And some more portraits

From a project I did back in May. Mostly.

Love 'em -- they're all so patient with me.

Old party photos

From back in yon day.

... the good ole days, when life was ... well, good.

Not that isn't right now. Just not the same good.

Old Portraits

Just some old portraits changed a little. Originals at the smaller ones.


So, A ... or B?

Foolin'

Just fooling around tonight, not really doing anything purpose.

W.I.P

This is something I've been playing with for the day. I'm definitely not finished -- gotta do the background, more effects on the girl, gotta change some of the lighting ... thinking about finding a different background, too. It started in my head as something else. Anyway, tired, women are crazy/lovely, and things are as things are.



... seriously, women = crazy, but also women = excellent. There's no damned way to win with them. Rant, rant, rant ...

Sigh...

Not my best night ever. I need more work on flash.

Sigh.

Anyway, something from three years ago.

Afraid of the Dark

Who am I?
Who the hell knows.
I don’t stand
in the light of labels
which fall and curl
like leaves in the fall,
when those “enlightened”
feel inclined to
fit me in their
design for life
like a purpose-built
part, no worries if it
breaks down,
we’ll just order
another up.
I see those
disparaging looks
from well-lit nooks
toward these few,
proud, old and new,
loud, soft, something’s
a little skewed with
these, those, us
that walk the
shadowed expanse where
the “enlightened” ones won’t
dance. But those and we that
walk the abyss
know life, know death,
know the kiss
that makes life livable
for those tight-lipped
ones in the light,
who can’t, ‘cause their
ethics, morality, mechanics,
keep them from
preaching truth from perception,
can’t shout about
life, liberty, and the hunt
for a dream.
Scared, meek, mild, wild,
it’s a generation
generating nothing but the
same damn people;
like masturbation,
we’re just screwing ourselves.
I’ve never met
a future Churchill
since being a bulldog
ain’t no thrill, but
too many Paris’s, Pitts,
Simpsons and gridiron stars,
“thugs” driving speed-bump
scraping cars,
people like scars
on the skin of
this society, skin
so thin you
can see straight through
and tell it ain’t so
deep; them I see
and they see me
and they’re scared
because I’m invisible
here in the dark.
Me and free, right here,
colorblind and politically
incorrect, perfectly uncool
rules that ain’t so rigid.
Love white, black, brown
and everything I left out.
That kiss in the dark
don’t determine by
color, creed, or clairvoyant divinity
but the “enlightened” types
shake fingers, tell me
I’m wrong for this reason,
that reason, any reason, just
don’t rock the boat.
I don’t need
diffused, reflected,
confused, rejected
light, it’s wrong.
And besides
I ain’t afraid of the dark.

Verbal meandering Numero Uno

Untitled (hey what'd you expect?)

I wonder if somebody’s watching me
As I sit with a wine-flushed face
In boxers too tight around the thighs
Watching my blank computer screen
On my table that doesn’t fit my apartment.
I wonder if they’ve been stealing
Some of my wine as too much
Is gone for a single night’s glass,
Or maybe it was just me
And I’ve lost the notion of moderation.
I wonder if they’ve been watching me
Watching the stylus and pad
And the blank slate on the screen
That refuses to be trampled over
And prefers its perfect white.
I want to know if anybody’s watching
When I finally take off the boxers
And resign myself to another night
Of long howling music and a cold bed
After a warm shower and a cold walk
Across a cold hard floor.

And why won’t they say hello?

Map finished for now

Probably some things I should redo -- coloration, I wouldn't mind adding some more aging and damage to the edges -- but this is it for the time being. I'm more interested in getting onto the cities and cityscapes and what not.
Been having my glass of wine at night, by the way -- Red Guitar, so I think about Miss K every time I tilt it back. Cheers!

Fantasy map guides

Not really a guide so much as it is more history of some little world in the back of my mind. See, there's this band of nomadic merchants and ... oh, never mind, maybe later. Here's the guide to the cities and their markers. Which will appear on the next version of the map. Took me about an hour with the textures and what not -- whaddaya think?


Oh, and forgive the while border. I was thinking about adding some aging and damage to the sides, but couldn't find the inspiration.

The map that started this whole thing

The map that was the reason for my starting this blog. As requested by Miss K ...

It doesn't have name yet, though it has cities (just not on the map yet -- gimme time, I made it two days ago ...) so if you've got a suggestion, lemme hear it.

Oldie but a favorite

One of my favorite photos to play with, especially over a glass of wine and a quick dinner ...



Monotoned, little high on the contrast (obviously), some noise, some blur, and some digital cross-processing.

Good Doggie

Some chain stock photography (behind the word "dog"): Björgvin Guðmundsson, at StockVault.net. Everything else is mine.