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Please visit my online stores, Big Shadows for film noir art and attire,
and Lazy River Design Works for everything else.

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WHYTHEALGARVE

WHYTHEALGARVE

Freelance Graphic/Applied Design

Everybody needs a niche, and I've carved one out with the launch of my new store, Big Shadows. I love film noir, and that's what the products at Big Shadows pay homage to in creative and innovative ways. Check it out for designs inspired by the traditional genre as well as neo noir and all manner of mid-century madness!

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Lazy River Design Works

My store is online and open for business. I create striking and vivid visual imagery and then place those designs onto a bunch of different products, t-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, hats, cards, stickers, and prints. Brought to you with the technological magic of print-on-demand and dropshipping. Check it out!

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Big Shadows

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THE FEED

Last Night at the LRT - Neo-Noir Music Video

Sep 7
2 min

Last Night at the LRT - Neo-Noir Music Video

Part of my ongoing efforts to promote my store, Big Shadows , is to create videos and promo reels that capture the...

18 views2 comments

What do you mean by "noir?"

Aug 3
3 min

What do you mean by "noir?"

If your boat floats tied up to a pier next to a warehouse wreathed in mist while unpleasant characters plot within, then you've found home.

22 views0 comments

The Concrete Frog

Jul 15
6 min

The Concrete Frog

Concrete frog and raspberries on our little back patio. I've been lugging that frog around for almost 30 years. He belonged to my uncle,...

17 views0 comments

So Random: Tuned Styles from Midjourney

Jun 4
2 min

So Random: Tuned Styles from Midjourney

This post is simply a showcase of some of the tuned styles that I have discovered using the AI image engine Midjourney. It's an attempt...

21 views0 comments

Tiny Noir - Miniature Hearts Bleed Just as Red

Apr 30
2 min

Tiny Noir - Miniature Hearts Bleed Just as Red

For about a month I've been lightly obsessed with using Midjourney to create virtual dioramas and sculptures, with most of that energy...

18 views0 comments

Underground Circuses Blowing Up Real Good

Apr 3
2 min

Underground Circuses Blowing Up Real Good

An underground circus and fairground lurks in caverns below, dark carnivals where the warm glow evokes the sinister fires of hell. Pennywise

30 views0 comments

Noir Cats

Feb 13
1 min

Noir Cats

A selection of noir cats I've made in Midjourney using a variety of style tools.

22 views0 comments

I love it when a plan comes together

Jan 27
6 min

I love it when a plan comes together

Some successful steps along the path towards being a working stay-at-home Dad for our son, Rowan. Back in March of 2022, I hatched a...

32 views0 comments

Introducing Big Shadows, Fulfilling Your Need for Noir

Dec 15, 2023
2 min

Introducing Big Shadows, Fulfilling Your Need for Noir

Introducing "Big Shadows" **Edit: Dec 15, 2023 - I actually posted this on my Lazy River Design Works blog about a month ago, and have...

18 views0 comments

PSA: Look Out for New Scams on Social Media Using AI Images

Oct 30, 2023
6 min

PSA: Look Out for New Scams on Social Media Using AI Images

It's unfortunately true that there is and always will be a segment of our population dedicated to turning the latest developments in...

38 views1 comment

Ethical Use of AI Image Engines

Oct 20, 2023
5 min

Ethical Use of AI Image Engines

Some thoughts and examples of how to use AI image engines like Midjourney in a way that doesn't trample on the rights of artists. While...

118 views0 comments

Death, Cake, Balloons and the Birth of Spooky Stuff

Oct 7, 2023
3 min

Death, Cake, Balloons and the Birth of Spooky Stuff

As we lurch into actual October, my creative output's spooky quotient has risen correspondingly. Truth be told, the increase in ghosts...

30 views0 comments

/Describe Greebles, Please

Aug 13, 2023
4 min

/Describe Greebles, Please

There are two things I have recently discovered using the AI image engine, Midjourney, that made me pause when I recognized their power....

24 views0 comments

Salvador Dali Photo Unlocks the Feline Storm

Jul 24, 2023
1 min

Salvador Dali Photo Unlocks the Feline Storm

The photo below, Dali Atomicus (1948) by Philippe Halsman, is one I have been aware of since my teens. I've always loved the energy...

19 views0 comments

Abstract Thought

Jul 17, 2023
1 min

Abstract Thought

Here some abstracts and semi-abstracts that I've been playing around with over the past couple of days with Midjourney. Just a sampling...

14 views2 comments

Please Stand By - the Spring and Summer of '23 Prove to Be Very Crowded Indeed

Jul 8, 2023
3 min

Please Stand By - the Spring and Summer of '23 Prove to Be Very Crowded Indeed

It's been quite some time since I've posted here on the blog, and I have a few minutes this morning to get caught up. The biggest online...

