Thursday Challenge: Food -

"Daily Bread"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
photograph by Mick Mather

The weekly theme at Thursday Challenge this time out is food. I had just gone around with the camera a few days ago and got more than a few shots that could qualify here. What I particularly enjoyed about this one is the way the reflections in the glass turned out under the conditions at the time. Except for a bit of cropping, there is no manipulation used here...it came straight from the camera to this daily post. Funny, it looks just like the sort of shenanigans that I'm usually up to! :D

A NEW Series: Reinventing the Wheel -

"Reinventing the Wheel III"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital painting by Mick Mather

At those points in time where I feel beaten down, bereft of inspiration and certain that I can't go one step more, I go in another direction. This new series of digital paintings are further being planned to go full scale as actual paintings - created with brushes and paint. You can see the 1st in this series here and just the other day another appeared from practically nowhere. I'll show it sometime soon when I need to post and run...wait for it.

Off and away -

"The Estate Planner at the Crosshairs of Memory"

$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

My folks are having a party out at the lake and, as a dutiful son, it's where I'm off to as soon as I finish this. The piece itself was a difficult task and it gave me fits all morning. My better judgment keeps telling me to hold this for a while, but, I'm thinking now. Here tis! See you out at the lake. :)

NEW from The Nightmare Series -

"Not Fade Away"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

First, if you were expecting to see this week's addition to Illustration Friday, you can see it at my Outer Dust Rings blog. Now then, this week seemed to fly by, until today, which felt like it lasted a whole week! In fact, it was like a nightmare, so a new post to this series seems rather appropriate. In some ways the image is a metaphor, where current and upcoming changes along with the ability to weather the storm leaves one battered and bruised, but still here. Stay tuned.

Thursday Challenge: Garden -

"A Psychedelic Users Secret Garden"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

As always, although I haven't said so lately, Dale Hudjik's Thursday Challenge always offers a multiple of ideas with every theme. This week garden is the topic and I went with a rather straight (ahem) forward image of a chair next to a Spring garden. From there things began to twirl, ripple and melt...as they will for the serious user or unaware thrill seeker. The electric drip of pure color and sound flow, puddle and pool on their way to a trance state and the door to enlightenment. Dude, pass the kool aid! :D

Something from the playpen -

"Wooden Doll"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

I've had this image in a file for a month or so. It came to be during a period of extreme play while working with a new filter and at a time when I was being influenced a little bit by one of my favorite Finnish artists, Itkupilli. The stringy effect is a direct result of looking at so much of her work this year that I had to borrow the idea for at least one piece. Thanks, Kirsi! :)

NEW from The Chairs Series -

"At the Chinese Take-Out"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

While waiting for an order of egg foo yung with a side of wanton soup I saw this chair in a new light, so to speak. It helped that the afternoon sun was stealing its way past the narrow blinds only to get lost in the gloom and shadows. After running the original photo through the usual array here at the Secret Visual Laboratory, the color scheme seen here began to amplify the lines and patterns. Variation and repetition enhanced by color if you will, turned this ordinary shot into something much more dramatic in my minds' eye.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Lab -

"Reinventing the Wheel I"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

As I mentioned last week, I went on a binge of development work for another Totem Project proposal. While I was comfortably ensconced at the Secret Visual Laboratory with the mouse in one hand and a glass of Courvoissier, straight up, in the other, another series of works popped out. The piece you see here is destined to become a large painting...4' X 8' as I currently see it. I know, I know, I've talked about turning images into paintings before and the likelihood of it actually happening anytime soon is still as suspect as my good intentions. I thought you might like to see it and it stands alone as a digital print anyway - remember, most of my work can be purchased for $50 through Lucas Gallery Online.

Thursday Challenge: Weather -

"Lemon Sky Over Strawberry Fields"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

Weather is this week's theme at Thursday Challenge and this post is a manipulation of one of my favorite photographs - the subject is an old, red barn enveloped in a fog bank. I don't suppose that appears to be the case here and I'm using this heavily manipulated version in deference to the collector who eventually buys the matted and framed photograph titled "Mystery of the Red Barn". You can see it here if you're curious.