Moody Monday: Ebullient -

"She Blew Me A Kiss"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The theme is ebullient at Moody Monday this week and, after researching the files, I settled upon this image of a flirtatious young lady blowing a kiss. What a lovely gesture and who couldn't do with a few dozen of these every day? I think I'll go lay down for a while and dream. In the middle of a hot summer day whose breeze is made not for cooling but for wishing, I hear the sweet refrain of Mama Cass singing ever so sweetly, "dream a little dream of me"? :)

NEW from The Making Faces Series -

"Lazy Eyed Susan"
digital collage by Mick Mather

It's a full day for me with little time to accomplish any work here at the Secret Visual Laboratory. I don't suppose that the passing thunderstorm, big boomers and lots of lightening as we speak, will do much by way of delay or cancellation of events. Since I need to get moving I'll leave you with this post and go hunt for the umbrella. :D

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.

Illustration Friday: Geeky -

"Selfportrait of the Artist as Archie's Geeky Pal"
digital collage by Mick Mather

While contemplating the Illustration Friday theme, this week it's geeky, I started thinking about it in historic terms. First in mind was a movie starring Tyrone Power as a circus sideshow attraction, "The Geek". Next I began researching the term and various images related to definitions found and somewhere along the way it struck me that one of the more famous geeks of American Pop Culture is a comic book character. Forsythe Pendleton Jones III by name alone qualifies for something quite deep in that neighborhood. Fondly remembered by his nickname, many who followed along in the Archie Comics Series well understood that "Jughead" was in fact a "cool geek" when all was said and done. While there may not be a cool breeze attached to myself in this satirical selfportrait, I sure did have a good time creating it! :D

Thursday Challenge: Time -

"Time for Contemplation"
digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather

The theme at Thursday Challenge this week is time. This photograph has a number of meanings for me in this context, beginning with the subject, an acquaintance of many years. Then there's the exhibition where this was taken, a very time consuming event requiring the effort of dozens of people. Then, there's the time spent in contemplation of the work at hand, works produced by many artists over varying periods of time. Finally, there's the culture itself, having roots that centuries old, informing the work on display. Time? Yes indeed.

It seems like Friday Night -

"Shimmer"
digital painting by Mick Mather

One of my projects over the past winter was transferring and re-saving all of my floppy files. With the 4th of July upon us, I decided to take a peek into those files for a few images to get me through to Thursday. In the late 1990's I was taking tentative steps into the realm of digital art using MS Paint on a really old Zenith Data Systems computer running Windows 3.1 - I must say that I miss that old version of paint for one of the features it no longer contains called "stretch and skew". It makes no never mind here, however, since that nifty little function isn't used. So, a peek at something very abstract from those early attempts. Sometime soon I'll post a set of old artistamps created on that same computer ... wait for it!

Moody Monday: Belligerent -

"Belligerent"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The Moody Monday theme this week is belligerent. I wasn't going to post anything this week until I realized there was an opportunity to connect this topic with the upcoming 4th of July celebration. The purpose of the American Revolution was to secure freedom from tyranny of all kinds but, perhaps one of the most precious freedoms we have is the right to freedom of speech. Happy Birthday America!

An old monotype -

"The Trimmed Hedge"
monotype by Mick Mather

As a break from the constant experimental work with the new graphic software program I've been fiddling with, I went back through an old stack of monotype prints and scanned them for use here. For those who've never tried this method of printmaking, what you do is create a painting on a piece of glass, plastic or metal - in my case, one of those 3M Mylar transparency sheets that go through an office copier to make overhead projections of documents - then lay it to paper and burnish with a spoon, barren, fingers or the heel of your hand. In the end you've transferred the painting, resulting in a single print (hence the prefix "mono") on whatever paper you happen to be using. In tonight's post, I've used a rather thick and porous piece of handmade paper. Most artists use oil based printmaking inks or oil paint...I've spent years learning to use water media instead, a long, hard road to a successful print since so many of them are failures. I do like this one well enough to show, so, here 'tis, a break from my usual work.

A perfect summer day -

"Cage Dancer"
digital collage by Mick Mather

The air is cool, almost chill, the sun is out and this is already a perfect day. So, what could be better for me than to post this image, get on out there and enjoy it? Short, sweet, see ya later!

Illustration Friday: Twist -

"Selfportrait of the Artist on a Thrill Ride"
digital collage by Mick Mather

As I was researching ideas for twist, this week's theme at Illustration Friday, there were too many all at once worth fiddling with. Since I'm off to work at a small fireworks festival this evening, I had to choose quickly and decided on this 1960's era amusement park ride. Invented by a team of English designers around 1959, it went almost immediately into productive use on both sides of the Atlantic and I remember it well.

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.

