NEW from the Selfportrait Series -

"Selfportrait of the Artist In An Irish Linen Factory"

digital collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... I shall do all that in me lies to discourage the woolen manufacture in Ireland, and to encourage the linen manufacture there, and to promote the trade of England ..."
- King William III

Moving right along -

"The Running Gears of Hell"
$50 Unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital drawing & painting by Mick Mather

There's been a healthy return on investment when it comes to my time spent viewing artwork. I should point you to another favorite site, FFFFOUND!, that I've been checking a lot more often these days - a daily posting of some amazing images to be found on the internet. It's a tagging or bookmarking social website that anyone can use to keep track of their favorites without using up megabytes of space on their own hard drive. Well, for now, registration is closed while the site is in what it calls private beta, whatever that means. Anyway, you can still scroll through the new additions as they go up, jump to other, similar images in the sidebar, or click a member name to see their bookmarked images. That said, the piece you see here was inspired by something I saw over there last night. At the same time, it's tied to a recent conversation I was involved in regarding Old Irish Sayings. As can be seen here for example, when an Irish woman is caught at less than her personal best appearance, she might say, "Off with yer blarney, then - I look like the running gears of hell!" Well, here they are! :)

Illustration Friday: Suit -

"Selfportrait of the Artist As A Suit"

montage by Mick Mather

Sometimes I wish that Illustration Friday would provide the theme for the next week as well as for the current one. I've been working on a series of playing cards and this week suit is - ahem! - tailor made for that work. Oh well, considering this old Irish saying that I like so much, "If wishes were horses, beggars could ride", I suppose I should just give it up and move forward. I've done exactly that in the end with this new addition to The Selfportrait Series. That said, it's way after "Happy Hour" and it's high time for a nice glass of Sangiovese. :)