These words, which serve as intro to my newest web animation, Psychedelic Sheen, are being posted simultaneously on Illumination Gallery and myspace.com. I joined myspace earlier this year, but did not begin posting material until around a month ago. My reasons for joining myspace were twofold: 1) to promote Illumination Gallery, 2) to participate in myspace's burgeoning online communities. Truly, myspace is not a single community, but various communities with diverse agendas. Some of these communities can be described as underground. For instance, the community interested in psychedelic drugs. I discovered a number of myspace pages devoted to psychedelic drugs. One of my favorites belongs to Shado, despite his penchant for 1960s nostalgia. I have always been fascinated by the relationship between hallucinogenic substances and visionary art. Indeed, the Digital Hallucinations section of Illumination Gallery presents web animations inspired by hallucinatory experiences. It is important for psychedelic art to reach new heights (pun intended). Too much of what passes for psychedelic art these days is retro, attempts at rehashing 1960s psychedelia. Nothing wrong with the 60s, either from a visual or a musical standpoint; but we are living in the 21st century and it is important for psychedelic art to reflect this. Psychedelic Sheen is a 21st century psychedelic web animation. My aim was not to create an optical illusion along the lines of those generic spiraling color wheels made popular during the 60s, which, for some reason, remain in vogue. Here subtle gradations release shifting patterns, triggering a primitive color burst. Psychedelic Sheen is composed of 385 frames. It lasts approximately 56 seconds, before looping. A high-speed Internet connection is absolutely required and I recommend using Firefox as your browser. Even with a high-speed connection, due to the animation's dense texture, initially it may not run at the intended rate. The first time around, it could actually take over five minutes to cycle. What I have learned is that deeply textured animation loops often need to play through once before running at their proper rate. I realize this is awkward, but I believe there is a positive side effect. For me as an artist working in a new medium, transparency and process are very much related. Showcasing the process is part of the art. That initial slower run-through of the animation brings the process of its creation into relief.