35 views0 comments

YouTube Channels that Offer Property WalkThrough Videos and Buying Advice in Rural Central Portugal

May 15, 2023
6 min

YouTube Channels that Offer Property WalkThrough Videos and Buying Advice in Rural Central Portugal

I started paying attention to cheap rural land for sale in Central Portugal at the beginning of 2020, right around the start of the...

206 views3 comments

3 Hectare Hilltop Olive Farm in Fundão for € 65,000

Apr 23, 2023
7 min

3 Hectare Hilltop Olive Farm in Fundão for € 65,000

One of my longest YouTube subscriptions has been Joseph Marsh's farmer for fun channel (he also has a website here and is prolific on...

307 views0 comments

Something About M*A*S*H: Hawaiian Shirts, Booze, Cross-Dressing and Subversive Liberalism

Mar 31, 2023
5 min

Something About M*A*S*H: Hawaiian Shirts, Booze, Cross-Dressing and Subversive Liberalism

A couple of months ago, I listened to a podcast (I thought it was CBC's "Ideas" but apparently not) that discussed the influence of...

25 views0 comments

Club Noir de Mer

Feb 16, 2023
1 min

Club Noir de Mer

"Another Set at Club Noir de Mer" My fascination with variations on the film noir aesthetic continues, mostly placing the tropes in an...

17 views0 comments

A Pocket Terraced Grape Farm in Central Portugal for under 50K USD

Jan 29, 2023
6 min

A Pocket Terraced Grape Farm in Central Portugal for under 50K USD

It's been quite a while since I wrote up a piece of rural Portuguese property, but this little gem jumped out at me a couple of days ago...

374 views0 comments

What's Going On in 2023

Jan 9, 2023
3 min

What's Going On in 2023

Here we are in a new year and big things are afoot at the Lazy River Design Works store. The last time I posted was mid-December, and...

54 views0 comments

What is Art? Part 2: How AI-Generated Art is Like a Camera

Dec 12, 2022
6 min

What is Art? Part 2: How AI-Generated Art is Like a Camera

Yesterday, I wrote a post on social media and here that outlined as many of the arguments against AI-generated imagery as I could think...

163 views2 comments

Film Noir de Mer - A Midjourney Image Dump

Dec 11, 2022
1 min

Film Noir de Mer - A Midjourney Image Dump

Squid Town. The Big Murk. That bottom-dwelling metropolis where the dregs drift in and settle down in the mud and debris. A place where...

27 views0 comments

What is Art: Criticisms of AI-Generated Imagery

Dec 11, 2022
3 min

What is Art: Criticisms of AI-Generated Imagery

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the growing controversy over AI-generated imagery. It's a complicated issue that can be...

80 views0 comments

Midjourney Image Dump

Nov 28, 2022
1 min

Midjourney Image Dump

I just started using the AI art engine, Midjourney. I have many thoughts, but as always I am short on time. While I'm processing and...

60 views0 comments

T-Shirts Found Drifting Down the Lazy River

Nov 14, 2022
1 min

T-Shirts Found Drifting Down the Lazy River

Now that classic format t-shirts are a part of the official Lazy River Design Works inventory, I thought it would be a good idea to post...

11 views0 comments

The Wedding Ring

Oct 31, 2022
4 min

The Wedding Ring

Back in August, I related a couple of remarkable events from my life and mentioned a few more (see this post). Today being Halloween, I...

36 views0 comments

Not Quite Azulejos

Oct 24, 2022
2 min

Not Quite Azulejos

The original source photos of the plates used to make these designs were posted on Pixabay by tunaolger. One of the few drawbacks of...

32 views0 comments

My Characteristic Style

Oct 1, 2022
3 min

My Characteristic Style

Keen-eyed observers will have noticed by now that much of my creative output has a certain finish, a look or style that is present to...

68 views2 comments

Specs and Size Charts for HugePOD T-Shirts in cms and Inches are no longer applicable

Sep 12, 2022
1 min

Specs and Size Charts for HugePOD T-Shirts in cms and Inches are no longer applicable

HugePOD is no longer one of my suppliers. A good product, but they became a little too unreliable.

35 views0 comments

Bleeding Speedo, Haunted Wedding Ring, Abandoned Lullabye, and Other Remarkable Events

Aug 14, 2022
6 min

Bleeding Speedo, Haunted Wedding Ring, Abandoned Lullabye, and Other Remarkable Events

As I slide into the latter half of my fifties I find myself being more than a little retrospective. A part of this is Recovery work but...

33 views0 comments

In the Backyard with Rowan and Merch

Aug 6, 2022
1 min

In the Backyard with Rowan and Merch

Taking photos with Rowan of Hawaiian shirts and bucket hats from the Lazy River. Merchandise IRL via print-on-demand and dropshipping.

