Author archive


iPhone art: Jellyfish

Posted on March 30, 2010 by mentalswitch under Arts & Literature, Internet, Telecom & Social Media [ Comments: 7 ]

As with most or all of my recent posts, shot and edited completely on my phone.  Gotta love technology!


The original photo was shot in the my studio but the processing was done in my phone.


Here are two more from the iPhone-only gallery.  Don’t worry, the second one is more innocuous…

Happy holidays!

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The pocket-based art continues.   Shot and edited completely on my iPhone.


More from iPhone-only land.


There are three mainstays in today’s Hollywood:  sex, violence and special effects.

Special effects in movies, when well done, are fun.  They help us escape from our lives to enjoy tales of superheroes, mutants or alternate realities.  We travel to faraway or mythical lands and see dragons, dwarfs and trolls, tree-creatures battling orcs, wizards and sorcerers battling.  Oh yeah, and stuff blowing up.  (Thank you Michael Bay)  None of this really exists, of course, but that’s part of what makes it a good escape for the viewer.

It’s kind of hard to imagine a major blockbuster that doesn’t involve some form of death, shock, torture, shooting or explosion.  War movies can bring perhaps the most accuracy to this genre and this is especially true of those that don’t sugar coat it.  Saving Private Ryan was very graphic but not in an over-the-top, gratuitous way.  It brought home the realities of war.  Most action movies, however, take violence to a completely unrealistic level.

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Most of what I have shared so far has been some variety of full image manipulation with some layering and effects.  Today I have a different type of image to share.  These images were painted using words as brushes.  They are also my first two attempts at doing this (and remember, on my phone!!) so be kind!

This first picture is of one of my friends shooting pool.  Look for the words: Light, Shadow, Rob, Shirt, Cueball, Cue, Table and Background.

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The iPhone art continues.  Three shots from this past Friday’s Day of the Dead artwalk outing.

Cass of the Dead

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Continuing the pocket-technology picture theme here are some images from Halloween shot and edited on my iPhone.

Crystal as “Heaven”

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ArtsWeek: Costumes and Parties

Posted on October 30, 2009 by mentalswitch under Arts & Literature, ArtsWeek, Media & Entertainment [ Comments: 2 ]

Tonight, tomorrow you will see people dressed up in their Halloween finest.  For your viewing pleasure I present others who are dressed up in their, well, regular party clothes.  But it might as well be for Halloween, right?

The following content is NSFP/W (what does NSFP mean?).  Click below for more….

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Here is my next entry in the “Phone Artwork” series.  Again, the theme here is that everything from start to finish (including taking the original picture) was done on a mobile device.  And by mobile device I mean the device you use, amongst other things,  as a telephone.


ArtsWeek: I ate your soul

Posted on October 28, 2009 by mentalswitch under Arts & Literature, ArtsWeek [ Comments: 3 ]

New technology brings new creative outlets.  If you had told me ten years ago that I would be taking pictures and doing artistic manipulations on my PHONE I may not have believed you.  Yes, this piece (posted in the spirit of Halloween) was shot and fully edited on my iPhone.  It sort of reminds me of the closing scene of the director’s cut of Brazil (not the love-conquers-all version) and that’s okay.


ArtsWeek: Hello Nurse!

Posted on October 26, 2009 by mentalswitch under ArtsWeek, Health [ Comments: 17 ]

ArtsWeek continues.  Halloween is in the air. So is health care reform. Maybe you can imagine this dedicated health care professional extracting the deductible from your wallet with a hemostat!

[Semi-NSFW] Full story »


ArtsWeek: Subculture

Posted on October 21, 2009 by mentalswitch under Arts & Literature, ArtsWeek [ Comments: 12 ]

Remember the pictures we shared during the DNC last year? Were you wondering what happened to photography contributor Jack Shaftoe? Well, I’m back.

This set is an introduction to some of my studio work. “Jack” was my political persona but as MentalSwitch I’ve been shooting fine art since 2000 and have been published in the USA, Canada and in Europe. Through my art I explore social taboos and preconceptions (and occasionally just shoot a given picture for the hell of it).

As you view these pictures just remember that members of alternative subcultures are people, too, and are oftentimes very active in social and political change movements.

mentalswitch_mary Full story »


DNC – Thursday Picture Wrap Up

Posted on August 29, 2008 by mentalswitch under Politics, Law & Government [ Comments: 2 ]

(More below the cut)
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Here are some pictures from today’s march to legalize medicinal marijuana. There were a lot of people there in sincere support of the cause including one of my good friends who has to have 60-100 tumor-like growths removed every year. There were also a lot of people there who were interested in legalizing marijuana in general. There were also some kids who were probably there because, hey, it has to do with marijuana and they think it’s cool.

Robert Corey Jr., a prominent Denver lawyer who has offered to defend at no charge anyone busted for pot this week, spoke to the crowd and encouraged them not to light up on the walk and to cooperate. Full story »


DNC Wednesday Miscellaneous Pictures

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mentalswitch under Politics, Law & Government [ Comments: 2 ]

Wednesday photo wrap-up

(click for more pictures)
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DNC – Tent State, the Signs and Art

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mentalswitch under Politics, Law & Government [ Comments: none ]

Here are some pictures of art and signs from the Tent State rally and march.  Make sure to check out the rest of the images in the three March entries.


This image was from Tent State, just prior to the march
(More images below) Full story »


DNC – Tent State, the people (3 of 3)

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mentalswitch under Politics, Law & Government [ Comments: 5 ]

Even more pictures from the Tent State march. Part 3 of 3. Look for a post on Signs and Art from the Tent State March in the morning.

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DNC – Tent State, the people (2 of 3)

Posted on August 28, 2008 by mentalswitch under Politics, Law & Government [ Comments: 2 ]

More pictures from the Tent State march. Part 2 of 3.


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