I am a Geordie artist living in Bradford with, as you may have noticed, a unique style of digital art.
I started this particular style around 20 years ago and my work was mainly a release for low moods which was heavily reflected in their content and style. I chose digital mainly due to the fact that I’m really mediocre at best with traditional art.
It’s been something I’ve stepped in and out of since then, but has only recently taken a new life of it’s own. In September 2023 I found myself with the opportunity of showing showing my work to the manager of a gallery which was part of a well known international chain. Until then only family, friends and members of some forums that I frequented had seen my work, and while they were mainly very positive about it this was my first chance to have a professional opinion.
His reaction really surprised me; not so much his words, but the look on his face. This gave me an affirmation that in hindsight has affected me more positively than could be expected and a determination to see exactly what I could do.
Until now, the way I used the effects in my images has been rather random and haphazard – trial and error to find something I liked and not really replicating it in subsequent images. This new drive made me sit back and look at my images and effects with a more technical eye. I create my images in an old version of Photoshop which has been out of production for quite a few years (mainly because the effects I use won’t work in newer versions) and I realised I had been using them emotionally without understanding the full scope of how they could be changed and manipulated.
Through October I spent time create images a bit more analytically – playing more with the effects rather than finding something that looked nice and using that – an approach that has actually made me enjoy the creation process more and led to quite a prolific month.
In November I created the image ‘As Dark As It Gets’, a title which is literal in both tone and content. Suddenly I realised (rather cynically I admit) that my artwork would appeal to quite a small audience in its current style. Again I looked to the technical side of my work creation and made determined moves towards creating lighter, more colourful images while still retaining the volume and impact of the effects.
Which brings us to now, December 2023. Apart from the actual effects, there are recurring elements which I have used throughout. You’ll notice the dark marble background and the muted tan and powder blue tints which have been constant throughout. I’ve now picked up on different colours for the overlays, added more texture and emphasised the way the colour affects the image more.
Don’t be a stranger; follow me on this adventure and see where it goes from here!
Mike, 3rd December 2023
Me and my art
I am a Geordie artist living in Bradford with, as you may have noticed, a unique style of digital art.
I started this particular style around 20 years ago and my work was mainly a release for low moods which was heavily reflected in their content and style. I chose digital mainly due to the fact that I’m really mediocre at best with traditional art.
It’s been something I’ve stepped in and out of since then, but has only recently taken a new life of it’s own. In September 2023 I found myself with the opportunity of showing showing my work to the manager of a gallery which was part of a well known international chain. Until then only family, friends and members of some forums that I frequented had seen my work, and while they were mainly very positive about it this was my first chance to have a professional opinion.
His reaction really surprised me; not so much his words, but the look on his face. This gave me an affirmation that in hindsight has affected me more positively than could be expected and a determination to see exactly what I could do.
Until now, the way I used the effects in my images has been rather random and haphazard – trial and error to find something I liked and not really replicating it in subsequent images. This new drive made me sit back and look at my images and effects with a more technical eye. I create my images in an old version of Photoshop which has been out of production for quite a few years (mainly because the effects I use won’t work in newer versions) and I realised I had been using them emotionally without understanding the full scope of how they could be changed and manipulated.
Through October I spent time create images a bit more analytically – playing more with the effects rather than finding something that looked nice and using that – an approach that has actually made me enjoy the creation process more and led to quite a prolific month.
In November I created the image ‘As Dark As It Gets’, a title which is literal in both tone and content. Suddenly I realised (rather cynically I admit) that my artwork would appeal to quite a small audience in its current style. Again I looked to the technical side of my work creation and made determined moves towards creating lighter, more colourful images while still retaining the volume and impact of the effects.
Which brings us to now, December 2023. Apart from the actual effects, there are recurring elements which I have used throughout. You’ll notice the dark marble background and the muted tan and powder blue tints which have been constant throughout. I’ve now picked up on different colours for the overlays, added more texture and emphasised the way the colour affects the image more.
Don’t be a stranger; follow me on this adventure and see where it goes from here!
Mike, 3rd December 2023
Random Thoughts
Something I’ve always had a problem with is naming the images. I listen to music most of the time when creating them, so sometimes what I’m listening to influences the title. Others are the influence from the base image (often very different to the finished picture). A single aspect may be the thing that does it – something as simple as the look in the eyes.
Either way, a lot of the time I feel like the artist submitting his work to the gallery in Martin Amis’ novel Success, where they’re just random titles chosen because the picture has to have a name. You’d be surprised at how many have a working title of ‘Portrait 7’ or something similar.