14 views0 comments

The Lazy River Just Got Deeper: The Latest Developments

Jul 23, 2022
3 min

The Lazy River Just Got Deeper: The Latest Developments

Some big changes just came down the pipe and I am scrambling to catch up. Where to begin? I'll summarize with some bullet points and then...

24 views0 comments

A Look at the Umbrellas from HugePOD

Jul 16, 2022
2 min

A Look at the Umbrellas from HugePOD

I have a feeling that umbrellas are going to become a lot more relevant in the near future as global warming continues to deliver extreme...

50 views0 comments

Hawaiian Shirt Size Charts (HugePOD and InterestPrint)

Jul 12, 2022
2 min

Hawaiian Shirt Size Charts (HugePOD and InterestPrint)

Wondering what size Hawaiian-style shirt you should order? Wonder no more. Here are size charts for both the square-cut shirts from...

140 views0 comments

A Look at the Hawaiian Shirts from HugePOD

Jul 9, 2022
3 min

A Look at the Hawaiian Shirts from HugePOD

Now that I've ordered and received a few of these shirts from HugePOD, I can write up a description of what they are like. Spoiler - I...

254 views0 comments

What Are and How Does Print-On-Demand and Dropshipping Work?

Jun 21, 2022
4 min

What Are and How Does Print-On-Demand and Dropshipping Work?

This article answers the questions in its title, and in doing so answers the MFAQ (most frequently asked question): How long is the...

67 views0 comments

Much Progress on the Store Front

May 31, 2022
2 min

Much Progress on the Store Front

This morning saw two very large boxes and a slightly smaller one being ticked: - Thanks to a generous cash injection from my father, I...

17 views0 comments

Ever-So-Softly Introducing "Lazy River Design Works"

May 22, 2022
2 min

Ever-So-Softly Introducing "Lazy River Design Works"

My last post asked you to "Please stand by" because of working on the new online store. And, it turns out, with good reason. I'm very...

20 views0 comments

Please Stand By - I'm Building an Online Store!

May 9, 2022
3 min

Please Stand By - I'm Building an Online Store!

Yep. I've decided to take the plunge and open a stand-alone, print-on-demand, dropshipping online store, a site with its own name and url...

26 views2 comments

So You Want to Design a Bucket Hat

Apr 27, 2022
7 min

So You Want to Design a Bucket Hat

I spent some time in my last post, What Do Magnum PI, Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys, and Hunter S. Thompson Have in Common? talking...

303 views0 comments

What Do Magnum PI, Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys, and Hunter S. Thompson Have in Common?

Apr 18, 2022
5 min

What Do Magnum PI, Ricky from the Trailer Park Boys, and Hunter S. Thompson Have in Common?

A big part of my overall plan to create a sustainable income stream from my creative work is figuring out what products I want to sell....

149 views0 comments

The Captain of Industry at Real Algarve Living: Andrew (or Andy, if you like)

Apr 9, 2022
8 min

The Captain of Industry at Real Algarve Living: Andrew (or Andy, if you like)

It's been almost a year since I last wrote about the YouTube vloggers pursuing a simpler life, renovating land in rural Central Portugal....

2,157 views2 comments

The Source of Distress

Apr 1, 2022
3 min

The Source of Distress

My Great Big Europe Trip of 2005, referenced many times throughout this blog, had the explicit goal of collecting as many photographs of...

23 views0 comments

Parisian Street Photography from the 30s to the 80s: Robert Doisneau

Mar 23, 2022
3 min

Parisian Street Photography from the 30s to the 80s: Robert Doisneau

"Doisneau is remembered for his modest, playful, and ironic images of amusing juxtapositions, mingling social classes, and eccentrics in...

790 views0 comments

And the Winner of My Very First T-Shirt Giveaway Contest Is...

Mar 16, 2022
1 min

And the Winner of My Very First T-Shirt Giveaway Contest Is...

And the winner is Nick from Indiana in the vicinity of Chicago. Their general area of residence seems fitting, as they found out about...

37 views2 comments

How I Got There: Steps in the Design Process

Mar 12, 2022
1 min

How I Got There: Steps in the Design Process

I'm developing a new processing technique that results in images that look like printed ink. These images chart my steps in an attempt to...

27 views0 comments

My Last Visit to Woodlands Hospital

Mar 5, 2022
3 min

My Last Visit to Woodlands Hospital

Woodlands Hospital, or "Woodlands School" as it was latterly and inaccurately known, was an institution in New Westminster, British...

582 views0 comments

Bits of Portugal

Feb 25, 2022
2 min

Bits of Portugal

As I was putting this design together, it struck me that it serves as a kind of pocket virtual tour around Portugal using the web-based...

56 views0 comments

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