right across the street from the Onondaga Historical Association, just across Columbus Circle from The John H. Mulroy Civic Center and just around the corner from one of my favorite restaurants and watering holes, The Mission. You're all invited!

Moody Monday: Outdoorsy -

"Outdoorsy"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The theme, outdoorsy, at Moody Monday this week was giving me fits all day. In the end, this manipulated photo montage was a test of my patience as well as an opportunity to get back to some good old fashioned cut 'n paste before running it all through the usual array at the secret visual laboratory. I'd head out for a drink but, dang, I've missed Happy Hour! Cheers anyway. :)

Drawing With Leighlund Series -

"Kitty in the Box"
digitally manipulated drawing by Mick Mather

- original drawing by Leighlund Ruth Vincett -

While organizing some of the drawings and files for use in the book project with my 4-year old granddaughter, Leighlund, I came across this from an earlier series of manipulations. At the time I decided to go with this piece although, even as I write this, I continue to rethink the choice. Another image that remains truer to her initial drawing is more likely what will make it into the completed booklet. Too, the drawing of the kitten is by another artist whose name I can no longer recall - although the image of Roskilde keeps popping into my mind's eye - and while I have proper permission and right to use the image, I'd like to give her credit one of these days. I know I'll stumble across it sometime this year with another project that I have on the back burner now that Leighlund and I have begun our beautiful little collaboration. Anyway, enjoy, more to come. :)

NEW from The Mister Existence Series -

"His Dog is Chasing Its Tail"
digitally manipulated drawing by Mick Mather
- original drawing by Leighlund Ruth Vincett -

Today's post and the drawing from Wednesday, seen here, are related. The base layer began with the developing hand of my youngest granddaughter, Leighlund that you can see here in yellow as well as part of the larger scribbled drawing to the right. As I worked on manipulating this over the course of a week, many different images began to emerge that I hadn't really thought much about nor expected. Now, I've embarked on a full-blown quest to get a little booklet compiled as a gift for her when she's older. I believe 10 manipulations, including a place for the original drawings is what I'm looking at and my plan is to get this booklet into the hands of anyone who wants a copy as a simple pdf download. As I keep saying, stay tuned!

Illustration Friday: Theory -

"Good In Theory, In Practice Not So Much"
digital collage by Mick Mather

..."Linda, having borrowed all of the books from her Plastic Surgeon, went a step too far when she began choosing a whole new face"...

Thursday Challenge: Food -

"Food"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Food is the weekly theme at Thursday Challenge this week. I hate to eat and run but, whatever's cooking in this little mini grill, ought to fill the bill. Bon appetit! :)

Early Childhood Development -

"Every Nerve Was Shattered"
digitally manipulated drawing & digital drawing by Mick Mather

While working on the post for a weekly Moody Monday piece (adding another image of my youngest granddaughter, Leighlund) I stumbled into a file of her drawings that I've been able to squirrel away, scan, save and keep as a documentation. Tonights image is based on one of her scribbles that I've already manipulated 10-ways-2-Sunday and I doubt very much if I'm finished with it yet. As I write this, it occurs to me that documenting the entire process of a single drawing might make an interesting booklet. That said, my plan is to begin work on that project sometime very soon. As I move ever closer to taking a leap into the emerging field of designer/writer, a small number of self-published books is already coming to a boil on the back burner and ready for the next step in the process. I'll keep you posted.

Promise made, promise kept -

"No Waitin' G #3"
digitally manipulated stressed paper collage by Mick Mather

The early bird gets the worm as they say and if you happened to visit No Matter What Shape last night or earlier today, you already got a peek at the original scan of this stressed paper piece. I promised to post this slightly manipulated version so, here it is. The other wee mystery alluded to here is just how drastic some filters can be when taken to extreme limits. That said, this was supposed to wrap everything up and yet, this isn't the end of it. I have three more versions of this to post at some point in the future when I'll need something already in the can and ready to go. Hmm, more promises to keep. :)

Moody Monday: Naked -

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

For Moody Monday this week I chose a photograph of a group of café tables to address the theme - naked. As luck would have it, one of the definitions offered for this actually reads like a poem while describing one possible point of view if, that is, furniture could talk. In a way, given words such as these, they can...and, too bad SusuPetal didn't discover them first! She could've claimed them for our collaboration and growing collection of postmodern poems. Here it is:

"... defenseless.
unprotected,
exposed,
naked to invaders..."

I feel like it might be time to ... reupholster -

"No Waitin' G, #2"
digitally manipulated torn paper collage

In a sense, I'm putting the cart before the horse with today's post. This image resulted from a digital manipulation of a stressed, torn paper collage I did in the early part of last week. I'll show that piece later this week, I think, along with another digital manipulation that will connect this trio of images while making a few of you scratch your head over the connection itself ... at least with this piece. Forgive me, I don't mean to be cryptic, it'll all come together in a few days. While this version is the farthest afield, it may be my favorite. At least, it's my favorite in light of some of the very graphic, pop imagery I've been studying on FFFFOUND over the past month or so. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do.

