Thursday Challenge: Spring -

"Spring"
manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather

"... spring is when you feel like whistling
even with a shoe full of slush ..."
- Doug Larson

A proclamation of spring -

"It's Coming"
digital collage by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -

"... awake, thou wintry earth,
fling off thy sadness!
fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
your ancient gladness ..."
- Thomas Blackburn

Illustration Friday: Early -

"Early Spring Suckers"
manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather
- click image to view full size -
"... it gets late early out here ..."
- Yogi Berra

Another blast of winter -

"A Grand Low Day"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Today, the sky here looked too much like this as a cold front scurried in. Pushed along by rain squalls and the threat of 3" of snow by tomorrow afternoon, I wonder if the luck of this Irish lasses' green dress is enough magic to hang onto our cool spring this year. Oh well, in a few more weeks we'll be mopping the collective brow and bemoaning a heat wave!

Oh Yeah!!!

"A Hint of Spring"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It got above 60 degrees today! I know we have a bit more spit 'n flurry coming but it won't be long now! Oh yeah!

It's a beautiful day -

"A Walk in the Park I"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

We're expecting two more days of significant accumulations of snow. That being the case, why am I posting images of spring? I suppose to continue the facade that my favorite of the four seasons is right 'round the corner ... (sigh!), again.

Illustration Friday: Instinct -

"Instinct"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The title of today's post, instinct, is also this week's theme at Illustration Friday. I suppose it's becoming obvious that I'm having major thoughts of spring. As I believe I may have already mentioned recently, I can smell it in the air even in the middle of gale force winds and the spitting and sputtering of blizzard-like flurries ... (sigh!) ... :)

It's all about the accessories -

"Black Shoulder Bag"
digital collage by Mick Mather

As the changeable weather patterns of spring even out, coats and jackets begin to disappear on the street, giving way to alternatives of accessory not seen since the final throes of warmth last fall ... and away we go! :)

Thursday Challenge: Earth -

"Weeds and Shadows"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

The theme at Thursday Challenge this week is Earth. As I've mentioned before, Dale Hudjik always gives a string of related possibilities and this photograph of the first dandelion spotted this spring seems to fit perfectly. Clinging to a sliver of earth along the foundation of a building where it meets the sidewalk, it seems to be receiving a reassuring hug from the shadows of two adjacent trees ... and the beat goes on.

Thursday Challenge: Green -

"Long Thin Green"
photograph by Mick Mather

I offer another straight photograph for this week's theme, green, at Thursday Challenge. That's right, untouched by filters or editors aside from a gentle cropping. I should say that one of the things about early spring that I love the most is the riotous, to say the least, variety of green that can be found almost everywhere. The other thing I've always enjoyed about the last gasp of winter just preceding that time is the amount of red, orange and purple that begins to reassert itself over the gray and flat brown of the slumbering season. If you look closely, you'll see a little of each in this vignette of green.

Another something old -

"Receiving Line Seats"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It's funny how the images that you research and review over the course of a morning, an afternoon, a day, a week or a month will stick in the subconscious and lead you to a similar color palette in your own work. For one reason and another, I've been immersed in looking at the colors of autumn, in particular is this stunning manipulated photograph by Jeff Clow. To be fair, I've also been looking at a lot more landscapes although I'm not really sure why. Perhaps just to soothe the eye as we transition between seasons here in the Central Region of New York State. Tonight's post, residing on the other side of a seasonal transition - from winter to spring - contains a lot of the same soft, warm and comforting hues...and the world keeps goin' 'round.

Thursday Challenge: Noisy -

"Jackhammer"
montage by Mick Mather

The weekly theme at Thursday Challenge is noisy. Since some of the most annoying repair work at my office over the winter and early spring has required a jackhammer, let's just say that my course was clear. I should also say that working on this piece made me think of those old, cigarette pack cards that were particularly common during the middle of the last century. The modern day equivalent is the ATC and I believe this would make a good one. Now I've gone and done it...more work to do!

Thursday Challenge: Spring -

"Studying Signs of Spring Reflected In A Rippling Pond"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It was a near perfect Spring day if you forget about the icy chill in the air all day. Still, it was sunny and bright with that kind of blue sky that only seems to arrive around this time of year. The weekly theme at Thursday Challenge, spring, seems a perfect fit and I've been struggling with this old photograph for a few hours now. There's something soothing about rippling reflections in a small pond while the wind whispers hope for the new season....and, now, a pause for thought, more likely? A nap!