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.

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.

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.

Where has the time gone???

It has been some time since I wrote anything. Over a year to be exact. At this point in the game I have been doing a whole bunch of nothing but doctor/lawyer stuff and it seems to be getting better. Well on the law side of things anyway. But back to that in a bit. I am deep in the middle of revamping skycrabimages.com .The site will have a whole new look and feel with new galleries (OK, not NEW galleries but a new style). I haven't shot anything since my accident so content will be pretty much the same. A new section will be added to the graphic arts section that will showcase print work (i.e. booklet, brochure style work)in a manner that will convey the finished product. The changes should be up shortly
As far as my accident. Well, we will be picking a jury for the criminal trial and if all goes smoothly we will start on the 8th. My civil case is going rather slowly. At this point I am awaiting the slow churning bureaucratic system to do it's thing so I can see a hand specialist to determine weather or not it can heal properly. Wish me luck on that.

Hungry???

Well readers, it hasn't been all recovery and pain for me. This week after months of revision and change the first issue of Rob Ayr's "We Deliver" menu has finally been sent to the printer. Rob had asked me several months ago to help him with a menu design that was both informative and visually appealing. I took a look at his current menu booklet and to be honest he could have gone any number of routes (including writing it all up with blunt crayons) and it still would have been an improvement from what he got from his previous graphic artist. After a battle with spell check, researching restaurants that did or did not exist anymore, recreating and creating logos for local restaurant menus (most were stolen from existing businesses across the country) I have finally come up with a product that Rob feels will do "We Deliver" a great service. This first issue is in greyscale and has only a few select menus (and a list of 38 other restaurants of which to order from) but once production becomes steady "We Deliver" will have a full color menu filled with menus on the streets of key west listing all restaurants and their cuisines that can be delivered right to your door.

Click on "We Deliver" for a .pdf of the first run menu.

Naked For Aids

Since the early days of FnA Studios my friend and business partner had an idea. Something for everyone to take part in. A unique vision and artistic way to battle the ongoing Aids epidemic. Get naked. It is in fact a simple idea and one that has come to fruition. Thomas Filipkowski has officially started the "Naked For Aids" website. I have assisted him on several of the shoots that have already taken place and thru skycrabimages.com have created his home on the web. Special thanks to those who were told about the project before the general public and stood tall to become the first of soon to be many who will donate, not money, but their clothing and around 30 minutes of their time to battle this ongoing disease.
Please visit nakedforaids.com
Thanks for reading

The Site is updated

After many months of recuperation with a head full of drugs keeping my attention at an all time low, compounded with a broken hand that keeps work at a slow drizzle, I am happy to say that I have finally set up the site to...well not perfection but at a standard that I approve of and is COMPLETELY self maintained. Which is, as some of you know, something I consider an important aspect. So, here it is. take a look and feel happy that I feel content on how I portray myself.