Saturday, October 22, 2011

SkyCrab Images brings you, Mitch Hollingsworth, Artist

     Being in Key West, what was once a bohemian artist community that is now flooded with cheap lithographs, poster.com reprints, and framed crap that isn't fit for a Motel 6 wall, I truly value the artists in town who actually have a unique vision and style. Not all artists and galleries in town are geared for the banal mainstream status quo but there are a lot. One of the artists who rises to the top is, I am proud to say, a very good friend.
     Mitch Hollingsworth has been a resident artist in Key West since the mid nineties when he moved to the island from Illinois. In those years his ventures have been many. From selling the art created in his studio 'Chicken Shack Gallery' in Bahama Village, faux finishing some of the finest homes on Key West, Sunset Key, and Little Palm Island, to his most recent display which can be seen in the Milwaukee Art Museum's "Día de los Muertos" starting Sunday, October 23, 2011.  Mitch's medium is primarily oil on wood.
     Mitch recently returned from a 5 week hiatus in which he took time to see the "Día de los Muertos." display. After talking with other artists he realized he needed some web presence and called upon SkyCrab Images to do the job.  MitchHollingsworth.Com is the result.


     Mitch's website is a simple one. A standard front page with an adjoining flash gallery with 20 or so of his pieces. At this time there is a link for an info/bio/about page which will be up soon.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

But I don't have Photoshop... Not an excuse anymore.

(Attribute this post to boredom and a necessity to discover things I don't need  .)
     While doing my early morning surfing which usually is a standard E-Mail, Facebook, Huffington Post mish-mosh of diversion while I have my first cup of coffee, I fell into the whirlpool of what I call Web-Nosis. [Web-Nosis] : the act of traveling unconsciously from one page to another via links in what was going to be a fully read article.
     During this particular day I stumbled upon something that I am surprised to find out has been around since 2008.  
Photoshop Express . This is, described in Wikipedia, as a
      'Flash-based image editing web application from Adobe used to directly edit photos on blogs and social networking sites, so that users do not have to download or upload images' .
In short, it is an online working Photoshop program. Granted it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that I am used to but if you're looking to make that point and shoot picture pop, then this is perfect.
When you sign up for a free account you get:
  • 2GB of free storage
  • Online tools to edit, create, and share
  • A personal gallery and profile page
  • Slideshow templates and creations
  • Video storage and streaming
I loaded a picture into the beta myself and can say, if you're looking for something quick, free and PRODUCTIVE then you have Photoshop at your disposal.

Monday, October 17, 2011

I always end up back in the kitchen....

I don't know why. Is it because I am Italian? Is it because I was (and am still to some extent) a picky eater? Is it because my first job was bustin' sudz in the kitchen of Gaetano's restaurant back then, a lifetime ago, in Mattapoisett? It is possibly a question for a philosopher, but I seem to always find myself entwined in the Food and Beverage industry no matter what I do in life. Sure, I'd love to bang out my own ideas but I don't pay myself a respectable wage whatsoever. So I take the work that is given to me and rent is ultimately paid.

That being said, things have been up in the last few months. Key West Food To Go, a restaurant food delivery service, has been established and given a presence thanks to yours truly. Their logo and sight design is 100% SCI. The logo was a quick make due to time.


More recently, we have been creating menu, table tent, & coaster designs for Pat Croce's Rum Barrel. Most of the design work has been done using their existing logos and basic design principles.