NEW from The Mister Existence Series -

"Sister Existence in a Post Modern Setting"
digital collage by Mick Mather

This image began as another of my experiments that takes an old, black & white photograph as the base layer. Some blocking out, some digital repainting and another face was layered in before proceeding to the usual array of editors and manipulators at the secret visual laboratory. As the work progressed, the lines got thicker (very reminiscent of some of Harlequin's recent work that I absolutely love) and the larger negative spaces became much more expressionistic. All in all, I'm quite satisfied with the result.

Illustration Friday: Choose -

"Every Musicians Lament"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

This week at Illustration Friday, choose, is the theme. I put this image in the context of one of the potholes in the road of a traveling musician. In particular, those times when you have the good fortune to be in one place for a week, perhaps two or that delightfully rare occasion, an entire summer at a happenin' club in some beach resort town. You get time to relax and do other things besides pack, travel, unpack - repeating the cycle night after night. You might even have a chance for more than a 1-night-stand if that's what you "choose", but beware of the lament, where the final day might be an oppressive face-to-face. "What's it going to be?" she demands, "me? Or the highway?" Get on the bus, Gus.

Thursday Challenge: Emotion -

"They Loved Jazz and Champagne"
photograph of a tempera-on-paper painting by Mick Mather

Emotion is this week's theme at Thursday Challenge. What you see here is a poor photographic documentation of this tempera-on-paper painting when it was last in an exhibition. The good news is that the piece was sold and now has a home with the way fabulous Kiki Lowe. In the end, my hope is that the even better news is that she had this re-matted and re-framed - if not, I'm afraid that the Urban Art Rangers may have a serious intervention to undertake!

Time for reflection -

"A Good Listener"
digital collage by Mick Mather

There are times to be heard and there are times to be silent. This piece is somewhat of a mystery as regards who is doing the talking. Is it another person, beyond the frame? Is the conversation internal? In this case, for me, it's the latter and we might all do well to remember that reflection is very often an act of listening. You might not hear what it is that you want, but you're quite likely to hear a little something about what you need.

NEW from The Mister Existence Series -

"Sister Existence and Her Magic Swirlin' Ship"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The early thinking over this piece was all about the empty suit, a dream and pop art/op art swirls of colors. Then, as is often the case, something else took over - in this case, our very sweet, if somewhat confused Sister Existence. The background is a multi-layered digital drawing gone awry that was turned into an abstract, smudge painting. I'm thinking that it could possibly stand on it's own and you can have a look at it here, if interested. Be that as it may, the suit was added, then Sister herself and then a bit more fiddling and manipulation. I feel like I'm rushing this piece in some way and, although I've spent plenty of time on it, I keep thinking that it should sit for a while. The last time I did that, though? The image never made it out of the files and it's almost a year old ... hmmm, perhaps I should give it a sixth chance at breaking out of jail? We'll see.

Moody Monday: Under Pressure -

"Under Pressure of Looming Deadlines"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Here, once again, is my youngest granddaughter, Leighlund. She's quite likely to become an artist, just like her Poppa. Already she has that pained expression that some of us take on when attempting to bring in a commission by the deadline. It seemed perfect for this week's theme of under pressure over at Moody Monday. :)

To what purpose?

"The Purpose Driven Life"
digitally manipulated torn paper collage by Mick Mather

One of my favorite collage artists is Tammy, aka blondstrawberry. I don't believe there's a single work at her web site that didn't speak to me. Not only is each piece a superbly done visual masterpiece, her titles add volumes more information to those of us willing to sit and ponder the marriage for any length of time. As I was wandering through her body of work for a second dozen times I finally realized that here's a woman who enjoys the old fashioned, hand-written letter - putting an old school spin on hand held, I should like to point out, as regards the way such treasure is read. So, I wrote Tammy a letter, tipping in a torn paper collage to the middle of it. What you see here is the digitally manipulated result of the original that I've posted here.

HAPPY GROUND HOG'S DAY!

"The Twins"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Another image where I'm following a relatively new thread in my working method. I don't have time to go into it further this afternoon but I'll be sure to pick this conversation up again when the next one comes along. So, sorry to post and dash off - but, there's a most precious little girl who's turning 4 and Poppa's been invited to a Birffday Party! Balloons and cupcakes! Oh Boy! :D

Illustration Friday: Blanket -

"Buried Under a Blanket of Paperwork"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

The theme at Illustration Friday this week is blanket. As is often the case, I went strolling through the voluminous photographic files here at the secret visual laboratory and found this fitting snap. It seems like all I've done at my office this week is paperwork and my hope is that finishing this will put a final cap on things ... we'll see.