The Dragonfly
2024. Acrylic, charcoal, paper on canvas. 12 x 12 in.

The dragonfly is a ferocious creature. Be not fooled by its luscious colors, its light-filled wings, its magical dance or decorative posing among the reeds. It’s born of the mud and is a predator from birth to death. In our youth my friend and I, in ignorant enthusiasm and armed with a butterfly net, captured a number of flying insects in a lush field and put them in a jar. Among them was a dragonfly. The next time we looked in the jar, the head was bitten off every creature except the dragonfly.

I began this collage early last year, when I was starting to expand on the process I’d been using over 2022 and 2023. As usual I drew a charcoal gesture on a textured white ground, then stained the ground in this case with a very dilute Naples yellow. But on this canvas I left a few patches white.

But then when it came to the collage layer, instead of individual shapes of acrylic paint on deli paper, I used a full sheet of paint shapes as is, retaining their original random arrangement. These deli sheets are covered with random marks of waste paint from other projects, where I’ve mixed more pigment than I needed – similar to my “brayering-off” sheets but not involving printing or the brayer, just brushes or other tools. I have several collages now that use these full sheets of waste-paint marks in their original arrangement. Accident, sometimes, shows us the way.

I was happy with where accident led me here: to the brilliant reds and the bluish-green metallic iridescence of the dragonfly, and the muddy browns that speak of the ponds in which they spend their nymphal stages. Combined with the looping flight of the charcoal gesture, I discovered our deadly, dancing, dangerous friend.

On another note… The current show at the Desert Art Center in Palm Springs will end on Feb 2, and a new exhibition opens on Feb 7. I will again have several new works on show, alongside many other desert artists. Opening reception is Friday Feb 7 from 5 to 7 pm.

I encourage all of us to get out and enjoy art in the wild, the real thing, alone or in the company of others, and to celebrate our communities, our cultures, our humanity. Give your attention a break from the digital thieves. It’s a challenging time for the spirit. Stay fresh. Embrace the real.

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