Having fun -

"Condos at the Yacht Basin"
montage by Mick Mather

I took my own good advice from yesterday and spent a good deal of time just having fun with another old image that wasn't really going anywhere. After applying an overlay of grids, spirals, lines and a stock graphic I got lucky again and was gaining enthusiasm for what was developing. Not long after dumping the works into another editor - running it through a few more filters and adding another layer - up popped the tiny little yacht basin at Cannes, France. Okay, that's a bit of a stretch given the background grid reminiscent of a seaside, post-modern condominium complex. Now that I think about it, I suppose it could be the pizza I had for dinner that triggered this memory. The best slice I had in all of Europe was in Cannes, overlooking that little harbor. Anyway, it's what I've been thinking about for the past twenty minutes.

NEW from The Chairs Series -

"Abstract Girl and Her Contemporary Chair"
montage by Mick Mather

While playing around with a throw away image a few weeks ago, things began to click. It was one of those times when I was just playing and surprise, surprise! Progress with one of the new photo editors that was employed here has gone backwards more than a few steps recently. I consider myself fortunate to have this image. So, perhaps I should be playing more? Actually I am, but I might be well advised to play harder this week. Anyway, here it is with some alternate versions and at least one spin-off to show for the effort. All properly hidden away here at the Secret Visual Laboratory! :)

Moody Monday: Horny -

"Fire Down Below"
montage by Mick Mather

The weekly theme at Moody Monday is horny. It's quite amazing to me that this topic would come up at a time when my work has taken a slight turn into, shall we say, a blue room. Following along with that concept, the subject of tonight's post seems to be right there with me, a burning fire more than evident and reflecting off the walls. Hot diggity!

NEW from The Nightmare Series -

"Violet Ray"
montage by Mick Mather

Excerpt from The Vignettes - "Fountain of Youth"

"At the edge of an indigo wood lies a swampy moor. A pale, orange moon is reflected there, an eerie glow upon duck grass, swallowed whole into the treachery of quick mud. Urban myths and secret maps freely reveal the fountain of youth. Nothing is said 'bout the maze of death nor the flesh-eating Violet Ray."

Still pushing the envelope -

"Fields of Magnetic Dreams"
montage by Mick Mather

This image is one that I've been wrestling with for about two weeks. Yesterday, I alluded to the fact that I've been working to assimilate a new photo editor into the mix. The process has been both fun and challenging. As one might imagine, lots of failures up front and lots of half-baked images have been secreted away in the files here at The Secret Visual Laboratory. That said, I'm quite satisfied with the way this finally turned out and, truly, I must fly...back to the drawing board. You guessed it! More wrasslin' in store today!

Illustration Friday: Camouflage -

"Camouflage"
montage by Mick Mather

Excerpt from The Vignettes - "Light Show"

"The withdrawing rays of eventide mottle the skin. Playing tricks on the eye the spears shimmer and shine, rolling out the velvet shadows of night. Within their dim recesses she sits and waits. In a moment the street lamps, a willing partner, are set to work their magic, covering crows feet, blemishes and the harshness of her daily life."

Thursday Challenge: Blue -

"Break Time at the Blueprint Shop"
montage by Mick Mather

The weekly Thursday Challenge theme this time around is "blue". As I was working on various layers of tonight's post, the blue versions quickly became the most dramatic in my mind's eye. I should warn those of you who haven't already recognized the fact, I've been exploring a few dark alleys recently. I also have to admit that no one is likely to be quite as surprised as I happen to be myself. From time to time I wander off in fits of experimentalist overreach where I find myself taking reckless chances, pressing my luck and coloring way outside the lines. I was just talking about this not so many weeks back and some of the work recently posted is the fruit of that labor. Is this a permanent direction? That remains to be seen. In the meantime I continue with my efforts to better control a new software program and some rather difficult plug-in filters.

NEW from The She's Not There Series -

"They Say It's Your Birthday"
montage by Mick Mather

This piece is quite old and, until now, there haven't been additions to this series since 2005. As a body of work the pieces were always very personal for me, one might even say cathartic. In any case, there's really nothing further for me to say here except that, in spite of the distance between that time and this, some thoughts cannot be controlled, tamed or suppressed. "They", as referenced in the title, happen to be said thoughts. Personally? As already stated, I have nothing further to say. (Sigh).

Passing in and out of fashion -

"At the Tattoo Parlor"
montage by Mick Mather

Tattoos, piercing, scarification and branding...each a form of body art that, with each generation, is either in or out of fashion. Right now, it appears to be quite in fashion to have a tattoo or multiple piercings. Generally speaking, the more extreme body arts of branding and flesh cutting are much less acceptable but on the rise. Since I'm part of a team putting together an exhibition of "body art" where each of these forms may actually appear on living models, I suppose it was a natural thing for my subconscious to offer up an artwork that's abstractly associated with the project. It should be great fun and, if possible, I'll post some of those images here come late summer or early fall.