Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Dead Fly 40 Nuclear Fly


Dead Fly 40 Nuclear Fly
Acrylic on Canvas 
11" x 14"

     I painted this in the autumn of 2017 and was in a worried mood. Worried about world leaders poking at one another with sticks, trying to get a rise out one another for what? Fun? Adventure? Vain glory? Yeah, well, see what that sort of play gets us! 

Dead Fly 39 Eclipse Fly


Dead Fly 39
Eclipse Fly
Oil on canvas 8"x 10"

     This is one of my favorites for the personal memory it evokes. I have always wanted to see a total eclipse of the sun and had than opportunity in August of 2017 when we were gifted with one. OI drove to Roanoke Virginia and picked up my friend, Julie, who then rode with my to Bryson City, North Carolina. We found a farm at the base of The Great Smokey Mountains that was having an eclipse festival - porta-potties, water, food, parking - and we parked there.
     When the sun went dark but for the cornea, I was so impressed with the dead black circle in the middle of the light! The sky turned a dark midnight blue and yes, we could see some starts twinkling.  Lots of people took pictures but I captured the image in my mind and tried to reproduce the colors and light in this humble painting.


Dead Fly 38 Purple Fly


Dead Fly 38 Purple Fly
Acrylic on Canvas 8" x 10"

     This is just a quickie done in one sitting. Sometimes one just wants to paint fast and see what happens. I like working with the color purple.

Dead Fly 37 Grapevine Fly


Dead Fly 37 
Grapevine and Zip Ties
Approximately 30" x 24"

     I wanted to try my hand at making a Dead Fly out of some of the grapevines we have hanging off the trees.  I've always wanted to try making a basket but really don't need another basket. This took some work! My dog, who gets involved in pretty much anything we do, helped me pull the vines off of the trees. The easiest way to attached them to each other was to use Zip Ties. I need to re-position the wings, however, because these are more the ways a bee would look - not a fly.  It's up in the attic at this posting. Once I re-position the wings, I'll repost the picture.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Dead Fly 36 Spicey




Dead Fly 36
Spicey
oil on veneer board 5"x 7"

 Politics reared its ugly head in this piece. Shawn Spicer had just resigned (or had been fired) from his job as Trump's White House press secretary and I saw Spicey, as he was affectionately referred to on social media, as another fly to drop. Dropping like flies. Yes, they are.  It's painted on a piece of maple veneer plywood because it's likely what the press secretary's podium is made of. It's dated July 31, 2017


Dead Fly 35 - Fourth of July 2017



Dead Fly 35 
Fourth of July 2017
acrylic on canvas 8"x 10"

     Bright and early on this Fourth of July I felt a need to paint a political Dead Fly in what I see as the American landscape of the day. It was worked very quickly.

Dead Fly 34a 34b Rorschach Flies


Dead Fly 34a Rorschach Fly
Acrylic on canvas 8"x 10"


Dead Fly 34b Rorschach Fly
Acrylic on canvas 8"x 10"

     With this grouping I just wanted to see what would happen if I used the basic Dead Fly design and worked it as a mirror image. I keep the two together because they work well that way.