About this website
This website is a display of my art, poetry, prose, as well as my web design skills. All things that I strive to become better at over time.
These pages are just for show. I do not currently sell anything here at macjr.com, nor do I plan to sell anything here in the future. I do, however, accept donations to help keep this site online, and ad free.
I do allow free use of some of my art, for personal and educational use only, but only to people who agree to my terms of use. If you do not agree to my terms, or abide by them, the taking and using of my art is theft.
If you are interested in using my art for professional or commercial use, or wish to commission custom work, please contact me. I am not really interested in working for other people, but if I like the proposed project, I will consider it.
I currently write the pages for this website in raw HTML5 and CSS3. From time to time, there may be a scattering of small snippets of JavaScript here and there, but I avoid using JavaScript if there is a CSS solution I can use instead.
For those few who are interested in such things, I currently use Komodo Edit to write my pages.
I use a variety of graphics programs to make my art. My main graphics program is Paint Shop Pro, but I also find use for RealWorld Paint, GIMP, and Paint.NET (but beware, the official Paint.NET program is not at paint.net, it is at getpaint.net). I will, on occasion, try out other raster graphics programs as well.
About me
My name is Michael A. Crane, Jr., but I usually go with my initials, MACJR, here online. I have been online since September 1996, and I built my first website on May 30, 1997. I bought my first domain, macjr.com, on June 14, 2000, but did not get its first pages upload until the next day.
More about me, I am a self-taught digital artist, or pixel artist, if you prefer. I have never taken a class for making digital art. I did take one basic drawing class at Everett Community College back in 1987, but I had already been drawing for many years before then. Since I bought my first computer, back in 1992, though, I rarely pick up a pencil anymore. I work almost exclusively with pixels these days.
Using various raster graphics programs, my digital art is created by manipulating pixels with a mouse, or fingertips on smart devices, as my paintbrush. Pixels are very small dots which usually number in the hundreds of thousands on a typical display screen, or in the millions on a large PC monitor. Each pixel can contain its own individual color value (hue, saturation, and luminosity), and when all these individual pixels are combined with other pixels, patters and images can be made. I often work at the pixel level (via the magic of magnification, of course) when creating many of my pixel art works. I use various sized areas of pixels like blank canvas to write, draw, and paint on, and then I use my web design skills to display my art online in, hopefully, interesting and visually pleasing ways.
I do have some education in poetry and prose. Back in the fall of 1998, I started taking creative writing courses at Everett Community College, with Rich Ives as my instructor. Rich is a published author and a small press publisher. I have taken his Creative Fiction Writing (1 through 3), Creative Non-Fiction Writing (1 through 3), and his Poetry Writing (1 and 2). One day, I may go back and take that final poetry class as well. The last quarter I was able to fund for writing was in the spring of 2007.
By the way, please don't blame Rich Ives if you do not like my creative writing works. I still consider myself a student of the written arts, not a master, even after all these years.
Since my college days, I only write from time to time. I have too many other projects that eat up my time, is my usual excuse for not writing more often. I do have a few writing projects that have been left on hold for way too long. Still, I hold off. It is not yet time to focus my attention back to writing. Not just yet. When I do get back to writing, it will put everything else on hold. The writing will consume me, and all of my time, so I need to be ready for that.
I have only taken one college class for making web pages. It was a joke. I literally knew more about making web pages than my instructor did. Some of the other students were angry because they had learned more from me than they did from our instructor. I have taught myself a great deal more about writing web pages since then. All I really needed was some good books, time, and practice. What you see here at this web site now, and at my other sites, is the results.
There are volumes more I could write about myself, but I think this will do for now. Besides, you will find out more about me by visiting the rest of my pages.
I do hope you like my site, and my art (poetry, prose, and visual). Please feel free to let me know what you think.
Thank you for visiting.
Michael A. Crane, Jr.
Artist/Webmaster/Writer
macjr.com
