A lot of new work, a lot!

"Cheerful Reassembly of Her Broken Pieces"
digital collage by Mick Mather

I've been occupied with a series of collage pieces for the past 48-hours and they've come fast and furious, one right after the other. The common thread for all of them is an old group of work known as The Making Faces Series and a quick search will likely take you to one or more of those works where I describe my working method. A few new filters have been added to the array at the Secret Visual Laboratory as well and I've been getting a bit bolder with another new filter that I've been zooming 'round in for a few months. Anyway, a bit of stretching, a generous bump in work output and more than a few successes that I'll be posting over the next few weeks.

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. :)

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.

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.

Stand a little closer -

"Five O'Clock Shadow"
digital collage by Mick Mather

Another aspect of my working method is to save blocks of time for play. I have two series of works that were made just for that purpose and today's post is one example of the Faces in the Crowd Series. Without going into any great detail - since I've discussed the process previously for work that resides in the Making Faces Series - I take anywhere from 3 to 5 faces and run them through the array of filters, generators and manipulating software here at the Secret Visual Laboratory. Suffice it to say that this image, once completed, suggested its own title. I love it when that happens! :)

NEW from The Nightmare Series -

"Strange Perceptions From the Opium Den"
$50 unframed - LUCAS GALLERY
digital collage by Mick Mather

I continue to play around with a concept hinted at in Wednesday's post. The image there, "Squinting into the Wind", now resides in The Nightmare Series along with today's post while I continue to ponder the new body of work. The trouble is that the imagery fits comfortably within a pair of existing groups, the above mentioned and The Making Faces Series, so I guess my real dilemma is answering the question: "Does it need its own room?" In time it actually may but for now, it's a group of files whose name will remain a closely guarded secret a little bit longer.

NEW from The Making Faces Series -

"Casual Blue Stripes"
montage by Mick Mather

An early start here, a late start at the office and a L-O-N-G day for me. So, something short and sweet before heading out to greet the day. While looking through the work file for this image I found a very different treatment that will fit perfectly in The Nightmare Series. It's so creepy and gruesome that I can't believe I didn't think of it for Monday Monday! Oh well, next time! :D